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The spirit of adventure
January 20, 2009, Tuesday
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THE International Award is an exciting self-development program available to all 14-?to 25-year-olds. Launched in the UK in 1956 as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, the Program has now spread to 126 countries. Over 6 million young people worldwide have taken up the Award challenge.
The award is tough but it is about individual challenge, not about reaching specific standards set by someone else. Young people design their own Award Program, set their own goals, and record their own progress. The only person they compete against is themselves, by challenging their own beliefs about what they can achieve.
On a chill morning in late November, the pupils from Year 10 at the British International School set out to explore the snow-capped hills of northern Zhejiang Province.
A short distance from Shanghai, it nevertheless felt a world away, with changeable weather conditions, muddy tracks and a patchwork of pale green and brown fields, replacing the concrete scenery of the city.
Stretching for as far as the eye can see, hills recede into the distance, with small hamlets clustered at the foot of the range. In the fields that stretch either side of the trail, farmers turn the hard soil in preparation for the winter crops, whacking the eroded terraces into shape with shovels.
Tough march
The pupils are well prepared, carrying all their provisions, including tents, sleeping bags, stoves, warm clothes, and food.
"It is tough, but we are seeing the country, the beauty of it," said one pupil when asked what he thought of the trip. "I wish I had trained harder."
A few kilometers up the trail the pupils unloaded their burdens, and paused for a well-earned break, laughing and scrambling over the fields and then simply stopping to admire the distant hills that drifted in and out of view under a low-lying cloud.
At the end of the first day the pupils pitched camp under a foreboding sky, and lit a fire to dry shoes and sodden clothes. The next day proved to be a tough march in a cold unrelenting rain.
Sheltering under a tent many of the pupils wondered at the landscape, and viewed it with the awe of a child who has just seen a fairytale place jump out of a book. Close to a small town the farmers were still out in the fields, working small plots of land, planting, plowing, or tending to vegetables grown in the off-season.
The hike to the summit proved to be relatively easy, with the fog clearing to reveal a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
Striding back down the mountain, many of the pupils expressed satisfaction in the trip, and, despite the hardships - the cold, the rain, and the aching muscles - felt that a great deal had been learned.
The pupils are all now looking forward to the next trip, which will take place later in the year and give them a chance to put their survival skills to the test in the forests of Thailand.
The award is tough but it is about individual challenge, not about reaching specific standards set by someone else. Young people design their own Award Program, set their own goals, and record their own progress. The only person they compete against is themselves, by challenging their own beliefs about what they can achieve.
On a chill morning in late November, the pupils from Year 10 at the British International School set out to explore the snow-capped hills of northern Zhejiang Province.
A short distance from Shanghai, it nevertheless felt a world away, with changeable weather conditions, muddy tracks and a patchwork of pale green and brown fields, replacing the concrete scenery of the city.
Stretching for as far as the eye can see, hills recede into the distance, with small hamlets clustered at the foot of the range. In the fields that stretch either side of the trail, farmers turn the hard soil in preparation for the winter crops, whacking the eroded terraces into shape with shovels.
Tough march
The pupils are well prepared, carrying all their provisions, including tents, sleeping bags, stoves, warm clothes, and food.
"It is tough, but we are seeing the country, the beauty of it," said one pupil when asked what he thought of the trip. "I wish I had trained harder."
A few kilometers up the trail the pupils unloaded their burdens, and paused for a well-earned break, laughing and scrambling over the fields and then simply stopping to admire the distant hills that drifted in and out of view under a low-lying cloud.
At the end of the first day the pupils pitched camp under a foreboding sky, and lit a fire to dry shoes and sodden clothes. The next day proved to be a tough march in a cold unrelenting rain.
Sheltering under a tent many of the pupils wondered at the landscape, and viewed it with the awe of a child who has just seen a fairytale place jump out of a book. Close to a small town the farmers were still out in the fields, working small plots of land, planting, plowing, or tending to vegetables grown in the off-season.
The hike to the summit proved to be relatively easy, with the fog clearing to reveal a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
Striding back down the mountain, many of the pupils expressed satisfaction in the trip, and, despite the hardships - the cold, the rain, and the aching muscles - felt that a great deal had been learned.
The pupils are all now looking forward to the next trip, which will take place later in the year and give them a chance to put their survival skills to the test in the forests of Thailand.
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