The sun was shining bright over Hawrelak Park as the happy campers (Chengdu Youths, volunteers, and organizers) arrived through the gates and off to the picnic site for another enjoyable day. Everyone loaded off the bus and began walking, passing the Heritage amphitheatre to a picnic space with a wide open field (and no sprinklers!). This morning was going to be full of games and fun with the assistance of two workers from the green shack program (organized by the city of Edmonton). We began the many games that were planned with one where we tossed the ball and called out names.First we were split into two separate circles to make it easier to toss the ball. The person who tossed the ball had to say the previous person's name and then their own and toss to some one else. This game helped us get to know each other's name better in English and Chinese. It was pretty easy going and some people seemed half asleep because when the ball was tossed to them they
couldn't catch it even though the person was right next to them! After all that dropping, people began chuckling a lot! A huge rope was then brought out for tug-of-war! At first the sides were determined by birthday, but the sides weren't as evenly matched. So then everyone was split according to gender and the guys thought they could take on all the girls. How wrong they were! The girls won easily for both matches. The first match ended in a blink of an eye. The second match had the male supervisors and staff helping out the Chengdu males against the female Chengdu youths and buddies. Even with the extra help, the ladies remained superior in tug of war! Talk about girl power!
Next, the multi-colored parachute was pulled out and several games were arranged with it. First game played was where the parachute was lifted up 3 times and then everyone would have to try and run underneath and sit on the inside edges of the parachute. It took multiple tries to get this right and everyone was giggling and jumpy! Once everyone was inside, (I didn't go underneath) they began telling jokes and it was hilarious seeing just the rounds of every person's heads underneath the parachute. Unfortunately the jokes were told in English and when translated,were lost in translation! The next game was tossing dif
ferent colored beanbags up and down and trying to keep them from falling off. To keep things interesting, there were two different colors and they represented the boys and girls. So basically it was boys versus girls; girls were trying to get the boys beanbags off and viceversa. It went well! The parachute was being flung so fast and energetically that many people had to let go! Then we played cat and mouse; so many of the Chengdu boys wanted to chase the mice(kids). Everyone else flapped the parachute up and down to hide the people being the mice, while the person being the cat was on top of the parachute trying to find them. Following that game, we then played a game where someone was a shark who would pull you underneath where you may become a shark. There were also people who were lifeguards who would rescue 
the victims if they call for help. Once again, the boys wanted to be the sharks, but only some were chosen. However, when the sharks came to attack them, they didn't call for help; they went voluntarily to become a shark! Everyone began rolling with laughter! There was so much commotion going on all around us and we all had such a great time. Finally, we played the last game with the wonderful parachute. It was called 'Peanut butter Island', where the parachute was laid flat on the ground and was our island. The players would be the tourist while some other players would be sharks. The tourist would walk around the parachute and when the sharks yelled 'Shark Attack!' , the tourist would have to run onto the parachute before they got caught! It was a great game of tag! Majority of the players were sharks, there were only a couple of Chengdu Youths left and several volunteers. That's when the great chase happened. The victims ran so far away from the 'island' and then some of the 'Chengdu Sharks' chased them from behind. Then there were also some coming from the front! That was the end for them! It was such a great time playing those games.
After, we had a washroom break, cleaned ourselves up and headed outside once again to play dodge ball. It was a quick game because many of us were hungry. When we went to go get out bags,
the sprinklers were on and we all ran through cooling ourselves down. It was lunch time and we had huge pizza slices which were delicious! For dessert we had cake to celebrate 3 birthdays; one of the Chengdu youths, one of the buddies, and one of the supervisors. We all got hats and some noise makers. It was so much fun! Everyone wore their hats; some in a different fashion than others ( they were very unique...), some not on their heads at all either. It was very amusing! While we waited for the kids to return from another bathroom break, I was eating some raw peas that I had brought with me. A Chengdu friend asked if he could have one, so I let him. But once he bit into it he was very surprised to find out it was raw! Apparently they don't really like eating raw vegetables!
