参加有意义的义工活动，是苏附中加班长期以来的倡导。除了学习加拿大课程，课外实践活动不仅为大学申请添分不少，也让同学们的视野更广阔，人生经历更丰富，从而真正体会到世界文化的多元化。

Participating in meaningful volunteer activities is a long-standing initiative of Soochow University High School Sino-Canada Program. In addition to studying Canadian courses, volunteer and charity enrich the students’ university applications. These experiences broaden the students’ vision and appreciation for the diverse world cultures around them, while living a rich life experience.

     在刚刚过去的寒假，10年级的杨奇正、赵依阳、王嘉琦、潘涵宇和陈靖同学一起参加了为期7天的泰国清迈义工活动。

During winter vacation 2019, Yang Qizheng, Zhao Yiyang, Wang Jiaqi, Pan Hanyu and Chen Jing from the 10th grade participated in the 7-day volunteer activity in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

          关爱特殊学校的孩子们        

      活动的第一天，我们来到一所特殊学校。和在中国一样，特殊学校的孩子们或有身体残疾，或有心理疾病。看望他们，和他们交流互动需要更多的耐心和精力。可能因为年龄相差不太大，在学校老师们的指导下，我们课堂活动中，积极营造友善和热情的氛围，从最初的挥手、握手，到最后可以和大家玩在一起。我们很开心地看到一个长期自闭的孩子，也愿意主动来和我们拥抱，倾听我们讲述自己的生活经历。

Caring for children in special schools   

On the first day, we visited a special school. As in China, children in special schools may have physical disabilities or mental challenges. Communicating and interacting with them requires more patience, focus and energy. Following the guidance of the school teachers, we actively created a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Starting with friendly greetings and handshakes, to everyone interacting together we were happy to see an autistic child come forward to initiate an embrace and to interact with us.

    通过第一天的“热身”，第二天我们就要自己走上讲台，为孩子们上一节中国文化课，我们选取了“折纸课堂”的主题。对于孩子们来说，自己动手做出各种漂亮的造型，远比坐着听我们讲课更吸引人，更能长时间集中注意力。我们通过和大家一起折纸，运用更具体的形象教授孩子们新单词。 “折纸课堂”全程使用英语交流，我们自己也兴奋地过了一把当外教的瘾。

After the "warm-up" of the first day, we gave a presentation about Chinese culture on our own the second day. We selected the theme of the "Paper Folding". For the children, it is much more attractive to be able to make all kinds of beautiful paper folding creations than to just sit; they were able to concentrate on our lecture for a longer time. We taught children new words by using more specific images and doing paper folding with them. The “Paper Folding” class used English throughout the whole process, and we enjoyed playing the role of foreign teachers like our teachers in the Sino-Canada Program!

                     大象营地                     

      充实的时间总是过得很快，除了日常“支教”之外，泰国的“大象营地”也是我们体验泰国文化的一部分。大象可谓是泰国的国宝，而人类的过度捕猎使大量大象流离失所，身患残疾。在“大象营地”，我们初步学习了保护大象的基本常识。现在回想起来真不可思议，我们真的帮大象洗澡、喂食！虽然湖水不是最为清澈的，但有了泥巴的保护才能让大象在这炎炎夏日过得更为舒服一点。

Elephant Camp

The time went quickly. In addition to the daily teaching work, “Elephant Camp” gave us the opportunity to experience Thai culture. Elephants are the national treasure of Thailand. Over-hunting of these noble animals has greatly reduced the number of elephants and, many more elephants now suffer from disabling injuries. In the "elephant camp", we learned the basic common sense of protecting elephants. Looking back now, it is amazing to think we assisted to bathe and feed these massive, gentle animals! Although the lake is not the clearest, mud protection can make elephants feel more comfortable on hot summer days.

           泰国美食文化体验                

      泰国这个位居东南亚的热带沿海国家，因盛产稻米，享有世界粮仓的美誉。优越的地理条件，使得泰国国内的绿色蔬菜、热带水果、渔业资源等也都异常丰富。受此影响，泰国人的膳食也以海鲜、水果、蔬菜为主。

Experience of Thailand food and culture 

Thailand, a tropical coastal country in Southeast Asia, enjoys a reputation around the world for its abundance of high quality rice. The superior geographical location and climate in the country also provide an abundance of green vegetables, tropical fruits and rice supply and variety of fish resources. The people of Thailand enjoy a healthy diet of seafood, fruits and vegetables.

      最后这一天同学们的菜单有些特别，不再是酒店统一准备的食物，而是厨艺体验课。自己亲手制作的料理，泰国人主食是大米，副食多为鱼虾跟蔬菜。正餐多以一碗米饭为主食，配以一两道咖喱料理，一条鱼、一份汤和一份沙拉。同学们亲自体验了如何制作咖喱料理，至于味道嘛，em......只能说，做饭也是需要天赋的！

On the last day, the meals were very special. Rather than having food prepared by the hotel, students took cooking classes to learning to prepare food. Thai staple food is rice, and the non-staple food is mostly fish, shrimp and vegetables. The local meals consist of a bowl of rice, served with one or two curry dishes, fish, soup and salad. The students personally prepared the curry dishes, but as for the taste, hmmm... we can only say that cooking also requires patience, practice and talent!

收获与感想

      短短七天的时间，我们在这里收获的，不仅是一份证书，更是对泰国清迈更深入地了解。我们平时生活的地方，只是这个精彩的世界的一部分。作为年轻的一代，我们有必要多出去走走、看看。在中加班，我们有机会看到加拿大美丽的风土人情。而通过各种国际义工活动，我们将看到其他国家不同的风景和文化。

In just seven days, what we have gained here was not only a certificate, but also a deeper understanding of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The place we call home is just a part of this wonderful world. We are the next generation of citizens of this world. We need to reach out and experience more. As students at the Sino-Canada Program, we have the opportunity to see the beautiful scenery and experience the culture of Canada. Through various international volunteer activities, we can experience different landscapes, climates and cultures in countries all over the world.

      我们知道，如果想要对这个世界有更宽阔的认识，身体力行的了解永远是最直观的。我们在生活中不止是被人照顾，原来还有很多需要我们去帮助的人和物。学会多方面思考、学会耐心、倾听和理解，这才是本次义工活动最大的收获！

We all know that if we want to have a broader understanding of our global world, personal experience and communication with the people of different countries and cultures is the best way. We have a good life, but there are still many people at home and around the world that need our help.

We learned to think differently，to be patient, to understand and listen to the voices of others. Many lessons we gained through this incredible volunteer activity!