Yanxi - the most moving school visit yet. Part 1

My area boss is called Jamie, we don't quite see eye to eye at the moment, and that is not just because he is about two feet smaller than me!  Anyhow on Tuesday I got a call telling me that he had sorted out a trip to a school and that I was to prepare an English club lesson.  I also had to tell Sherika my colleague. There was also one other person going with us,  Sonya, another Jamaican.  I told Sherika nd she did not seem impressed.  I set up a Wechat group and relayed messages from Jamie.  Sonya also did not seem impressed.  The were both discussing whether or not they would go.  In order to help things along and because I had done English club many more times than them, I offered to plan all the activities and all they would have to do was perform.  They both said that if they were going, then I they would prepare the work themselves.  I told them what topics I would be doing and planned my lessons.  I checked with Sherika several times how tings were going and asked if she needed help.  She refused.  On Thursday evening I was contacted by both Sherika and Sonja 'independently'.  Could I help with the lesson planing because 'I said I would'.  I had other things to do and was not able to help, and frankly did not want to as I had offered as much help as I could and it was refused.  I told them what I had done and left their plans with them.
The next day came, and so did the phonecall from Jamie. He was not picking us up, Peter, a guy I know from Summer school in Tongren, was picking us up in ten minutes.  Sherika was ready to go down to meet him, until I made her aware of  the fact that Peter lives about an hour away and he had only just left!  He eventually arrived about forty five minutes later and we set off. Sonya was also with him.  Our first meeting. 

Sherika

Sonya

We drove for about an hour through Guizhou county to Yinjiang county. It was beautiful countryside.

We soon moved off the motorway and headed to the smaller 'still being built' roads.

 

The labourers men and women in traditional chinese clothes.  Most of them looked about seventy years old!
Eventually we arrived at a town and drove throuogh it and down and steep hill towards the school.

Yanxi town...Dodge City! One road in one road out!

Yanxi town...Dodge City! One road in one road out!

Looking down towards the school

We arrived at the school and the security guard let us in.

On the first floor of the school looking left.

On the first floor of the school looking to the right.

Shortly after arriving we had a meeting.  Our driver Peter had the unenviable task of translating the Chinese to English!  The main purpose of the meeting was to cement co-operation between Tongren University and Yanxi school.  The staff at Tongren university had reached out to the local community and had managed to obtain 4000 books for the school.  The meeting itself was quite sad to be honest.  The school was facing the same problem as many in the UK.  It was a small rural school that could not either pay or attract the better teachers.  They explained how the music teacher could not play very well and the art teacher could not draw very well, if it was not so sad it would have been comical.  This was exasperated by the fact that the parent of most of the children had moved to the big cities as there was little to no work available in Yanxi.  And whenever the parent had sufficient funds, they withdrew their child to a 'better school'.  The children in the meantime were in the care of their grandparents of in he school dormitories.  After the meeting we walked through the town to a restaurant.  We stopped at the village square.  There was a Qing (?) Dynasty bridge there, but hwat caught our eyes were some ducks tied upside down to a carrying yoke.  We presumed that they were dead.  They were not.

After a short photoshoot with a couple of people posing carrying the ducks,went into the back room of a little restaurant.  The food was surprisingly good.  The usual mix of meat and vegitables, but for a change it had quite a different taste!

Right to left, Sherika, Sonya, Lilly, a professor, unknown and chairman of the party at TOngren UNiversity International Department.

Left to right, Jamie (area recruiter) Peter, Jamies Assistant from Chengdu, the headmaster of the school and the cahirman of the party (again)

Returning to the school after the meal, looking down into the school.

We got back, not quite knowing what to expect.  This is usual in China!  However after a minute or so it was not difficult to iunderstand what would happen.  It was mid day break, and there were foreigners in school!  Next came the big meet and greet.  The children were there in their hoards.  I could not see where Sherika or Sonya were so I started meeting and greeting!  Everyone wanted to shake my hand, and I pursued those who those who pushed their friends forward and made them shake hands too!  They were so lovely, but I could never have imagined how lovely!  More about that later.  They spoke to me in English I spoke to them in Chinese and English.  Could I sing a song?  Yes.  I did.  I sang in Chinese, they cheered. 





I showed them a few street magic tricks and they gasped in surprise, until, like a bad magician I revealed how I did them and they tried to imitate.  I noticed one little girl behind me holding a handful of leaves.  I commented how lovely they were and she hung around for write a while.  All of a sudden Peter told me that the students on the basketball court were mine, and then he walked off to join Jamie.  No time limits no idea how long I had to keep them amused!...but I had a bag of tricks!  We started with a running game called cat and mouse, where we have a circle of people, one leaves the circle and walks around the outside.  They tap a person on the shoulder and then run around the circle.  At the same time the person who was tapped runs around the circle in the opposite direction.  First back to the unoccupied place wins.  Etc.  The we did a learning game, we learned about bodyparts.  I knew I'd find a practical use for the Hokey Kokey one day!  They absolutely loved it, especially when they ran towards the centre, and I crouched down as if afraid! 

We then played some balloon games.  A balloon relay with the ball between the knees, then an over under balloon pass relay.  I gave the winners a mixture of sunflower seeds and sweets.  We ended with a big circle of high fives!  I had two more groups after that!  An hour and a half in total!  We managed to pop a few balloons along the way, but the kids always picked the bits up!  Eventually it was time to go.  They mobbed all three of us.  I got handfuls of sweets and two letters which I put in my pocket to read later.  I am so glad I did, because on in particular moved me to tears.  I'll include that in the next post. 

Jamie 'photobombing' my photo!

Meeting and greeting

So we walked out of the school and back to the little restaurant.  another tasty meal.  After the meal some of the non drivers had a few drinks, and a bout twenty girls from the school arrived and via their teacher requested to be photographed with each of us. 

The headteacher with the girls who came for photographs.

Me and Lilly, the inspirational  little English Teacher

I was happy to oblige.  I even managed a shot a shot with Lilly, the little English teacher who had accompanied us all day.  She was the most enthusiastic warm-hearted person there.  An absolute inspiration!  She loved those kids so much!  Her hometown was nearby and whilst her older sister was working in the big cities, she had returned to be near her aged parents.  We all said our goodbyes and packed back into the cars.  To say the journey down the half build roads in the daytime was an adventure is an understatement, but in the might time!  Yikes!  and with the strange Chinese habit of not stopping, waiting and using passing places, it was even more of an adventure.  Home.  Bed.  Long sleep!