The Hurly-Burly of Boarding Life2017-10-24   Author : Florence Qian K5

Loitering in the hallway during the break, we could easily observe the relaxation and enjoyment on the students’ faces after an hour-long supervised silent evening study. “How did you solve that Econ question?” “What did you get for question sixteen?” “Did you watch the latest NBA match last night?” “See the trailer of that movie?” “Want to see the art exhibition on the weekend?” Students delightedly mingled with each other after a period of self-study that required the utmost attention and concentration. This harmonious scene in-between of the evening study periods is just a tip of the ice berg of the cozy and efficient boarding life in ALC.

Living on campus helps the first-year students to accommodate to the new environment, facilitating students’ understanding towards each other. Juniors and Seniors greatly benefit from the Mixed-House room assignment as well: they enjoy living with students from different Houses and being informed of the news and prowess of students in another House.

On top of catalysing social interactions and strengthening students’ communication skills, the boarding system enables students to maximise their utility of time and to participate in miscellaneous sports, activities and group discussions. There are also a number of teachers living on campus whom the boarders could conveniently approach. It is not uncommon to see boarders and teachers discussing intriguing topics after school or playing baseball on the playground.

ALC has more than fifty clubs and electives where the boarders could explore their passion; the privileges for boarders such as Movie Nights and using the gym in the Residence Hall add more appeals to the boarding life in ALC. Xenia Wei from K1 (pictured below) stated that "living on campus not only helps her to effectively manage her time and academics, but allows her to enjoy the night breeze while jogging after study hall."

Xenia Wei, Kunlun House 1, Boarding student

In addition to jogging, sports such as badminton, basketball, soccer and baseball are also prevalent among boarders in ALC.

The school upgraded the dormitory facilities during the Summer of 2017 and embellished the landscaping by enhancing the greenery. The Head of the Boarding Apartment offers a new policy to provide late night snacks in the canteen in conjunction with the physical reconstruction, making students and staffs’ life on campus cozier. A Senior from Taihang House praised the improvements in the interview, “the renovated apartment-style dorm prepares us well for the college life abroad!” There are also students claiming in ecstasy that “the episode of rushing into the common bathroom like a warrior in a robe is finally over.”