The elementary school in Jingzhou any suggestion on what to bring?

[Animated-one]

Hi there,

We are quickly appoaching our "Imperial Jewels Of China" tour with Viking in August! We would like to know what other past passengers brought to the elementary school in Jingzhou from the U.S.??:confused: One women mentioned that she brought pencils!:rolleyes:....Hmmmm, that's really not me, are there any other thoughts or suggestions??! Thank you!

[lafayette74]

Hi,

 

My son and I traveled on the Emerald on its maiden voyage in March, 2011. The ship and crew are wonderful and the tour guides are excellent. Our guide, Iowa (Aihua), was phenomenal and, if you can arrange to be in his group, I would strongly recommend doing so although I'm sure the other guides are quite satisfactory.

 

Regarding your specific question, many passengers were initially not very excited about doing the trip to the primary school in Jingzhou. Neither were we. However, unlike many passengers, we did make the effort to visit the school and, much to our surprise, it was actually the highlight of our trip, which is saying a lot since the entire trip was filled with highlights. I was actually in tears upon the being received by all of the students as though we were famous foreign dignitaries. You will be directed to one specific classroom and one specific student will be assigned to you as a "host". The students are obviously not wealthy - the desks are early 20th century and the classrooms are unheated, so the students wear their outdoor coats inside - but they are highly motivated to use their educational opportunities to rise above their current economic level.

 

We, unlike you, were unprepared to give out gifts. Shopping opportunities are limited and, unlike you, we did not plan ahead. Instead, I gave my hostess a bunch of US dollar coins (I had 8) and her eyes expressed very deep and sincere gratitude. Many families only earn about $150/month and hardship still abounds. In addition, I gave the teacher $20 US and tried to convey the idea that buy the class something appropriate. I have no idea if she understood me but, given her meager salary, it would be ok if she kept it to supplement her income.

 

We were so moved, we have arranged to provide ongoing support for the hostess we met. Her goal is to become a teacher of English in America. She is in 4th grade.

 

Now that I think of it, my understanding is that school is closed in July and August so I'm not sure how that will work for you. You can email the Beijing Viking office at beijingoffice@vikingchina.com and get further instruction.

 

By the way, since you are going in August, be aware that the Chinese refer to three cities on your itinerary as the "Furnace Cities". Expect 95% humidity and 100 degree temperatures.

 

Internet access on the ship is spotty. There are 8 stations and usually several are out of commission and connections are really hit or miss given the topography. However, the hotels provide outstanding and free access.

 

Best of luck. We've traveled extensively and this trip was our favorite so far.

[suometar]

School supplies are appreciated. We brought crayons, markers, stickers, pencils (the ones with Disney characters on them should be a big hit), and other school supplies. Cash is also greatly appreciated. There was a box for gifts and cash upon leaving the school.

 

Some people have said that students are assigned a specific adult (or vice versa). This was not so in the class we were assigned to. I think it really depends on the teacher. Also, our visit was on a Saturday, and it is possible that the students had to come to school to entertain us.

[H2Otstr]

We had a class of second graders :D. They do not start to learn English until the third grade, so we had to converse with them through their teacher. They asked and answered questions with us, and then sang some songs. I really didn't want to go, but was so glad that I did. They were precious, and they much appreciated our gifts and the money that people left in the community box.

[Animated-one]

I know what you mean about not wanting to go to elementary school while on vacation;)..... But that being said, we did the very same thing on a river and land tour with GCT in Egypt. We visited an ALL girl school who were all starving for attention, especially for our American culture. They looked at me as I was a famous movie star :eek:, they all wanted to dance and sing the latest songs from the U.S., which I was happy to do so (not sure the teachers appreciated though)!!! Anyway, I noticed that many passengers brought gifts, but unfortunately I did not! So that is why I wanted to be prepared this time. Leaving money along with Disney characters crayons, markers & stickers seems like very good ideas, thank you!:D

 

p.s. My husband and I are from Florida, so we are use to the 95% humidity and the 100 degree weather. But I was hoping by late August it would be just a tad cooler!!;)

[suspaul]

We too did the Imperial Jewels of China in early May. We didn't bring anything from home for the school/children but did make a cash donation in the donation box as we left. The children seemed to love having their pictures taken and then shown the image in your digital cameras, some wanted to hold your hand and a few talked to us. They performed a cute song and dance recital for us and met us as we got off the bus playing musical instruments, it was a great experience.

