Past Christmases have generally followed a standard recipe. That is, family and friends gathered together on Christmas Eve accompanied by an assortment of food and the traditional countdown to midnight. The clock would strike twelve, everybody would scream "Merry Christmas", open the gifts and lazily welcome in Christmas Day. The previous day was exhausting and last night's sleep was a welcome luxury, the alarm that broke my sleep was not. I honestly don't remember the last time that I have actually woken up on Christmas Day. It was a deep, re-energizing sleep that I emerged out of - Merry Christmas.
At 7:30 am we checked out of the hotel and lumbered back onto the bus that shuttled us straight to Yawen Primary school. Again we were greeted by waving kids as the bus pulled through the school gates. Pork Congee, Friends noodles and buns were served as breakfast and would serve as fuel for the morning session; I greedily ate as much as I could knowing that I would need the energy.
Today our group was in the Media Room with Millie the English Teacher. Jonathon another volunteer had prepared material and activities briefing the class about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. The children were engaged and for a moment, I remembered what it was like to be back in primary school. Again, I assumed the role as Lead Caroler and sang "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer". We went through the lyrics and tried to help the children with their pronunciation. The addition of impromptu gesticulation helped and we had soon coined a dance routine to accompany the lyrics.
The difficult thing I found was communicating with the children, interaction wasn't so bad. But taking away the fundamental interaction like "Do you like singing?" or "What do you like to do?". It was challenging to gain any rapport with the children other than being that enthusiastic English Speaking Chinese guy. The next task for the children was to create a script for an on stage performance - this was to be done all in English. Mandy assisted with the directing and soon our group had a basic script. We had the narrator, played by Jimmy. Santa, played by Wendy. The three Angels: Ainne, Mary, Licy Rudoplh played by Henry. Reindeers played by Karsen, KoKo and Jacky and a invalid played by JoJo. Our story was as follows, Santa is really busy with his reindeers delivering presents and helping people that he has to employ the help of three angels to assist with his philantropy. The story ends with the three angels helping the invalid on Christmas Day. The story was the easy part, getting the kids to memorise the words and their lines was the difficult part!
Proceeding lunch all the groups were pulled into the large room were each group was randomly called out to perform their skit. There was a nervous energy in the air and with 10 minutes to go, not all the members in our group could remember their lines. The group went up and performed, it was shakey and the kids were constantly hiding behind each other as not to be in the public eye, some of the kids handled it better than others. At the end each child was presented with a certificate. We also gave them an opportunity to get them write cards for us. I recevied a handful of gifts, with most messages written in Chinese the underlying message being "Learn some Chinese, ya bloody Gringo". The afternoon we spent cleaning up the classrooms and meeting the members of our home stay groups.
The sun set over the playground casting an evening tinge over the school. With it the air became cooler as the kids made home either by foot or bicycle. The child whose family we stayed with was Sze Ji, a grade four student. She was nervously waiting for us at the front of the school gates and I'm sure the site of five grown males would have been intimidating. The school had nominated some of the kids to be foster homes for the volunteers with of course the permission of the parents. Sze Ji, out of all the kids lived the closest to the school and after a short 10 minute walk we were at her house. Her Grandmother and brother were waiting for her at the front of her house.
First thoughts, the home was massive! A garage, at least 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, a massive rooftop and plenty of space. It was a liberating sight especially given the meager quarters that I call home in Hong Kong. Despite the size it had a desolate feel to it, perhaps I'm just used to the furnishings and fixtures commonly found in western dwellings.
We were invited in and the mother asked if we would like to stay for dinner. Stay for dinner? There had obviously been some mis communication, we weren't only staying for dinner, we were staying the night! Despite the family only just finding out, their hospitality was supreme. Food was served and the mother rode out to buy extra Chicken for us to eat. We learned that the father lived away from home in one of the factories of the major cities to help support his young family. A banquet was served and I couldn't help but feel that the food that was served was not a regular feature on the dinner table. Fish, Chicken, Tofu, Beans it was a feast.
Immediately after dinner, we presented the family with gifts. This included an assortment of stationery, games and trinkets. Vincent, one of the members helped Sze Ji with her Homework, while Jon taught the brother and cousin the rules of "Snakes and Ladders". Both Derek and Michael sat and chat with the mother. I, well I was preoccupied, deliberating the best way to drop a deuce in rural China. The situation was as such, it was a squatter system bathroom, there was no toilet paper and I really needed to go. Suffice to say, 40 minutes later I emerged from the stall with a better knowledge of the challenges faced when using a squatter toilet.
