Hazelwood TY students with their Chinese tutor from the Confucius Institute in UCC. TYs are currently in the middle of a eight week module in the Chinese language. Congratulations to Yvonne Stack who was selected to represent the school at a two week Chinese language programme in Shanghai University this Easter.
by Ronan Cahill and Máiríde Bennis
Recently, Hazelwood College Transition Year students Ronan Cahill and Máiríde Bennis travelled to Shanghai University via Amsterdam. The trip was in conjunction with UCC Confucius Institute. When we arrived there we got on a 2 hour bus journey to the university, which brought our total travelling time to 24 hours since we left Cork. On the first day we went to a tea culture show which was interesting but was a very long process. The first meal we ate was in the Sheraton Hotel, it was a lunch buffet. Ronan tried wasabi and loved it! Wasabi is a traditional Chinese sauce which is very spicy. The next day we went to an ancient water village in Zhujiajiao. The village was over 400 years old and smelt very bad due to the polluted river. Throughout the 2 weeks we studied Chinese calligraphy and Mandarin Chinese. The classes were 2 or 3 hours long apiece. Calligraphy was very technical and it was hard to get the brush strokes right. In Chinese we learnt basic words and phrases so we could order food and talk about our family. We also went to a Chinese acrobatic show which was surreal.
We also had some Taiji classes in which we learnt basic self-defence, and the Chinese martial art of taiji.
We also went on an overnight trip to Suzhou and Hangzhou where we visited an ancient Chinese temple, which was over 1000 years old. In Hangzhou we went on a river cruise and saw a water light show. We visited a silk factory and saw the process of making silk from the worms to the shop.
The Oriental Pearl tower was amazing. We went up to the second highest floor because the top floor was closed. The glass floor was mesmerising. We also had to do a social evening performance, Máiride did Irish dancing and Ronan sang in a group.
There was a lot of Western food available in the supermarkets. We were told not to eat street food because we didn’t know the reputation of the business or how clean their food was. We tried dumplings, wontons and noodles. It was very spicy but no unbearable. We also had some unusual things like chicken legs and beef jerky. The food at the buffets that we went to was really nice they served things like crab curry and seafood pie.
Overall it was an unbelievable experience and we both agree that we would go back in a heartbeat.
Transition Year students are pictured here with their Chinese Language and Culture Tutor, Jessica Chan, from the University College Cork Confucius School of Chinese. Pictured are (back row, left to right): Blaithín Matthews, Amy Ryan, Martin Daly, Ronan Cahill and Eoin Enright. Front row (left to right): Jessica Chan, Neasa Fahy, Molly Kirwan, Mairíde Bennis, Millie Mulcahy and Aisling Enright.
As part of Hazelwood College’s link with the Confucius Institute at University College Cork, two students undertook a study trip to University of Shanghai. During Transition Year students at Hazelwood College study Chinese as part of the Confucius Institute’s second level. From the group two students were selected to travel to Shanghai.
Here are some photos from the trip
Picture 1: Hazelwood College students Ben Long (left) and Áine Bennis (right) pictured in the course of their recent study trip to China, which they completed in conjunction with the Confucius Institute, UCC, where they were able to develop their Chinese knowledge and skills.
Picture 2: Hazelwood College students Ben Long (left) and Áine Bennis (right) are pictured in Shanghai in the course of their recent study trip to Shanghai, which was organised by the Confucius Institute, UCC.
Picture 3: The hotel where Hazelwood College students Ben Long and Áine Bennis stayed with other Irish students on the Confucius Institute, UCC, organised study trip to Shanghai, where they were able to develop their knowledge of Chinese.
Picture 4: One of the tourist sites visited by Ben Long and Áine Bennis as part of their study trip to Shanghai with the Confucius Institute.
Picture 5: A view of the outskirts of Shanghai, which Hazelwood College students Ben Long and Áine Bennis visited as part of their study trip there, organised by the Confucius Institute.
Hazelwood College Transition Year students (from left) Emma Stone, Laura Stack and Keith Coughlan are congratulated by Maria Cremin, fifth year (far right) after they secured their places on a life changing trip to China. The trio won their places through their Chinese Studies module of TYP, in conjunction with the Confucius Institute of University College Cork. Maria Cremin was last year’s lucky winner and her wonderful experiences encouraged this years TYP students to attempt to emulate her success.
