A successful accomplishment of BCCSC's 2011 Winter Camp

On Jan. 26 in 2011, fifty-four BCCSC students  and nine teachers set off from school, participating in the 2011 Winter Camp,  which is the 14th Winter Camp in BCCSC. On Feb. 13 in 2011, all the students and teachers  came back safely and punctually. They successfully accomplished their 19 days’  visit to Canada.
An emergency on  the plane of Air Canada  resulted in one-day delay of the departure, but it didn’t affect the students’  motivation of the trip. Students’ curiosity about Canada and their enthusiasm made  them very excited on the bus to the airport. Though it is not the first time  they fly abroad, a strange feeling occurred to them. They felt reluctant to  leave when Andy, the Executive Director, took photos for each group by himself.  They were very appreciated with the encouragement and thoughtful arrangement by  the school leaders.
During those days,  they traveled to five famous Canadian cities: Toronto,  Montreal, Ottawa,  Edmonton and Vancouver,  where they visited SMLS Middle School in Toronto,  University of Waterloo,  Wilfrid Laurier  University, Toronto  University, University  of Alberta and the Royal Road University in Victoria.  They had a wonderful sightseeing of the winter in Canada,  explored the splendid Saint Joseph church in Montreal, told the difference between Parliament Building  and Rideau Hall in Ottawa  and enjoyed the awesome view from CN Tower. Moreover, the students attracted the  attention of other tourists in Whistler with their beautiful Winter Camp  jackets and good manners. The most unforgettable moment to the students was the  week they spent together with their Canadian buddy and host family. They had a  better understanding of the Canadian educational system and the features of  Canadian middle school courses. They not only improved their English but also  realized the necessity of developing the twenty-first century skills. They  couldn’t help the tears rolling down their faces when their host family saw  them off at the airport.
Generally  speaking, such activity offers the students opportunities to develop their  social acceptability and to learn more about Canada history, economy, custom and  culture. It also helped them to open their eyes and broaden their mind, to  increase their knowledge, and to build up friendship, strengthened the cultural  exchange and enhance their responsibility. During this trip, students benefited  from oral English practice and trainings in independent thinking, problem  solving, and they had a better understanding of success and the keys to succeed.  After the activity, students realized the importance of learning English well  and hard work. At the same time, they learned a lot from their buddies as well  as their host family parents, such as love, diligence, determination, ambition,  responsibility and dedication, which is very helpful for their later exchanging  studying in Canada  and further study abroad.
In a word, it is  an unforgettable and meaningful activity.