In early February, IB Geography students headed off to Chiang Rai. The main aim of the trip was to investigate the Mae Kok River and collect some in-the field data, which we will later be using to in our Internal Assessment (IA).
On the first two days of the trip, we visited 11 different sites along the river. At each of our locations, we collected data, which involved actually getting our feet wet and rolling up our sleeves to get stuck in! For each site we had to measure a range of different items such as the river channel width, depth, speed (velocity) and rocks (always measuring the rocks!). It was good fun, and interesting to apply what we learned in our lessons to real-world environments. Both evenings after having some free time and eating the delicious food, we got to work on our IAs and collate the data with the other groups.
On the Thursday of our trip, we took the opportunity to do some community engagement activities. Some of us went to Thomas House and the rest of us went to a local school for the Lanna hilltribe in Mae Ai. During our visit, we split into different teams and took turns to build a new canteen and teach English to young students. It was an amazing experience interacting with the children, and we enjoyed playing with them just as much as they enjoyed spending time with us.
Whilst the others were canteen building and teaching local students their English lessons, we got a rare opportunity to go to a special educational centre to help out for the day at Thomas House. Thomas House is an organisation which has been set up as a small specialist school for children with special educational needs. Before Thomas House, children were either sent to schools that were either not equipped to cater to their needs or didn’t go to school at all. We started the day with circle time, where children sang songs which taught them parts of Thai language. Most of the children here come from tribal communities so they all speak slightly different dialects, so staff used songs to teach them Thai (their common language).
After circle time, we spent time doing activities and playing with the children. The activities were designed to encourage play, increase their fine motor skills like building and being creative like colouring. Children at Thomas House are all different ages so we had good fun doing a range of different activities with them. After their activities, we had lunch and circle time and then had a chance to talk to the ladies who run the centre who each have their own stories. It was a very engaging and interesting experience and one that we won’t forget.
After our community engagement activities, we finished off on a fun note with many of our friends tackling an obstacle course at the hotel. There were a few champions who managed to complete the course without falling into the water pit below and there were some who were less successful, it was really fun watching our friends slip and fall into the water.
The Geography trip was great fun; it gave us all a nice change to come away from the classroom and see our learning in action. It also gave us the chance to spend time together and bond more as a year group, whether that was sharing rooms, helping each other with our fieldwork, or just hanging out together.
Overall, the trip was both educational and memorable, and definitely one of the highlights of the year.