Every day I have seen and looked at红石山 towering over my house in Guanshan. It’s a huge mountain compared to the small hills I am used to in Illinois. Each Tuesday, 電光國小has a culture class where the students learn anything from dancing, singing, to environmental education. I used to have a first grade class at my other school during this class period and was unable to attend these events. That all changed when my first grade class was moved to the first period of the day leaving me the last two periods free at 崁頂國小, my other school. Thanks to my super gracious LET, I am allowed to leave 崁頂國小 after I finish my classes for the day to go to 電光國小 for their culture class. The first class I attended I had the opportunity to visit 红石山. I had actually attempted this hike on my own with one of my coordinators, Vicky, but we were having trouble finding the path a friend had given me. Instead, my first attempt we hiked 10km up the mountain on a mountain road and not the shorter path. We had hiked from 10ish to 4pm. I had not brought enough water for that. The teachers assured me their hike was going to be fun so despite my first experience with the mountain I agreed to come along.
The science teacher was nice enough to stay behind, so while the students left school at 1:30 after nap time, I left with the science teacher at 2:20pm. It was somewhat funny to me as we drove in his car up the mountain because we took the same road I had previously hiked. What took ions by foot was just a 45 min drive up the mountain. I found that if I had just gone another kilometer I would’ve come across a bamboo forest that definitely would’ve made the first hike worth it. The top of the mountain where I stopped last time was where 電光國小’s hike began. We met up with the 4th-6th grade students as they followed a guide talking about the different plants along the trail. Each student had their own classification booklet full of pictures of the different plants found on the mountain and were given time to flip through their packet to identify plants and trees surrounding them.
Quizzing the group, 電光國小students were able to answer the guide’s questions. They remembered the differences between two very similar plants with one large distinction, if you eat one of them its poisonous whereas the other plant is safe to consume. The group of 4th through 6th graders were attentive as the trail guide pointed out an animal trail, working with the students to identify the path the animal took and hypothesize together which animal they believe could’ve created it. It was unbelievable to see the students outside of the classroom and in nature excelling at understanding the mountains around them. They expertly used their trekking poles looking comfortable as they walked up the steep path. It surprised me how much I was able to take away from what the guide was saying. The science teacher helped me with the big things they were talking about as much as he could, but even on my own I was understanding what was being said. That was probably one of the best moments because I was not only doing tree classification (the exact thing I was a TA for in college), but I was doing it in Chinese. I felt so sophisticated and worldly being able to do that.
Upon coming to a larger portion of the trail, the tour guide had all the students take their packs off. Going from pocket to pocket, the tour guide worked with the students to identify where specific gear should go while planning a hike. Most importantly, the tour guide identified where a first aid kit should be kept in times of emergencies. Using Jordan (a 6th grader) as an example, the guide helped show how a hiking backpack should fit correctly. He explained how the weight is distributed through each of the straps and the impact a good pack can have on the weight each student would feel. The students laughed as the guide altered Jordan’s backpack by loosening the straps and causing Jordan’s pack to feel heavier than it was before. Jordan walked slowly away to show the other students how heavy the small changes to the backpack straps had made the weight of his gear. Now I can say I am an expert backpacker without even owning a pack yet (hopefully soon!).
As soon as the hike started it seemed to be finished. I was just so interested in what was going on time flew by. Looking around on the descent back to the cars the entire scenery changed. Hiking up the mountain, you could see the town sprawling underneath the mountain and I swear I could see almost to the 電光國小’s building. The walk down, on the other hand, everything was covered in a thick fog. The eerie fog gave a magical feel to the hike and mountain, something out of a fairy tale. Now I think it might’ve actually been a cloud which makes it even cooler!
I have since decided I want to try to attend as many of these culture classes as we can. This week’s did not disappoint. Rappeling. Yes, the culture class for the older students was learning how to rappel down the side of a mountain or in this case the side of the school. I found my students are almost fearless. With the help of two instructors and their teachers, the fourth through sixth grade students learned the correct form to rappel down the side of the school. Each student was outfitted in a harness, helmet, gloves, and of course another rope allowing an instructor to spot them as they descended. Practicing off the fence, the students were instructed on the safety procedures implemented when connecting their harness to the rope. In the beginning I didn’t think I would have an opportunity to join them. The 6th grade teacher asked if I wanted to and I even said no. I didn’t want to jump on the chance to because I feel like sometimes it puts the school out. The science teacher asked me a little later and with his encouragement it felt more like an inconvenience if I didn’t try and that they were trying to share something with me too.
