I want to thank all you for reading my daily post and keeping up with my Microcampus Journey. It has been such an amazing 28 days and I couldn't have asked for a better group or chaperones. I know that this is something I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. Today is our last full day here in XiZhou, we are going to be spending a lot of time packing and saying our final goodbyes to the village. Although I love this place I am excited to go home and see my family and friends.

Julia

There have been a few illnesses floating around Yang Zhou Ren and I was unfortunate as to catch one. I spent most of the day in the nurse's office. But the one good part was that being stuck and isolated in a room really motivates one to do their work. So I lost no time with my inquiry work. After I was declared healthy I was able to rejoin society (thankfully) and have dinner. We also had secret santa. I recieved 2 cans of coloured snow for my gift (thanks jake). Then we were all treated to a great night's sleep before our last "work day" XiZhou.

Julia

Today was a very unusual day in XiZhou. Since we arrived 23 days ago there has not been a day without sun and blue skies, but from the moment we woke up it has been gray skies. We started out with hail and then several hours of rain. Later in the day we also recived quite a few centimetres of snow, it was absolutley freezing outside. We were all shocked that not yesterday we had been in the sun without jackets and today layers of clothes are needed to keep warm. Later in the night we were greeted with another nasty surprise....a power outage.

Today was a good day at Microcampus. We were treated to another beautiful day of weather and clean air. Possibly the best part was the last day of SAS essentials. Since today was their last day of school back home and so we have no more new work coming from SAS. It is going to be great to have more time each day to work on inquiry rather than spend it doing school work. After Nicole and I went to the Linden Centre for a quick workout we came back to Yang Zhou Ren and realised that it was friday the 13th. Hopefully nothing scary comes along in the middle of the night!

Julia

Today I had a pre-arranged meeting to walk around XiZhou and talk about propaganda with Mr. Duan. I was very excited when Mr. Yang also showed up and Mr. T and I got to walk around with both of them and see them decipher the propaganda together. I was so interested to find out that most of the read from right to left instead of left to right. It was a big "ah-ha" moment for me because I have had trouble trying to read them and find out their meanings. But possible my favourite moment was when we ran into Mr.Zheng at one of the propaganda sites.

Today was the last day of the hike. We started off to a leisurly day with a wake up time of 9 am and did not leave our campsite until noon. Then it was a long walk through a lot terrain to thge Dali Highway where we boarded the bus on the way back to XiZhou. Unlike the bus ride there we were silent on the way back, mostly from exhaustion but we were also digesting the fact that we had just climbed a mountain.

We woke up to a normal day and a normal breakfast but after this we packed our lunches strapped on our massive bags and boarded a bus on the way to Chang Shan mountain where we began our 3 day hike from 2,000 metres to 3,200 metres. I think that I speak for the group when I say we went in with positive but nervous attitudes. The bus ride there was filled with idle chatter and some ukelele playing coutesy of Shane. We reached the Dali Royal Hotel at the foot of the mountain and here we began our hike.

Today when we woke up we were not in our beds inside Yang Zhou Ren but next to Lake Er Hai. We woke up to a chilly crisp morning and watched the sunrise while we unpacked out tents. The sunrise was unlike anything I had ever seen before it slowly rose out of the mountains casting a glow over the inky waters and lighting up the land and sky with orange and pink. When we finished packing our tents we loaded up our bags and hopped on our bikes and headed back to Yang Zhou Ren for the day ahead.

Today was a great day for my inquiry work, I went with Xiao Tong to parts of the village that I had never been to and saw tons of new propaganda. One of my favourite parts was the tons of paintings along the back wall of the local middle school they had all kinds of slogan ranging from be a good person and take care of your elders to work hard and cultivate many crops. They were all beautifully designed and had the messages stroked on them with black ink. We also saw long lists of fire hazards and a large listing of standards and behaviours for the community. Later in the day Mr.

On day 9 of Microcampus we have our very first day of absolute nothing. We got to wake up at 9 am and casually go to breakfast any time before 9:30. The only work we had to do was our wellness relfection and it felt amazing to have a day to just hang out with our friends and not worry about work. Nicole and I decided to take advantage of the day and spend time in the music room with Marissa and Abby. We had a ton of fun playing piano, gutair, ukelele, and singing. We also decided to go around a make a video by filming ourselves and others doing daily things in reverse.

Today we spent lunch in Si Fan Jie per usual but we spent some time trying new foods. One of which was a tofu dessert that had a sweet syrup drizzled on it. We also met woman who had a large cart of food and she gave us free samples of something that looked like kimchi but according to Thomas was much to sour and salty to actually be kimchi. But I think that overall it was a fairly normal day, well as normal as any day at microcampus day gets.

Love

julia

Today was a day of puns and learning the art of tie-dye. After a fairly nomal morning we left for a half-day trip to Zhou Cheng. Here we saw a small town with several homes dedicated to hand producing tie-dye. The walls were lined with beautiful died clothe. Now I walk in thinking that this process consisted of tying rubber bands on an old t-shirt and letting is sit in dye for an hour. But this style is entirley different. The pattern is printed onto a cloth and then sewed together to create the pattern in the dye.

Today was our first day of Microcampus where we experienced a "normal" schedule. Nicole and I woke up at 6 am sharp and went for a 40 minute run around the village with Shane. It was dark outside that while I was running I proceeded to fall into a bunch of sand while not paying attention. But after an adventurous morning run we headed back to Yang Zhou Ren for hot shower and breakfast. Right after we had our first session of SAS essentials and then Pitching In.

After waking up at 4 am, driving to the wrong terminal, and then panicking to find the rest of the Extreme Team at Hongqiao Airport; We were finally on our way to the 28 day journey of Microcampus. Our bumpy but quick flight was followed by a 6 1/2 hour bus ride. This is when it began to hit me, this is my home for the next month. As we neared Dali Old Town we began to see beautiful mountians and rivers in the Er Hai Valley. It was amazing to look out and see nothing but mountains, grass, and rugged terain for kilometres. We saw entire towns built at the foot of these mountains.

In 28 days from now I will be waking up very very early in the morning, driving to the air port, and starting my 4 week adventure at Microcampus. I am super excited to be leaving and it's crazy to think that in less than a month I will be in an entirely different place. I feel so lucky that I was chosen to be a part of this experience and after hearing all of the amazing things about Xizhou from Micro-Alumini I am even more geared up! I can't wait to begin this amazing trip!