Educational Exchange (2014) to Trinity-pawling School, New York

Trinity-Pawling Trip 2014 The educational exchange with Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling New York was another unforgettable experience for all those who took part in it. This year, it was our turn to visit them. On 5 April, five students from F.4 and F.5 (Kelvin Chau, Louis Yun, Ben Tong, John Mak and Faith Lai), Mr. Alan Yuen and I gathered at the Hong Kong International Airport for what we knew would be a backbreaking flight. Despite the length of the flight, the boys still seemed very excited about the week to come, no doubt because of the thought of seeing New York City for the first time. During the 15-hour flight, with limited options for killing time, some of us managed to watch as many as 5 movies! Instead of having all seven of us stay at Gamage House, the residence of the Head Master of Trinity-Pawling School, which is certainly big enough for hosting twice as many people, the T-P staff, at our request, arranged for the boys to stay in the dormitories. One obvious reason for doing that was to give the boys a taste of life in a boarding school. Our boys stayed in different dorms and enjoyed the hospitality of their T-P hosts, who were kind enough to put them up for a week in their rooms, which, to be honest, were not designed for additional occupants. Our boys learned a lot from their hosts about the school, education in the US, and American culture through daily interactions with them. Mr. Yuen and I, as for us, felt very much at home at Gamage House, got to know each other very well and were happy to be temporarily relieved of our duties at night, knowing that the boys were in good hands. The visits to NYC brought as much excitement as could have been expected. Some highlights included the current exhibition inside The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine by Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing featuring two phoenixes suspended from the high ceiling of the cathedral (Feng and Huang) made of detritus from construction sites in Beijing. What was even more impressive was the breathtaking view from Top of the Rock, which was so spectacular that, for a moment, it was as if time had been suspended. It was equally incredible for the boys to realize where they were as we approached Time Square on 42nd Street. There was nothing in the world that could have stopped us from taking a selfie with the iconic buildings and neon light signs at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the background. Most of the boys also looked forward to doing some shopping at an NBA store, which they found in no time. Some of them had long shopping lists given to them by friends and family back in Hong Kong for jerseys with names of their favorite basketball stars on them. Speaking of sports, we were even taken to see a baseball game at the Yankee Stadium which “pitched” the New York Yankees against the Baltimore Orioles. After several innings, a couple of Nathan’s hotdogs and an oversized coke, all of us were practically Americans. Sadly speaking, it was not a good day for Yankee fans. Other activities that made up this enriching trip included a visit to Springwood (Hyde Park), the estate President Franklin D. Roosevelt called home, a walk on the Walkway over the Hudson overlooking the mighty river, an afternoon helping out at Marvel Valley Farm where the boys learned about organic farming, and a pleasant hike up Cats Rock just off the Appalachian Trial for a view that would stay etched in our fond memories of Pawling. To our friends at Trinity-Pawling School, we would like to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for taking such great care of us and for putting together this wonderful program for us. Thank you for your friendship. See you at St. Paul’s next year. Mr. Alex Wong