The 2016 Summer Camp lodging will be at the HQ of our NGO

                  Summer 2016 Chinese and Mountain Biking Camp

- Lodging, food and classes at the headquarters of the Leisure&Chinese NGO -

Because last year not all the participants were housed at the NGO headquarters, now we will have ready more rooms (we will offer 3 rooms) and we intend to also set up a tent in the yard or garden, for those who want to have or repeat such an experience. :-)

The beds are double ones, they fit 2 adults and 2 children. We will also have available television, although in our camp there won't be much time for watching tv: Chinese classes in the morning, resting for one hour at noon, and then...to the hills, to the river, to the archaeological sites we will be setting up, to the monuments, etc; or...from morning till evening trips around the Buzau county, having the Chinese classes when we stop for rest. 

We also have an Internet connection, but we thought you were tired of the Internet and that is why you prefer to join us for walks to the woods! :-) 

At the moment we only have 2 bicycles for adults, with room in the back for children, but they are not mountain bikes. If you have mountain bikes, we repeat, bring them! We will get funds to buy some and have them offered for free to tourists and students. Until then, bring your own bikes... :-) 

In June we will post the final pictures, with images from the headquarters. Until then, here are some pictures from last year. :-)

Lodging

Details about the lodging and housing conditions, information from the owner:

The owner, Mrs. Lili :-)

"Welcome to the blog of the Chinese Camp! I welcome you to a 92 years old house, with a room which at one point served as the official mayor's office of the Vadu Soresti commune. It is possible that you may get to sleep in that room when you live with us during your stay in our village! :-) Last year Ioana, Ana, mom and grandma stayed there. :-) 

The house belonged to my parents which were teachers in the Vadu Soresti school. There are no ghosts in the house, there is no paranormal activity, but you can take a stroll through the past, having us tell you legends of the village, past stories and events which took place in time.  

Until the Chinese Camp team will collect the necessary funds to renovate the Vadu Soresti school in order to have their classes there, the Chinese lessons will be held at my house. "

Feedback and messages from last year's participants:

Ana from Bucharest (7 years old):

Marios from Limassol, Cyprus (14 yo)

"αυτο το καλοκαιρι ηταν αξεχαστο..."

Translation from Greek: "This summer is one to remember..."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=814721315308270&set=a.814721395308262.1073741829.100003112287294&type=1&theater

Marios, on the alley from the Church of Vadu Soresti

Other details:

Small car; No

Bicycles for adults: Yes, 2 (but not mountain bikes)

Bicycles for children: Yes, 1

Tricycle for children: Yes, 1

Wagon: No

Small bed for children: Yes, 1

Children allowed: Yes, accompanied by an adult

Internet: Yes, wireless

Running water: Yes

Washing machine: Yes

Toilet: yes, in the yard

Pets: One kitten and one puppy

Birds: Hens

Fruits: Raspberry, strawberry, apples, pears, cherries, apricots, tree hazelnuts, mulberries

Spoken languages: Romania, English, French: during the summer there will also be around nephews who speak Greek and Turkish

Help in the form of clothes, stationery etc: Accepted

    The Room which served officially as the mayor's office of Vadu Soresti commune:

Ioana (to the left) and Ana (to the right): the entire world is theirs :-)

The room next to the one shown above is the one with a view to the entrance gate and towards to the flower garden. In June we will post pictures with the changes we will be making. Ana and Ioana have tested for you the bed by jumping almost to the ceiling and they were content! :-) 

Let us call it "the room with a view to the gate"...

Lunch

Lunch will be served in the courtyard or on the veranda

Participants will prepare the meals for themselves, we supply the ingredient costs

This is how a meal is served and...a few from the dishes eaten last year :-)

Lunch in the courtyard

Children help in setting the meal :-)

Fruit tart

Quince fruit preserve

Violets preserve (Translating team member note: " Wow! :O")

Produce from the locals

Soft cottage cheese

Goat cheese

Bear cubs in the garden at the raspberry! 

The fruits are not sprinkled with chemicals, they can be eaten directly...just like our grandparents did

Classes

And finally, again images from the classes held at the headquarters, classes which were also attended by children from the village :-)

Ana from Vadu Soresti offered to volunteer in teaching Chinese language. :-) Let's see what she learned from last year until now! :-)

Ana from Vadu Soresti

Grandma and Ana from Vadu Soresti


Grandma's handwriting :-)




Cristiana from Fundeni



 Dad is doing his best :-)



Daddy's handwriting


In the front, Stefy from Fundeni; next is Ana from Vadu Soresti, grandma and Ana from Bucuresti



Ioana from Bucuresti



Ioana's handwriting :-)

We will post more news about lodging towards the end of June. 

 We gladly await you!

