28 July, 2016

Today we had reading, writing, and oral classes as usual in the morning. We spent some time writing our reflection in this trip on a piece of paper as our tutor would like us to give them some feedback about the lessons and also our stay in Vancouver.

In the afternoon, we rehearsed for the awards ceremony. We decided to sing two songs - 'Try everything' and 'Goodbye to the Circus' to thanks our teachers and host families for their teaching and hospitality in these 2 weeks.

At night, we all dressed up beautifully for the awards ceremony. My host prepared a local dish which was a shepherd pie for the farewell potluck. It was amazing that each host family bring in their own food and we got to try out so many different local dishes. They were all so delicious!

Finally, it was our last night in Vancouver. I would definitely miss my teachers, my host family and my life here. I will be back and visit them definitely someday in the future!

27th July 2016

The topic of the lesson this morning was about our dream job. I would like to become a doctor because I could save a lot of people. We then played a game in which we had to stick a label with a job written on it on our back. My classmate needed to describe it to me and I had to guess what it was. It was fun.

Then, we were given a long time to write a creative short story.

In the afternoon, we picked blackberries in the park and made our own blackberry jam. It was hot in the kitchen but I felt great that I could take a jar home for my family to try.

26th July, 2016

Today was my 14th day in Vancouver. As usual, we had lessons in the morning in which we got many chances to express our opinions and write a short writing.

In the afternoon, I was very excited that I could play baseball, football and frisbee. It was meant to be a practice for the group activities that took place in the evening.

After it, we went back home and had dinner first and then my host drove me back to the park around 7pm for the competition. The view at that time was beautiful. It was a long but lovely day for us.

25^th July 2016

Going to Deep Cove for kayaking is the activity for today. As it is quite far, we needed to set off early and therefore the lesson time was cut short. However, Mr McDonald told us that we would have longer lesson time tomorrow.

We left church at 11 and we arrived at Deep Cove at around 12. First, we went hiking and it was very tiring. There were a lot of steps and some of us did not want to hike after 10 minutes but Mrs Mcdonald encouraged us to go further. We picked some sticks on the way to help us walk. We saw some squirrels on the way and people here would hike with their dogs.

After hiking, we went for kayaking. The instructor is a woman who has strong arms. She taught us how to kayak. I was nervous at first but it turned out to be quite fun. The scenery was stunning. Too bad that we did not bring our phones because we were afraid to fall into the water. We kayaked for two hours and my arms were sore and I think I will get muscle pain tomorrow.

We went home afterwards and it’s another exhausting yet fun day here.

23^rd July 2016

Today, we went to a water park called the Cultus Lake Water Park. I was very happy and excited. It is a big one and I don’t think we have water parks like that in Hong Kong. I enjoyed the water slides. There are a lot there. Although it was sunny, the water was cool and I enjoyed staying in the water. I was a little bit scared at first but I did enjoy the slides with my friends. We laughed a lot and I wish we could stay longer. I was exhausted and hungry when I got home so I ate a lot for dinner.

22^nd July 2016

As usual, we had class in the morning and activities in the afternoon. However, there was no phonics class today because we needed to set off earlier to Granville Island today.

We got to walk around Granville Island and go on a Pirate ship. Before going on the Pirate ship, the staff helped us with make-up and putting on costumes. He drew a moustache on my face. We all looked very funny. After that, we vowed and went onto the Pirate ship. The staff performed and told us the story of being a Pirate. We had to act, dance and shout in English together. This experience is quite special. Then, we got a chance to walk around the island. There is a market which sells a lot of things, for example, fruits, accessories, nuts, soaps etc. Some of my friends bought things from the market as souvenirs for their families and friends in Hong Kong. Some of them really like shopping.

Around 6 o’clock, we left Granville island and went back home with our host.

21^st July 2016

Today, we had class from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. As I did a lot of running and walking around yesterday, I felt tired. However, I enjoyed Mr Mcdonald’s phonics class. He is really a funny teacher.

Then after class, we went go-karting. First, we needed to wear a helmet. Then, we lined up and listened to instructions from the staff before we rode the go-karts. I partnered with Jackie and we took turns to ride. I was scared at first but Jackie was really excited. She was crazy and she drove fast. I screamed but then I realize it is quite fun to drive a go-kart. The weather was so good and we took some nice pictures.

My host mum picked me up and we bought something to eat as supper before we got home. It’s a fun day out!