ferent colored beanbags up and down and trying to keep them from falling off. To keep things interesting, there were two different colors and they represented the boys and girls. So basically it was boys versus girls; girls were trying to get the boys beanbags off and viceversa. It went well! The parachute was being flung so fast and energetically that many people had to let go! Then we played cat and mouse; so many of the Chengdu boys wanted to chase the mice(kids). Everyone else flapped the parachute up and down to hide the people being the mice, while the person being the cat was on top of the parachute trying to find them. Following that game, we then played a game where someone was a shark who would pull you underneath where you may become a shark. There were also people who were lifeguards who would rescue 
the victims if they call for help. Once again, the boys wanted to be the sharks, but only some were chosen. However, when the sharks came to attack them, they didn't call for help; they went voluntarily to become a shark! Everyone began rolling with laughter! There was so much commotion going on all around us and we all had such a great time. Finally, we played the last game with the wonderful parachute. It was called 'Peanut butter Island', where the parachute was laid flat on the ground and was our island. The players would be the tourist while some other players would be sharks. The tourist would walk around the parachute and when the sharks yelled 'Shark Attack!' , the tourist would have to run onto the parachute before they got caught! It was a great game of tag! Majority of the players were sharks, there were only a couple of Chengdu Youths left and several volunteers. That's when the great chase happened. The victims ran so far away from the 'island' and then some of the 'Chengdu Sharks' chased them from behind. Then there were also some coming from the front! That was the end for them! It was such a great time playing those games. After, we had a washroom break, cleaned ourselves up and headed outside once again to play dodge ball. It was a quick game because many of us were hungry. When we went to go get out bags,
the sprinklers were on and we all ran through cooling ourselves down. It was lunch time and we had huge pizza slices which were delicious! For dessert we had cake to celebrate 3 birthdays; one of the Chengdu youths, one of the buddies, and one of the supervisors. We all got hats and some noise makers. It was so much fun! Everyone wore their hats; some in a different fashion than others ( they were very unique...), some not on their heads at all either. It was very amusing! While we waited for the kids to return from another bathroom break, I was eating some raw peas that I had brought with me. A Chengdu friend asked if he could have one, so I let him. But once he bit into it he was very surprised to find out it was raw! Apparently they don't really like eating raw vegetables! We all boarded the bus again and headed to the University of Alberta to have a look th
rough the paleontology and geology museums. After the tour, we got to see some science experiments go down in the engineering building. They performed several experiments that amazed everyone! After the nice show, we got to do some hands on activities! The kids from 10-13 got to make some slime(putty), while the 14-17 aged kids got to make electric fans. Both were so much fun to see happen and construct. The fan makers were very studious and worked very hard to finish their fans so they could cool themselves in the warm weather. The slime makers were tossing around their slime because it was so bouncy and they were adding glitter to make it look pre
tty. After the fans were finished, one of the Chengdu youths gave me their fans because I didn't make one! Once again I thought that their mannerism was so kind and I was eternally grateful to have a fan made by one of my friends!
rough the paleontology and geology museums. After the tour, we got to see some science experiments go down in the engineering building. They performed several experiments that amazed everyone! After the nice show, we got to do some hands on activities! The kids from 10-13 got to make some slime(putty), while the 14-17 aged kids got to make electric fans. Both were so much fun to see happen and construct. The fan makers were very studious and worked very hard to finish their fans so they could cool themselves in the warm weather. The slime makers were tossing around their slime because it was so bouncy and they were adding glitter to make it look pre
tty. After the fans were finished, one of the Chengdu youths gave me their fans because I didn't make one! Once again I thought that their mannerism was so kind and I was eternally grateful to have a fan made by one of my friends!West Edmonton Mall was the place planned to end the day. We arrived and split into several groups so we could all venture on our own way to look at the unique boutiques and find little trinkets as souvenirs for themselves and friends. After the little shopping trip, it was off to the Old Spaghetti factory for supper in B
ourbon Street. It shocked me to say, but many of the kids found eating salads very peculiar. They weren't use to eating raw vegetables so they stayed away and waited for the main course. We at spicy spaghetti which was so delicious. Lots of the Chengdu Youths added more spice to their supper with pepper flakes. That didn't surprise me, but what did was when they unscrewed the lid to pour the flakes on instead of sprinkling the flakes on! Since I like my food spicy, I decided to do the same. Trust me. It was much more spicier and better that way! During the supper, one of the twins was asking me how to say certain phrases in English and she would keep on asking me to help her while I ate! She was very eager and wanted me to be more strict on her when I was teaching her English! Apparently I was being too nice!
After we finished eating supper, we all drifted outside after another washroom break and we got ready to go home. Everyone was full and happy and ready to sleep. We all said our goodbyes, hugged each other and laughed about our day. We then parted, for my mother came to get me after the wondrous day I had!
ourbon Street. It shocked me to say, but many of the kids found eating salads very peculiar. They weren't use to eating raw vegetables so they stayed away and waited for the main course. We at spicy spaghetti which was so delicious. Lots of the Chengdu Youths added more spice to their supper with pepper flakes. That didn't surprise me, but what did was when they unscrewed the lid to pour the flakes on instead of sprinkling the flakes on! Since I like my food spicy, I decided to do the same. Trust me. It was much more spicier and better that way! During the supper, one of the twins was asking me how to say certain phrases in English and she would keep on asking me to help her while I ate! She was very eager and wanted me to be more strict on her when I was teaching her English! Apparently I was being too nice!After we finished eating supper, we all drifted outside after another washroom break and we got ready to go home. Everyone was full and happy and ready to sleep. We all said our goodbyes, hugged each other and laughed about our day. We then parted, for my mother came to get me after the wondrous day I had!
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