At 7:30 am we checked out of the hotel and lumbered back onto the bus that shuttled us straight to Yawen Primary school. Again we were greeted by waving kids as the bus pulled through the school gates. Pork Congee, Friends noodles and buns were served as breakfast and would serve as fuel for the morning session; I greedily ate as much as I could knowing that I would need the energy.
Today our group was in the Media Room with Millie the English Teacher. Jonathon another volunteer had prepared material and activities briefing the class about Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. The children were engaged and for a moment, I remembered what it was like to be back in primary school. Again, I assumed the role as Lead Caroler and sang "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer". We went through the lyrics and tried to help the children with their pronunciation. The addition of impromptu gesticulation helped and we had soon coined a dance routine to accompany the lyrics.
The difficult thing I found was communicating with the children, interaction wasn't so bad. But taking away the fundamental interaction like "Do you like singing?" or "What do you like to do?". It was challenging to gain any rapport with the children other than being that enthusiastic English Speaking Chinese guy. The next task for the children was to create a script for an on stage performance - this was to be done all in English. Mandy assisted with the directing and soon our group had a basic script. We had the narrator, played by Jimmy. Santa, played by Wendy. The three Angels: Ainne, Mary, Licy Rudoplh played by Henry. Reindeers played by Karsen, KoKo and Jacky and a invalid played by JoJo. Our story was as follows, Santa is really busy with his reindeers delivering presents and helping people that he has to employ the help of three angels to assist with his philantropy. The story ends with the three angels helping the invalid on Christmas Day. The story was the easy part, getting the kids to memorise the words and their lines was the difficult part!
Proceeding lunch all the groups were pulled into the large room were each group was randomly called out to perform their skit. There was a nervous energy in the air and with 10 minutes to go, not all the members in our group could remember their lines. The group went up and performed, it was shakey and the kids were constantly hiding behind each other as not to be in the public eye, some of the kids handled it better than others. At the end each child was presented with a certificate. We also gave them an opportunity to get them write cards for us. I recevied a handful of gifts, with most messages written in Chinese the underlying message being "Learn some Chinese, ya bloody Gringo". The afternoon we spent cleaning up the classrooms and meeting the members of our home stay groups.
The sun set over the playground casting an evening tinge over the school. With it the air became cooler as the kids made home either by foot or bicycle. The child whose family we stayed with was Sze Ji, a grade four student. She was nervously waiting for us at the front of the school gates and I'm sure the site of five grown males would have been intimidating. The school had nominated some of the kids to be foster homes for the volunteers with of course the permission of the parents. Sze Ji, out of all the kids lived the closest to the school and after a short 10 minute walk we were at her house. Her Grandmother and brother were waiting for her at the front of her house.
First thoughts, the home was massive! A garage, at least 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, a massive rooftop and plenty of space. It was a liberating sight especially given the meager quarters that I call home in Hong Kong. Despite the size it had a desolate feel to it, perhaps I'm just used to the furnishings and fixtures commonly found in western dwellings.
We were invited in and the mother asked if we would like to stay for dinner. Stay for dinner? There had obviously been some mis communication, we weren't only staying for dinner, we were staying the night! Despite the family only just finding out, their hospitality was supreme. Food was served and the mother rode out to buy extra Chicken for us to eat. We learned that the father lived away from home in one of the factories of the major cities to help support his young family. A banquet was served and I couldn't help but feel that the food that was served was not a regular feature on the dinner table. Fish, Chicken, Tofu, Beans it was a feast.
Immediately after dinner, we presented the family with gifts. This included an assortment of stationery, games and trinkets. Vincent, one of the members helped Sze Ji with her Homework, while Jon taught the brother and cousin the rules of "Snakes and Ladders". Both Derek and Michael sat and chat with the mother. I, well I was preoccupied, deliberating the best way to drop a deuce in rural China. The situation was as such, it was a squatter system bathroom, there was no toilet paper and I really needed to go. Suffice to say, 40 minutes later I emerged from the stall with a better knowledge of the challenges faced when using a squatter toilet.
The grandmother prepared our beds while the auntie boiled water for us to shower. None of us showered that night and we all retired early. It was cold, real cold. We were given a spare room, there was no mattress and my sleeping bag barely kept me warm, thank goodness for that extra blanket that we were given. The sky is incredibly clear and I've not seen so many stars in my life, I contemplate life here in rural China wondering if it's something I could get used to.
1 comment:
I always find that those with the least are often the most generous. It's very humbling (and kind of puts us privileged ones to shame).
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