国产成人综合久久免费导航

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

― Marcel Proust

Chinese New Year has become the busiest travel season in the world. This year, several Keystonians joined the hundreds of millions of people booking trips during the holiday season as part of three Global Trips within China and beyond. More than holiday fun, these trips served as deep experiential learning opportunities, where students could gain rich understanding immersed in new places and cultures with their peers. Through the Global Trips such as these recent trips to Shanghai and Songyang, Singapore, and Sweden, the ideas about the world students ponder in class are transformed into tangible experiences that shape their own values and give them a new appreciation of the world and their place in it.

While all three of this year’s trips during the Chinese New Year holiday went to new and exciting places, one had a destination that was not so far away. Although the 2024 Literary Atlas trip took students on a journey within China to Shanghai and Songyang, it led them back to a past time that has since faded away into wisps of memories that cling to the city of Shanghai like silk. These fragments of faded opulence can still be uncovered through art, music, and architecture, and students spent time touring famous landmarks, uncovering a world hidden beneath the modern city. They also dove into sensory experiences of jazz and music, and entered new domains of poetry, architecture, and art in various museums, bookstores, coffee shops, and scenic spots around the city.

All these amazing experiences were tied together with the thread of literature. The inspiration for this trip came from The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, by Wang Anyi, a novel that depicts a changing Shanghai through the eyes of protagonist Wang Qiyao. Each stop on the trip provided a spark for enthusiastic literary discussion of the novel and more, inspiring the students’ own understanding and creativity even after they had returned home. After the brief stay in the glamorous Shanghai, the group moved on to neighboring Songyang for a more scenic setting. There, they were once again transported through time, visiting ancient villages, experiencing life on a farm, getting a taste of the incredibly moving Songyang Opera, and exploring nature to further deepen their literary discussion.

A second Global Trip took students all the way to Singapore for an immersive learning experience in a brand-new locale. This trip packed in plenty of activities, including cross-cultural learning; trips to the Singapore Science Center, National Art Gallery, Marina Bay, and Jurong Bird Park; service learning opportunities, and plenty of music and dance shows awash in culture. Students built skills, made new friends, immersed themselves in local culture, and made amazing memories of the new sights and sounds they took in. The vibrant music and arts of the dazzling city left a lasting impression on the group, giving them inspiration for their own creative pursuits.

For students who don’t mind the winter’s chill and appreciate activities such as diving off the deck of an icebreaker into the frozen sea; dogsledding, skiing, or snowshoe hiking across the arctic landscape; or meeting the reindeer that call the frigid north their home, this year’s furthest Global Trip to Sweden was ideal. In addition to all these amazingly adventurous outdoor activities, the 25 students from Grades 4 to 7 also got to meet many new people, playing ping-pong with legendary Mr. Jan-Ove Waldner, learning from the founders of a gaming company, discussing sustainability with members of local government and engineers from the green-energy company Northvolt, and learning about arctic wildlife from renowned professor Dr. Hansi. Although this trip included plenty of exciting activities, students also had time to spend immersed in local life, interacting with students from a local primary school, making use of the public transportation and artic trains, and enjoying the local food. The students made unforgettable memories and new friends all while learning about the world of the arctic tundra and sustainability.

These three Global Trips all offered students incredibly different experiences in a variety of places around the world. The idea behind each trip comes from the trip leader’s own passion, making each journey unique and ensuring students can find a trip that matches their own personal interests. Led by Keystone Director of Marketing and Communication, Ms. Sabrina Liu, his year’s trip to Shanghai and Songyang gave students the chance to step back in time through travel and literary experience. Meanwhile, the trip led by Secondary School Music Teacher Ms. Jasmine Yang opened the magical world of the Merlion found in Singapore. Students looking for adventure found it on the trip to Sweden led by Dean of Middle School Student Life and Chinese Language Teacher Ms. Kalian Wang.

While the Global Trips all varied in their focus, they all gave students a new view of the world around them – new eyes to see things from a different perspective. Whether it was adventure, culture, or the world of literature, students came back from all three Global Trips with new ideas. They will bring this newfound inspiration back to Keystone, sharing it with our school community and beyond. Back in Beijing, one parent of a student on the Literary Atlas trip thanked the teachers for their dedication in leading these trips, stating, “you have shone a light on students and set goals in their hearts.” This light will continue to shine and grow as the students have more amazing experiences at Keystone and around the world.