Virtual China '98

I am Carl Buchner Reporting for Mr. Fischer. I am writing for our 5th day in China. I am in 7th grade and I currently live in Hong Kong, SAR. I go to Hong Kong International School Middle School.

April 23, 1998

This report is done by Michelle Kiosoglous who is in Mr. Fischer's biking group on day 5 of the trip. We are here exploring the beautiful country of China. We are from Hong Kong International School in 7th grade. The following is a report on the Challenges of the trip.

Today was a day filled with challenges. It was an exhausting day, and we had 62 kilometers ahead of us that we needed to bike. You don't realize how tired you are until well into the trip. In total we have biked 211 kilometers this week.

The challenges faced by the bikers today included: headwinds, heat, physical exhaustion, dehydration, and rolling hills. Fortunately the group was also blessed beautiful green oceans of rice, great picture taking weather, a company of friends and the interesting experiences that we had along the way.

Together the heat and humidity combined the fact that the students drank 4 liters of water they still became dehydrated because they lost far more through their sweat. The headwinds continuously pushed you backwards causing you to use more effort and to tire easily. The hills were endless while it seemed that you were going up more than going down. Sometimes the hills were so steep that you had to walk your bike up the hill. With so many gears on the bike you don't know which is the right one for where you are. There is so much biking that physical exhaustion was not scarce. While biking fast and sometimes not keeping up with everybody else you realize how depleted you really are. I experienced physical exhaustion once or twice but that was mainly from the heat.

Apart from all this there were some great times too. Our lunches were not that great but they were edible. The views were great though. Out before you were millions or acres of rice patties and many trees too. Every now and then you see water buffaloes grazing in the fields or sitting in water or mud. The views are spectacular and the villages are old, neat and interesting. The people in the villages are friendly and always willing to talk to you. Some annoying things about the people are like when you talk to them they start laughing and you feel really embarrased. Another is while you bike on the streets people in vehicles always honk their horns at you and put their heads out or the window and shout hello. It is nice in the beginning but after awhile it drives you mad.

Biking here in China is fun. It is challenging and it is a great experience. I personally found the worst part being that we biked too much but overall I liked the trip and I am glad I came.

Virtual China

I am Chelsea Meyer and I am 13 years old and in 7th grade. I live in Hong Kong and I go to Hong Kong International School. I am in Mr. Fischer's biking group. I am on the first biking trip on the 5th day. This was our last day of biking. We biked a total of 211 Kilometers. I am doing a perspective of a buffalo.

I eat grass and wheat. I stand on the edge of the hills and the road. I have a ring that goes through my nose and when someone pulls on it, it really hurts. Today as I was eating grass, a lot of different people were riding by me on a strange looking thing with wheels. No one ever road on my back, but a lot of people were pulling me from a string, and they were hitting me with a very hard rope. I was tied to a tree today and when all the people went by me, they all moved around me like I was some kind of stranger, that made me feel bad. I think it is really hot out and the sun was beating down on me and that made me really thirsty. I had to drink the water from the rice patties which were all along the road. There were so many rice patties all along the road all over the place. I think I smell because when ever some one comes near me, they plug their nose. I really don't know why every body thinks that I smell. This is what every body thinks about me except for the other buffalo's.

That's about all we did in one sentence...Hi! I'm Shaked Saiag reporting from Mr. Fischer's 7^th grade biking group, day 5 of our biking trip in southern China. The following is a synopsis of what happened from my prospective, from the minute we finished lunch to the end of the day. It all "continued" when a group of 22 kids (including me) and a few parents & teachers finished eating and were all feeling good and ready to continue. We got on bikes and continued to hurt our butts, which had already sat on rock-hard bike seats for a few days (about 150 km).

Anyway, today there was a lot more hills than the first days but that was ok for me because I was in excellent shape. We biked in groups of 4-6 kids with a group leader (adult), and some kids in our group were having trouble keeping up. One went on the bus, which was for the injured and for the ones who were weren't feeling good, so we started biking faster, and the downhills increased and there were fewer uphills. At that time, I was in such a good mood, I wanted to keep going forever. There were many rice patties on the way and we passed some villages with some very friendly people and some unfriendly villagers who just laughed at our Mandarin (one of the many Chinese languages). We passed villages with smells of cow pooh, smoke from motorcycles, but there were some better smells of nature like the earthy smell of the fertilizer and the smell of fresh trees. There isn't a motored vehicle that didn't honk at us when it passed by us, not only to tell us they were there, but as a sign of friendliness, instead of shouting hello to us or waving. Some had ear-ripping honks that really scared me and almost caused me to lose control over my bike. The beautiful sound of the cicadas filled me with energy. The only annoying thing was the attack the flies did on us...I don't have much time, so I'll have to make it short...the rest of the way, we biked and biked (62km on this day), until the hotel were we had cold shower, dinner and a bed. C ya.

Moderator:

Technology Coordinator

Hong Kong International School (M.S. Div.)

Hong Kong, China

Fax: 852-2899-0809

"The wise teacher does not ask you to enter the house of his wisdom, he leads you to the threshold of your own mind." Kahlil Gibran