Year 12 Students, Gubei Campus

Each year, the Year 12 students from YCIS Shanghai travel to the Chiang Mai area in northern Thailand to participate in a trip involving elements of the IB Programme’s Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) component. Recently, students from the school’s Gubei Campus participated in this trip and reflected on the incredible experience:

“Going to Thailand for our school trip was life-changing. Throughout the trip, not only did I overcome challenges, I also developed new skills and recognised the benefits of working collaboratively. For my whole life, I have had a fear of heights, and during the zip-lining activity on the trip, I didn’t think I could do it. But with my friends’ encouragement, my own self-confidence, and by challenging myself, I finished all of the zip-lines.” – Sarah

“During the leadership course, the awareness I had about my strengths as a team leader and as a team member increased. I also grew more aware of the traps I often fall into as a leader and a member of a group. My strengths include listening to others, whereas my areas of growth include contributing more ideas. This is an area that I definitely aim to improve on when doing group activities and tasks in the future.” – Anni

“During the Thailand trip we mixed cement to help build a walkway for a school in the local community. We mixed water, sand, cement, and rocks with numbers of buckets. It was tiring, but we showed perseverance and commitment and we didn’t stop working until the road was built completely. We did the cement mixing in groups, working collaboratively with others. Through this activity, I was able to increase my awareness of my strengths and areas for growth in a group environment, such as working hard and the importance of good cooperation. I also became aware of the harshness of the job for road builders, and how important it was for children to walk on a proper road. I have gained immense respect for the workers and recognise that we should be extremely thankful for what we have.” – Orila

“In Thailand, there were several activities I was afraid to try. However, I overcame my fears. Previously, I was scared of heights, but I really wanted to experience rock climbing on this trip as I never tried it before. So I put my fears behind me and told myself to just try. It turned out that I was pretty good at rock climbing and I tried all the hard courses and enjoyed them all. A great growth experience!” – Yi-Hao 

“During our Thailand trip, I felt I best developed from our leadership course. As we watched the videos from the activities, I was able to confirm that I have a natural talent for talking with people and arranging people to work in a group, as well as with helping people with both moral and physical support when needed. However, I was also able to tell that I should aim to improve as a team member by not simply taking over the leaders’ position, and so for the final exercises of the leadership course that was my main goal. After we were done I was told that I had achieved my goal and learned to listen and support the group as a team member.” - Vinicius

“Throughout the Thailand trip, I saw many situations that support the quote, ‘Generosity is the first step towards peace.’ One such example was the elephant conservation park we visited, where the owner wanted to liberate the enslaved elephants and let them live a good life. This has caused the elephants’ attitude toward humans to improve, hence peace.” – Ming Cheng

“I think the service projects we worked on during the Thailand trip had reciprocal benefits. During our visit to the local village, we visited students and had fun with them by playing games and performing for them. At the same time, the students gave us the opportunity to interact with them, and learn how to communicate without language. They were very friendly and full of excitement, which led to more engagement among all of us.” – Cherry

“During the Thailand trip, I did many things I had never tried before, such as rock climbing and paddling with a kayak, with great success. I enjoyed these things, and I felt I grew as a person by becoming more willing to try new things. I was able to successfully collaborate with my group during fieldwork, the leadership course, and many other activities by being a good communicator, which was not one of my strongest traits prior to the trip. I feel accomplished that I achieved all my goals that I had set before my trip. My next step is to continue to develop my communication skills and consistently try new things, no matter where I go in the future.” - Sean