Early April saw the culmination of the Grade 11’s preparations with their 4 day trip to the mountains at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Long before the trip the students and teachers were doing fund raising events and collecting much needed blankets, hats, mitts and other clothing items for the migrant school in Tagong. The Léman Family Association donated a great sum of money to help buy food to stock pile the schools kitchen.
The LIS students brought a lot of art supplies and sporting gear to the migrant school and spent a day with the Tibetan children. While the students could not speak to each other without translators they had a lot of fun and enjoyed each other’s company for the better part of a day.
The trip also included a nice long hike up the side of the mountain to reach a fantastic vista lookout where we had a 360 degree view of the Snow Mountains. The students ate their lunches in awe of the scenery and in fear of the long walk back to the valley floor.
Our last night was spent far outside Tagong at a fantastic Tibetan homestay where there was not a street light for miles. The students settled in and when night fell they were amazed by the sheer number of stars and the clarity of the sky. After stargazing for some time everyone went back into the homestay to sleep in the very chilly rooms.
In the morning the LIS students bid farewell to our hosts and headed into Tagong to experience the Tagong Monastery that was originally built in 1644. The monastery was amazing and after the history lesson we got from our Tibetan guides it was even more amazing.
While it was not a long trip it was full of great experiences, challenges that were met, teamwork, new and old friends and a lot of life-long learning.