The Leisure&Chinese association

Summer 2016 Chinese Camp and Mountain Biking School

We offer free Chinese language and mountain biking classes between 15th July - 20th August 2016

By joining our camp you will be entering the paradise of the Chinese language and culture, you will be riding bicycles in nature, through unoccupied areas, you will be breathing fresh air, relaxing, eating healthy, getting away from noise, heat and air conditioning! 

Your participation will lead to helping people in need, to contributing to the thermal isolation of villagers' homes - and thus cutting less trees for heating -, raising monuments in the locations of archaeological sites from even the Neolithic or Paleolithic, renovating important buildings or historical monuments in the rural area, and last but not least, promoting Romanian rural tourism around the world! :-) 

It is possible we might extend the period to July 1st and August 31st. We will announce this on Facebook.

The Chinese language and mountain biking classes, trips, wagon rides and guide services are free of charge. 

Lodging will be provided at the headquarters of the Leisure&Chinese NGO. Participants will cook for themselves with ingredients we provide. Payment for these services is a minimum of 50 RON per day for adults, and 25 RON per day for children. The payment will be done as a donation to the bank account of the "Leisure&Chinese" association, and this money, to which the association will add more if needed, will be used to thermally isolate the villagers' homes. Certainly during the winter there will be less fire wood used, and thus we will be reducing the cutting of the forest.

Whoever owns a company can make the donation via their company and benefit from tax reductions.

Whoever has at home clothes and toys they no longer need, can donate them to the hosting family or to other poor families from the village. 

Minors will be accompanied by an adult.

There will be a maximum of 15 participants within the same period of time. As soon as one leaves, we will let you know and someone else can join. :-) 

Anyone can stay as much as they want, the time spent in our camp will count for how many free lessons of Chinese language you will be receiving afterwards via Skype or other messenger programs: whoever stays one week will receive one week of free lessons, whoever stays two weeks will receive free Chinese language lessons for two weeks, and so on. The payment for the online classes will also be done as a donation to the NGO's bank account. 

For those who are not interested in Chinese calligraphy or who do not necessarily want to learn to write characters, they can come with a laptop and a memory stick in order to receive study materials. The Chinese language level exam (HSK) can also be taken on a computer. According to statistics from China, the results of the HSK taken on a computer are higher by 10 points compared to the exam taken on paper. As such you can learn directly to type Chinese characters at a pc. Especially for those who only wish to know Chinese in order to do business in China: in order to learn how to send emails in Chinese or how to read them, there is no need to learn how to write characters by hand. 

Just like last year, grandparents and parents will learn Chinese alongside children: it is easier and more fun. :-) 

If you are a bit sensitive: make sure to have one pair of long trousers at a minimum, for walking on hills, as you might encounter thistle and thorny weeds. 

As for shoes: besides the slippers you can wear around the yard, make sure to have sports shoes for walks and trips. 

                            Activities and images from the Chinese Summer Camp 2015 :-) 

Let us review all the activities in which the students participated during the camp, including the parents and grandparents:
-Chinese language basics notions;

-trips, wagon rides or bicycle rides in nature; to the river, to a picnic, on hills and through the forest;

-collecting PET bottles and aluminum cans on the way back to the village;

-trips around the Buzau county seeing famous tourist spots, renowned and even unique in the world, among which: 

a) Pietroasele commune and its treasure "Closca cu puii de aur" - the most valuable treasure in the world before the discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamon;

b) The Roman Castrum and the Roman Thermae from Pietroasele, with their 2000 years old features

c) The Gogu lu' Moaca Museum from Pietroasele - an open space museum with stone sculptures, housed in the yard of the sculptor himself;

d) The Dacian fortress of Gruiu Darii from Pietroasele - with details of the Dacian world, including Neolithic civilization which lived in the area;

e) The stone sculpted church of Alunis (built in 1277 a.C.)

f) The Amber museum from Colti (1977) - a collection of amber, semi-precious stone 260 million years old, the largest variety of shades in the entire world: 160 (second place goes to Russia);

g) The Sculpting Camp at Magura - held between 1970-1986 in order to mark 16 centuries of historical documentation of the city of Buzau; contains 256 works in stone;

h) The Mud Volcanoes (Paclele Mari from Berca commune) - protected area, geological value (2 craters of mud volcanoes), botanical value (there are plants which only grow in a saline environment) and fauna value (mammals, reptiles and amphibians, of particular interest the pond turtle - Emys orbicularis - and the blotched snake - Elaphe sauromates)

For more details from last year's camp, please visit our blog:
www.leisureandchineseen.blogspot.com

For questions and signup please contact us at leisureandchinese@gmail.com or via our Facebook page Leisure&Chinese

We will gladly welcome you to join! 

The "Leisure&Chinese" NGO Team