My name is Marcus. It’s the start of our one-week school holiday in October—a holiday without technology (科技). We cannot use computers, phones or any other technology. It’s part of our homework—spending the school holiday without technology and keeping a diary about it. We need to spend fifteen minutes writing about our feelings in our diary every day and then send our diary on the Internet. That’s the only time we can use technology!

It’s only 4 pm on Saturday and I’m starting to miss my phone. My sister Mia is talking to her friend on the phone and she is laughing at me! My family don’t think I can live without technology. I want to show them they are not right. How are my classmates doing?

Dan, 15

I find it easy right now. I play football every Saturday, so I don’t usually play on my computer.

Alexandra, 16

I’m feeling a little bored! I miss talking to my friends on the phone. I can’t believe it’s only the first day!

Sienna, 15

It’s easy for me because I’m staying with my family in Wales for the holiday. We come here every October. The house doesn’t have Wi-Fi, so my phone has no signal here. I’m writing this in a restaurant in the town. Our holidays here are always technology-free!

During the summer holiday, some students might have been busy with traveling, summer camps and all kinds of lessons, but a special group of Chinese middle school students decided to taste the hardship (艰难) of life outside school.

Twelve students in a big city sold vegetables at a local market together. In 12 days, they made more than 1,500 yuan. Among them, the oldest is 21 years old, while the youngest is just 10. They are all cousins in a big family and eight of them are from countryside. “Compared to traveling, such social practice makes us learn how hard our parents are,” said Dalin, 18, to the City Morning Newspaper. Dalin, a high school student, and her 12-year-old brother Xiaolin had the idea about selling vegetables.

They learned to work hard to sell their vegetables. Every morning they had to wake up at 3 o’clock. Some of them went to the farmer’s market to buy vegetables. Some of them went to the local market to take up a temporary stall (临时摊位). To lower the cost, they learned to bargain (讲价) with the sellers. At about 16:30, they began to sell vegetables. They peddled (吆喝) loudly to attract (吸引) customers. After several days, they got some experience, too. For example, it was better to put vegetables in order and bigger ones on top. When the vegetables are too heavy, they should give customers more plastic bags (塑料袋).

When they finally finished and went home, they had a small meeting. Everyone took notes and shared their feelings. “We are tired,” said Dalin, “but we received a lot.”

Summer holiday is coming. Some kids have already made great plans for the summer.

Travel for fun

Many teens say they will travel with their parents during the holidays. Fan Zhe from Yantai will go to Shanghai with his parents. “I will need a break, as I will be really tired of tests by that time,” said Fan. Gao Yuan will spend his holiday far away from his parents. From August 10, the 15-year-old boy and 20 other students at Shanghai Weiyu Junior Middle School will spend 18 days in Australia.

Summer studies

Some teens are spending the summer studying. Xing Wei from Tianjin and Zhou Xiaolin from Beijing have to go to math, physics and English classes. Their parents think this will help their future studies. But Xiaolin is unhappy, “I will spend my holiday playing with numbers. How boring!”

Plenty of activities

Li Yuanchen from Hefei will be doing all the usual things. “I’ll be travelling a little bit, partying with friends and reading books,” he said. Shanghai’s Ma Jiameng said she will spend a lot of time with friends, doing different things. “We will do some drawing and go swimming. I will also write short stories,” Jiameng said.

Summer is a great chance to do many things. Keeping fit is an easy and cheap way to have fun. Running, swimming and dancing are all great choices. There is always volunteer work to do, too. Do something! Anything! If you don’t, you’ll be sorry when September comes.