There was the promise of a beautiful day, a shower cleansed everything, and the world was fresh as were our expectations.  The mountains in the distance were blue, and we were filled with a wonderful anticipation.

Today I was escorting a delegation from US to visit a small school in Yangshuo. There were 14 in the group, 12 students, 9 in education, 3 in nursing.  We went to the Dragon Bridge Village for cultural and professional exchange.  The village is about one hour drive from Guilin, road condition is fine, and the students plan to provide an English lesson for the children in 4th grade and the nursing students plan to visit a village clinic.

The sky was white-washed blue, and the rice fields a rich green on  our way to the village.  In the bus, the atmosphere was exuberant as different educational methods were discussed and debated, ensuring that the field-trip lesson was going to be special and interesting.

An hour later, we arrived at the village surrounded by fertile green fields and mountains.  The village elder told us that the villagers who live in the mountains are qumquat farmers, enjoying a better life than those who live by the Yu Long river near Yangshuo, who have a more difficult life as they are surrounded by limestone mountains and have to rely on rice crops.   We could hear the laughter of children even before we arrived at the elementary school. It was break time, and the children were playing in the school yard under the shade of a pair of banyan trees. The three-story shooldhouse was new, built with donated money the year before.  The headmaster gave us an overview of the school, 200 students, 12 teachers.  Our American friends easily interacted with the children who in turn were surprised that they have such distinguished visitors at their village.

At the sound of the bell, the children returned to their classroom and we all went up to the 3rd floor with the headmaster.  Their English teacher awaited us outside of the classroom.  We entered to see 31 students stand up and bow to the teacher, then sat down and quietly watched us with rounded eyes. The English teacher told the students about the visiting teachers and what to expect during their visit.  Our team leader went up to the podium and wrote down the names of the visitors.  He told everyone how happy they all were to be there and how happy the American students were to provide the lesson for that period.  He wrote 3 sentences on the blackboard: We come from the United States.  Where are you from?  What is the name of the village?  He asked who understood what was written and two students responded.  One student stood up and translated.   The team leader said: Yes, we are from America and you are from China but I hope to become good friends and today we will learn English together. 

Janet divided the students into nine groups, with each of the nine American students heading each group of three to four kids.   All the children looked so happy and excited, and looked to their group leader with wide-smiling eyes.  You can even tell the shy ones were happy and excited too!   The American teachers first introduced themselves and then gave the children a turn and taught the children how to introduce themselves in English; some of the Americans teachers also picked English names for their Chinese students; and some taught simple words and sentences.

The atmosphere of the classroom was so pleasant and very active.  We could frequently hear light laughter.  Mr Rong, the English teacher of this class told me he was so happy and surprised to see that his students are so confident and he regrets that they will not often have opportunities such as the one today to practice their English.   The principle of the school also spoke with emphasis and feeling on how devoted all their teachers are to the kids, hoping that education could change their students' lives and their home village.

When the bell rang, it was ignored by both the students and teachers. They all had so much fun together.  Everyone took photos, talked about their families, and it didn't seem like there was much of any language obstacles.  As always, time is too short, when a song broke out, I realized it was about time to leave.  " Row row row your boat gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream" This little song was taught in each group first, but the kids were fast learners and they all sang it together in the end.                                                                                         Author: Jenny Tan          Date: May 10, 2007  

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