CBS Boys in Beijing by Christine Lee, TY Co-Ordinator and Year-Head

The students in CBS Dungarvan were one-handed lifting almost empty suitcases onto the bus in the misty morning hours of the 26th of April. It was a wonder that they were so lightly packed, since they were heading for Beijing for a week. Surely, they had suncream packed? A Coat? How many forgot their toothbrush?

As the rising sun burnt the mist of the M9 away, the excitement levels rose to the clouds as well. Beijing!? Could they believe it? Was it finally real? It almost didn’t happen, but here it is.

Duty free in the airport caught a student out – What do you mean you paid half of your spending money on an adapter? Get a refund! Yes, we will help you talk to the manager to get your money back.

Mid-morning entry forms, declarations and final passport checks led their way to a group photograph outside the plane. It’s huge! Wow, how many seats does this thing even have? Can you swap with me? Oh cool, they have Harry Potter, let’s watch them all on both screens. When are they going to give us earphones?

A turbulent ten hours of chatter, laughter and the odd ‘I’m starving’ later, and they landed in Beijing at 5am the next day. Magic, or time travel? The jury is still out. Exhaustion wrecked the bodies of those too excited to shut their eyes, please to get changed into less sweaty attire in a much smellier bathroom rung out. How far is the hotel? Can we sleep until lunch time? A bottle of coke here is only fifty cent! Shure you wouldn’t even get the bottle for that at home. Home, some eight thousand miles away, was starting to feel like a foreign place already.

Ring road after ring road led to the hotel, a shiny new building filled with glass and marble effect. Twin rooms with frosted glass in the shower and heated mirrors. It never fogs up, not even when I breathe on it! He had to leave when I was in there, we didn’t know there was a button that literally made the glass foggy.

First excursion was to Tiananmen Square. What’s with all the security? Did you see how many cameras are on that light post? Are you serious?! Over a million people can stand here?! But why? Is that a military parade?

Quick! Take my picture under this flag. Is that a KFC? Can we go?

A market was next in line, goods and knock-offs galore to be found. Now the empty suitcases were starting to make a bit of sense. The lads whose (Cha)rizz(ma) skills were on pointe found a new purpose with haggling. No, I am not paying €50 for those airpods, €10 or I am walking away. Eventually, they were sold to them for €6.

Acrobatics in Beijing just hit different. How are they doing that? That dude is standing on like 100 chairs. A sleepy bus ride to Chinatown (who knew there would be a China town in China) and they were sat sharing a meal on rotating tables laden with sticky rice and Peking Duck. Teachers watched the chop-stick struggle for about ten minutes, before producing the steel forks brought from home. Cheers erupted on sight of them, and starving teenagers scoffed the offerings.

A little more refreshed the next day, they set out for school. Awh but please, why do we have to go to school, it’s literally our holidays. What do you mean wakeup call at 5am? What time does school even start? The High-School Affiliated to Beijing Institute of Technology, however, stole the show. Classes commenced – Kong Fu, English as a Foreign Language (where students from the school presented on life in Beijing for teenagers), Arts and Crafts with the primary children, Tibetan Dance Class, Ruan lessons, making TikToks with local students, long jump competitions powered by an AI judge, and a ceremony to officially declare the two schools as life-long partners and friends. That was class! Yanno, I thought the school would be the worst thing on this agenda, but that will be fair hard to beat! Do you think they will come visit us?

The summer palace came next with a fiery summer’s day. Gloriously typical Beijing architecture set in a backdrop of massive mountains and an ice-cream shop right in the middle! What more could you ask for? Can we get the boat?! I’d pay good money for that boat ride now! Whatcha mean it’s only €3, I’m there, can we? Please?! Even the boat itself was designed to perfection, an Instagram post begging to be made. A few Jack-and-Rose poses later; joyful smiles departed the boat for the bus. They were stopped by locals, fascinated at seeing such a huge group of European boys in one place, no doubt. Can we take a photo with you? Yeah, no stress. Oh, you all want one individually, sure, no problem. Yes, I’ll autograph your journal.

The next day was the forbidden city. Another amazing experience, miles of architecture, and a skyline to die for. They also climbed the nearby hill to gaze upon it from above. A live-steaming TikToker following them for the views led to laughter and insight into how culturally abnormal it would be for people in China to travel outside of the state. Lunch led to a friendly mini rebellion. A mutiny of sorts.

We want to go back to the markets, let’s run through the Temple of Heaven, and then run over to the Markets, which are right next door. Ah, come on, you always tell us to use our voice, and this is student voice. Okay, fine, you’re right - let’s do that then. Another round of FIFA Jerseys, Handbags for the mammies and Pokémon cards later, and it was time for another traditional Chinese dining experience (they kept the forks this time).

The morning they had all been waiting for was finally here. The pièce de résistance, the ultimate goal of every traveller - a wonder of the world. The Great Wall of China. The first thing was a trip through the Hutong’s on the Rickshaws – a quick few minutes where they experienced the historical culture of the city. Of course, quickly followed by an ice-cream from the shop. It was already 27 degrees, so well justified. Back on the bus, the wall came into sight from afar. It was spectacular. Draw-dropping. Tear-inducing. Absolutely stunning. They ran up it. 58 floors, 1000 uneven steps. Each one taken with the pride of knowledge that very few people will ever get to do this in their lives. Few people will ever be so lucky, especially at sixteen. Video-calls home from the top, TikTok reels produced that none of their peers at home could ever beat, solidarity in togetherness.

Experiencing the unforgettable in a school trip together, building core memories that will last the rest of their lives and go down in family lore to their own eventual children. I was on the great wall of China when I was sixteen, and I was there with my best friends from school. I can’t believe it, but this tops the school. That was hard to say, and the school is a very close second, but this is just next level.

To round the trip off, they went to the Happy Valley theme park on their last day. What on paper looks like a fun excursion and nothing more, became another core moment in their lives. The first rollercoaster for some, the first Chinese Pop-Band Concert, the first Parade of characters they had never heard of, the first time driving little golf-carts around a park with three friends in the back and reaching ultimate top-speeds of 5km/hour while a toddler walks alongside at the same speed. Winning arcade games and gifting small children the stuffed animals that are definitely not fitting into those suitcases now. A scraped knee and paw-patrol plaster.

A bus trip back to the airport and any remnants of suncream and deodorant were removed after forgetting about hand-luggage requirements. Suitcases and minds full of the unforgettable things were loaded onboard. The unforgettable experiences, people, cultural insights, food and squatty toilets left behind but carried with them forever. A peaceful 11-hour return flight, cruising through the skies at 700km/hr towards a home that will be the same, but for boys who will never again be. Sleeping felt peaceful now, but the dreams were a little bit more colourful.