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More than 20 jet-lagged Potsdam Central students back home after nine-day tour of China

Posted 3/28/16

Potsdam Central student Katherine Blanchard takes a photo with group leader April Barnes and Potsdam Central Superintendent Joann Chambers on the Great Wall, Beijing, China. Photo submitted by …

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More than 20 jet-lagged Potsdam Central students back home after nine-day tour of China

Posted

Potsdam Central student Katherine Blanchard takes a photo with group leader April Barnes and Potsdam Central Superintendent Joann Chambers on the Great Wall, Beijing, China. Photo submitted by Barnes.

By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM – Over 20 Potsdam Central students and five chaperones returned from China Easter morning after spending over a week touring and learning about the country.

“We saw so much,” said Model U.N. advisor and PCS Global Studies and Geography teacher April Barnes.

Barnes, who says she was jetlagged from the trip, said China was chosen because it was something different and would be a very educational trip.

“I had thought about touring six countries in Europe,” she said. “But the superintendent at the time, Pat Brady, thought going to China would be cool.”

The trip was planned through Artistic Congress and Model U.N. at Potsdam Central. The groups went before Board of Education last spring and received the approval for the nine-day trip.

The group 23 students and five chaperones, made up of parents, teachers and faculty, left for China March 18. They bussed to Montreal, Canada, and later flew out of Toronto.

The 10th through 12th grade students spent time raising money through car washes, garage sales, fun nights at the elementary school and face painting at Potsdam’s Summer Festival.

Students had to be a member of Model U.N. or Artistic Congress in order to be eligible to go on the trip.

The excursion included stops in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai.

A highlight was seeing the Great Wall of China.

“Students walked about two miles of it…but it's about 3,000 miles long,” she said.

Other trip highlights included seeing the Terracotta Army, visiting Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace.

“The weather was nice, it was so beautiful there with cherry blossoms in the Summer Palace,” Barnes said.

The students met with peers at a school in China where they were treated to a kung fu demo. The Potsdam Central students tried on silk costumes too.

“One thing that I think blew the students away was our visit the Temple of Heaven Park.

The temple is open to all, and sees a gathering of people from their 60s to 80s, who join to read, play cards, and dance together.

Some students, who had never flown before, always experiences a few others firsts.

The students were on subways, the world’s fastest train and ate new foods.

“The train went 301 kilometers per hour, it felt like we were floating,” Barnes said.

One student bought and shared duck tongue with Barnes, which she says was “like beef jerky but more moist.”

Students were asked to try everything at least once including squid and congee.

Congee is like a rice or oatmeal dish with vegetables.

“Students tried it…they also ate things like Captain Crunch, but I am proud of them for trying everything,” she said.

“It’s amazing how much we saw…our days were full,” she said. “I want to thank the brave parents for sending their children half way across the world.”