 

One thing that I didn't like and this is only my opinion - some people passed out dollar bills to a select few children while other clamored for their chance but alas the money ran out, also saw a small group of boys nearly get in a fight to get a candy bar from another gentleman, some people had pieces of candy and the one that floored me the most - a lady had brought the small jam/jelly jars from breakfast on the ship and passed out the few she had, what are they thinking? If I remember correctly this school has approximately 800 students and while only a group actually met us I thought it was terribly unfair to pass out things to individual children when you know you do not have enough for everyone. Yes, I know life isn't fair but these are children.

 

Sorry to vent and go on but this was just uncalled for and it does bother me. Yes, they need lots of items, school supplies are needed as are cash donations, but in my opinion a few candy bars, dollar bills, jelly jars are not. Thanks for listening.

 

It was a wonderful trip, you'll see so much, something at every turn, have a great time. Maybe take a small umbrella to fend off the sun, you'll see plenty of people doing this too.

Susan

[Animated-one]

Sorry to vent and go on but this was just uncalled for and it does bother me. Yes, they need lots of items, school supplies are needed as are cash donations, but in my opinion a few candy bars, dollar bills, jelly jars are not. Thanks for listening.

 

I totally agree with you!:) From my understanding, there is a box as you go out of the school that you can put your donations in! That is what my husband and I plan on doing, being fair to all!....BTW, on our last land & river cruise a few passengers did the very same thing, candy for as long as it last, and dollars for a select few!...As you can see by my postings, this is very important to us:)

[suspaul]

You're correct, I think there were 2 large plexiglass type containers on your way out of the classrooms, 1 for item donations and 1 for cash donations.

 

I think you'll enjoy Imperial Jewels and Viking, we were very, very pleased and enjoyed it all.

 

Again, have a great time.

Susan

[Lucky Granny]

ani-mated one....there is a Viking China cruise thread on these boards with thousands of replies....you need to look it up. It is under "Other" cruise lines....same as this thread. There are many references there to the trip to the elementary school. I posted one today about my visit. I agree with those who object to giving items directly to the students when there are not enough to go around. When we went, there was a box for us to deposit our gifts so the teachers could distribute them fairly and equitably, and we were asked to put our gifts in that box. There is also a deposit for cash donations. I am not sure what those students can do with USD. Also, I don't think there is a problem with bring items that are "Made in China". The students you will visit do not have access to the things China produces for export to the U.S. We were there in July and many students returned to school, even though they were out for the summer, just to entertain us. Go find the Viking China thread for lots of other information.

[buckeye82]

My husband and I just returned from our Jewels of China trip. I really enjoyed the school visit. We enjoyed the drumming and dancing that the children welcomed us with. Then our group went into a sixth grade classroom. There were over sixty children in that class, so there was really no room for us to go to individual desks with a particular child. We were in the aisles and interacted with the children near us. It was sweltering in there! We spoke with them as best we could and they showed us the work books they were studying. They told us their English names. Bring your cameras! They love to pose for photos. Finally they sang for us and we sang for them. High fives and good byes were exchanged. As we left we deposited the gifts we had brought in a large box outside (pens, markers, stickers). Some of the other members of our group were very unhappy that they did not know about bringing gifts and thought that Viking could have mentioned this as an option. It was a very nice way to spend a morning.

[Animated-one]

. As we left we deposited the gifts we had brought in a large box outside (pens, markers, stickers). Some of the other members of our group were very unhappy that they did not know about bringing gifts and thought that Viking could have mentioned this as an option. It was a very nice way to spend a morning.

 

You are right, I think Viking and other land and river cruise companies should make an effort on their websites or their booklets on what is appropriate to take to these schools and also being optional to do so!!!,,,,, Again, the only reason I knew, we had taken a land & river tour with GCT which we visit an ALL girl school in Egypt. Sadly, I was one those passengers who didn't know, or I would of brought something, ANYTHING:o.....Thank you for sharing:)