Reluctant Relocator: Henan-More than English Lessons April 10-12, 2012

Hello Faithful Readers,

Yes, I know this entry is waaaay overdue, but I lead such a full, rich, exciting life I couldn't squeeze it in until now. Yeah, right. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. You'll notice a departure from the usual format. I first wrote about my experience in Henan as an article for My China Story, a column in the online China Daily. I know! I was published! And got paid for it! (See my post from May 5, 2012 for slightly more details.) It still thrills me! This article was also published in "The Courier", the magazine of the Shanghai Expat Association. So here is the article, in all its glory, with photos following. Take in what you will.

Henan- More than English Lessons

This was not a volunteer trip. In my mind, it felt more like a vacation, with all the planning and details taken care of by Stepping Stones (http://steppingstoneschina.net/), a not-for-profit agency that organizes volunteers to teach English to Chinese elementary school students. I had the tremendous pleasure and privilege of traveling to Henan province to teach at a rural school with nine other teachers, including Corinne Hua, the energetic and humourous director of Stepping Stones.

The high-speed train brought us to our destination and then two vans brought us to our hotel, the nicest one in the county and while not luxurious, it was more than suitable. I fell asleep quickly, looking forward to the next day’s teaching.

The next morning, we all pitched in to finish a craft lesson and sort out the teaching materials before piling into the vans to drive over to the school. We were greeted by a huge red banner welcoming us and a throng of excited, shy, eager, noisy and curious students. If you ever want to feel like a celebrity, you need to volunteer teach for Stepping Stones.

I had been assigned to the Grade Sixes, all 41 of them. Before you start feeling sorry for me, please let me state for the record that these students were the most respectful learners I have ever had the privilege to teach. If the sight of them all rising when I entered the classroom and saying in unison, “Good morning, teacher” doesn’t melt your heart, I don’t know what will.

The time absolutely flew by. It truly did. I now know why they invented this cliché. I couldn’t believe that lunchtime came so quickly. Once more, we all piled into the vans to be taken to a local restaurant where our host had generously ordered a huge lunch. Even this self-described picky eater left the table stuffed.

The afternoon went by even faster than the morning had. It was spent teaching the names of countries, emotions, leisure activities and the song “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. Nothing like the sound of 41 students stomping their feet all together! By the time we left late afternoon, we were pleasantly tired and ready for our banquet dinner, again supplied by our kind host. After a lavish meal, those of us who could keep our eyes open, went out for a well-deserved foot massage. During the walk, I delighted in the lack of traffic. Such a novelty!

The next morning we were back at the school for our final hours of teaching. By now, the students were more comfortable with their English and keen to ask us questions. Some of my female students asked if they could hug me and two other students, one boy, one girl, presented me with little handcrafted objects made of paper. I was touched beyond words.

After the questions, it was performance time. Each class had been rehearsing a song and now it was time to show off our stuff. The younger grades were completely adorable. I was very pleased with my grade. They sang and completed the accompanying actions with gusto.

The next activity proved to be a lot more daunting-Scottish dancing! How’s that for cross-cultural exposure? My Grade Six boys and girls were visibly horrified, but secretly thrilled, at the prospect of having to hold hands with the opposite sex. After lining up the whole student body in the schoolyard (no small feat right there), we followed our fellow teacher through a series of whirls and swings and twirls. The dust we all kicked up was incredible. That school will never be the same again. I chuckle to myself when I think that the legacy we left a remote rural school in China was a Scottish country-dance.

After long good-byes with our students and innumerable photos, the Stepping Stones teachers went on a brief tour of the village. The rural scenery and quiet was a welcome contrast to Shanghai. One of the local teachers invited us into her home. Again, I was moved by the generosity and hospitality of the people. After the village, it was an equally short outing in the old part of town. Everywhere we went, people stopped and stared and smiled. Tourists are rare enough in Henan, let alone Western ones. Yet again, I felt like a celebrity.

We were taken back to the train station and our high-speed trip back to Shanghai. Any regrets? Our two-day stay was too short, and there aren’t more people joining Stepping Stones. Anybody who is interested in soul-satisfying, meaningful volunteering that is also incredibly fun needs to see what Stepping Stones has to offer.

Canadian Elizabeth Patel moved to Shanghai August 2010 as a supporting spouse. Mother to three teens, she is an active volunteer with the Shanghai Expat Association and Stepping Stones. Elizabeth enjoys seeing what Shanghai has to offer and writes a blog about her adventures on http://reluctantrelocator.blogspot.com/

A train-riding cutie and friend with fellow teachers in the background.

This little girl entertained me for a good part on the trip which was

a good thing as the journey took about six hours.

Of course, these shots are blurry! This tiny firecracker wouldn't stay still!

We had a lot of fun.

Our train arrived in beautiful, downtown Shangqiu at 10pm. Believe it or not, we still hadn't reached our final destination. From the railway station we had an hour's van ride to our hotel in Zhecheng.

A display in the hotel lobby of a local agricultural product, tobacco.

Our hotel room, a pleasant surprise.

The next morning, after breakfast, we prepared classroom materials.

Street scenes enroute to the village school

It took us a while to get there from our hotel.

When we arrived at the school, there was a throng of excited children to greet us. I would love to show you photos, but to protect the interests of the students and to ensure that we are welcome back in in the future, I cannot publish them anywhere. I really want to be invited back, so I'm actually respecting this guideline. Shockingly out of character, I know. Don't fret though, there's still lots to see.