Aside from the regular classes and interest group activities, we have also taken a couple of day trips. Two days ago, we visited the Xiamen Foreign Language School during its Open Day. The kids studying there are among the smartest students across the entire country, and their English is impeccable. They gave us a tour of their beautiful campus.
The next day, we visited the ancient city of Quanzhou, which was once a prosperous port city at the start of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Quanzhou is famous for harboring Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism with little or no conflict at all. Quanzhou was much more developed and advanced than its neighboring cities in part due to its religious tolerance.
Today, we studied for an upcoming OPI test (Oral Proficiency Interview) and experienced our first immersion day, where you had to speak Chinese for the entire day. It was difficult but it definitely helped my confidence in speaking – as I am now able to start fluent conversations with the students in the University. In the evening, we had another Green Drive project, this time picking up fallen bikes all across the Xiamen University campus.
My Travels in China 