Friday farewell

Friday farewell day 
We arrived at the teacher development centre and we were welcomed into the conference hall where it was set out like a meeting of United Nations country representatives! The following two hours included opening remarks by the British Chinese embassy, the British council the Suzhou education ministry and all of the UK school representatives.

I gave the following speech that I had prepared:

Ni haò
As the international school link coordinator at LSA High School, my experience in China and of my partner school, Suzhou no 1 high school has been truly outstanding. From the unforgettable people and city to the incredible work ethic and challenge that the students show.
I have been inspired and motivated to drive our partnership forward. My school coordinator Jenifer spent many hours planning and preparing for me and organised an outstanding program which was merely a snapshot of the school and how it functions and I believe there are many more things to learn. We have planned future projects such as video learning and calligraphy. The English students welcomed me and my students work and have taken the time to give quick turnaround of work to present to my students on my return .
From the incredible learning that takes places in the classroom to the futuristic equipment within the  "room of wisdom" I look forward to sharing this experience of innovation, dedication structure and enjoyment with my colleagues and peers back in the UK. I am deeply grateful to be given this opportunity. A huge thank you to the British Council, Hanban the Education Ministry of Suzhou and of course Suzhou no 1 high school for making this possible for me.

Thank you
 xie, xie

After lunch we headed to a few of the treasures of Suzhou. The first stop was to the humble gardens which is more than 11 a hers of Chinese style gardens. As this is the place to see in the city there were so many people it was a real tourist attraction. There was a maze of canals and bridges which made a zig zag formation and as ledgers has it it is to drive evil away!
The garden's history dates back to before 500bc and is now a UNESCO heritage site.
We had an incredible Suzhou traditional dinner as our farewell with some true delicacies of the region such as squirrel fish, stuffed duck and lotus flower. Many discuss were bearishly decorated and we had a an amazing evening. But all good things must at some point come to an end and i said my sad goodbyes to new friends and now extended family and look forward to sharing my experience of China with colleagues, students, friends and family and of. Purse begin on a journey of discover with our China Bridge partner shook incorporating our ideas and moving forward with collaboration of Chinese language and culture in the classroom.