That’s how I found myself standing in a helmet and harness along with my kids listening to the man who had taken us hiking the week before instruct us on how to rappel. Like the last time I met this man, the entire presentation was in Chinese as you would expect. Similar to the last class, the science teacher helped me out translating the main safety protocols for me as best he could (which is actually pretty good). One of the main points of the presentation was to always have a hand on the rope while you insert it into your carabiner clip to ensure your safety. The children were taught the strongest position to be in to strengthen their grip on the rope which consists of having your right-hand palm up by your hip and your left hand under the carabiner clip feeding the rope through the harness. The left hand has the ability to stop your fall based on its position: away from your body allows you to continue moving down while having your hand closer to your body stops your movement downwards. By the end I did get the nod of approval as I used the technique and moved away from the fence. Once the instructor gave us his stamp of approval we moved to the first “course”, the side of the staircase.
I was glad the staircase wasn’t too tall and there was a mat in case we fell to prevent major injuries which is always good. I waited for all the kids to go, one because I wanted to see what they did so when they spoke to me in Chinese, I would have some sort of idea, and two I’m a teacher… enough said. Standing on desks, one by one the instructor assisted in hooking up each child as they rappelled down the side of the staircase onto the mat below. What started with scared and nervous faces as they were standing on the edge of the wall getting hooked up, ended with grins from ear to ear as they landed on the mat. Not only did this activity act as a chance to learn new skills, but it was a great chance to build a team atmosphere of support.
Following all the children rappelling it was my time. I hadn’t realized before that the edge of the staircase isn’t actually flat, and instead is curved at the top. As I climbed onto the edge of the staircase and turned around there was a lot more balance required to not wobble. The instructor and teacher assisting him kept asking me to “休息” which means to relax. Surprisingly it actually wasn’t bad at all and was similar to hooking up to the belay machines rock climbing.
Following rappelling down the staircase multiple times, the students and I then moved onto the “challenge course.” The “challenge course” took place at the entrance of 電光國小. The difference between the challenge and the staircase was that after a short time spent rappelling down the side of the balcony, the kids were left with no wall to propel themselves off of. Instead, we were shown to jump off the bottom of the balcony and continue moving downwards without the wall for assistance. The kids encouraged each other to try the challenge. The first student is always Jordan, the sixth grade boy because he is class leader. Although he had no problem with the previous staircase it took so long for him even to put a foot on the balcony. It reminded me of kids that want to go off the high dive, but can’t force themselves to jump. Fast forward 15 minutes and having counted to 3 to help him multiple times, the instructor hooked up Sarah, the other 6th grader, to try instead. Sarah didn’t seem to think twice as she clambered up the balcony and climbed to the other side. She had some difficulty liftin her hands to organize the ropes and make sure she was in the right position, but in the end she made it down safely.
Although I was last the first time we rappelled, Daisy, one of two 5th graders, insisted I go ahead of her. The students behind her did not object. I think they all wanted to do it, but needed more time. I am so very thankful for my long legs because climbing to the other side of the balcony was that much easier when me feet touched. There was some misunderstanding in terms of me needing to step to the other side of a rope and totally not grasping that until the science teacher told me “left of rope.” Once I started, however, it was fast and fun. I landed on the mat happily as the assistant helped detach me from the ropes. Daisy followed behind me while both Andy (a 5th grader) and Jordan (the 6th grader) both came to sit near me on the ground where I had taken to getting pictures. Sarah, Daisy, and Charlie loved it. Daisy even rappelled twice on the “challenge course.” I felt bad because the two boys next to me were encouraged to go and at the end were quite possibly called little men in a joking manner. One of the teachers even said to graduate they would have Jordan do it before the end of the year. I felt bad that they were pushing them because it does take a lot to stand up and say you don’t feel comfortable doing something. I told them that ‘it’s ok, but that the only hard part was climbing on the balcony and not the actual rappelling.’ Regardless of what we said to encourage them and, in my case, make them feel better, the two boys helped me get pictures of the rest of the times.
While we took off our gear, the smiles on the students’ faces were undeniable. Learning how to rappel brought them closer together as friends and helped them face their fear of heights together. I am so happy to be included in this class, to get the opportunity to learn amongst my students about the environment, their culture, and outdoor skills. I wonder what’s next in culture class. Until next time…
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