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Ni Hao

哈罗

<hello>

Anyone can fly to China and climb the Great Wall. Only a lucky few can journey to a remote village and walk hand-in-hand with the precious children who live there. Only a few can laugh and delight in doing the hokey pokey in a tiny village at the base of a mountain surrounded by happy young faces.

Hokey Pokey

This journey opened my heart and my mind. The world IS a global village. There are things that my children and I can do to make the world a better place. Life isn’t just about work, soccer, basketball, the gym, or the newest restaurants in town. Life is about human connections…giving to the greater good.

My children and I will be putting together a special care package for the 120 children who attend Changiao Village School. We will share my pictures of the adults and children in the village, books for their library, and other supplies for their education. I want my children to share, and to understand the importance of reaching out. We will also write letters to my new friend from the Experimental High School, Roger. I am more passionate than ever about the power of ePals. Our children must learn to connect. They must learn to understand other lands, and share with other cultures. They need our help to open their young hearts and minds.

 Changio Village Children

My family will begin regularly giving back in our own community. I plan to contact a local food kitchen, and offer our services in serving meals to those less fortunate. I don’t want the power of my experience to end with the culmination of my trip.

People-to-People did an incredible job of creating a memorable trip to China for the members of my delegation. We started in Beijing where we saw the Great Wall and the Olympic Village. Then we traveled deep into the country, visiting Guiyang and its schools. Just when I thought I’d experienced “real China,” we journeyed to the village of Changiao and laughed with children from the simplest of homes. To culminate, we ventured to a place that time forgot – Tunpu Fortress – where we saw families who had preserved their way of life since the 16^th century.

Tunpu Fortress

I feel very blessed….for my children…for the privilege with which I work, live, and play…and for the many memories from my journey to understand a world so far away and yet so close.

Xia xia

谢谢你

Thank you

Saturday, December 6th, 2008

In the 16^th century, during the Ming dynasty, the emperor built a fortress to protect him from the local uprising against him. 300,000 soldiers from Central China were sent and stayed for decades, until the end of the Cultural Revolution. The government asked the soldiers to stay rather than return to their home cities. Their families followed them. These soldiers considered themselves better than the locals and used their own language and costumes. What resulted is the preservation of an ancient way of life that goes back to the Old Han. It was undiscovered for a long time, and when it was the government pledged to preserve it. The number of tourists who are able to visit is strictly regulated. As a result, I was able to visit a place that has been inhabited by the same people since the 16^th century and the Ming dynasty. I actually saw a 74-year-old woman in her home. 16 generations of her family have lived there.

The people who built the Tanpu Fortress in this area thought that the mountains reminded them of a dragon. The Buddhist temple was built in the perfect location to make up the head of the dragon. I said prayers and kneeled to give an offering at the temple. Originally, there were 600 hand-carved wooden gates throughout the fortress. Only 50 remain, because they were burned by the red guards during the cultural revolution.

Entering the fortress, little children were hand washing their clothing in the river. There was also a well called the Bright Well. These people believe that if you drink the water you will be smart and become a scholar. In the fortress itself, there were no right angles. T-junctions are considered unlucky. The walls are rounded and have secret holes through which arrows could be shot into the head or heart of attackers.

I bought a special hand-carved mask for my father from a small group of villagers. It will be a wonderful way for my family to treasure the 16 generations of families who have lived in the fortress.

Saturday December 6, 2008

We departed quite early for our drive to the Changiao village where the Miao people live. The views were breathtaking, filled with lots of small mountains like those that had enchanted me on the flight in. Our journey included an hour and a half long bus ride, and a thirty minute walk to reach a remote village at the foot of a mountain. The name of the village is Changiao, which translates to Long Wall village. In ancient China, it was a very nice place.  

 Changio Villagers

I have never experienced such a remote location, and don’t know if I will again. It was a life altering experience …..one that moved me deeply. Our busses had to park thirty minutes from the village, because there was not a street that could handle our large vehicles. Several hundred villagers from nearby villages greeted us. Performers lined the street, and those that were not part of the formal presentation were perched on nearby walls to watch the westerners enter their village. The buildings were very primitive, with single room dwellings. The people were very happy, and very poor. Their teeth were rotten. Many of the older residents were missing teeth. Their skin was taunt and weathered. Roosters were loose, as well as many dogs.  The visual images were very powerful. The people and their homes were extremely impoverished by our western standards. Yet there was such a simple beauty to the people, and the hills surrounding the village were picturesque. Entering their village and seeing their school and the sweet children that attended was a very emotional moment for me. I used the first of many tissues.

We gathered in front of the school with the people of the village. The foundation for the school itself was built by the farmers in 1964, and funds from People-to-People helped build the actual structure. 120 students in grade 1 – 6 attend, and are taught by six teachers. Some of the teachers were from this village, and all looked professional compared to the other citizens. It was another indication of the value placed on teachers in this country.

The villagers put on a series of performances for us. The first was a group of singing children led by a child conductor standing on a simple stool. Next, a drummer sounded his drums and gong, and the village opera began. The performers had covered faces, elaborate costumes by comparison, and donned masks at the top of their heads. Finally, a group of adult women performed in matching dresses. We cheered for them! They surprised us by asking us to return the favor and perform for them. We didn’t have a formal presentation, and so did the Hokey Pokey! It was playful and fun. After we performed the hokey pokey, the village children joined us. We grabbed their sweet little hands and taught them the moves. It was such a delightful experience! What a GREAT morning!

We did not go on a formal tour of the actual school, but a quick peek inside revealed that it was very barren even compared to the schools in Guiyang. The classrooms did have electric lights, but no heat. There were chalkboards and desks, but little else. The library only had 75-100 books, less than one for each of the children who attend.

 Walking away from the village with these precious children

I was one of the last delegates to leave the village. I couldn’t tear myself away. As a result, I had the pleasure of befriending a group of young children. I held hands with two fifteen year old girls to my right, and five-six young children to my left. I talked with one of the fifteen year olds about her life in the village as we walked.  She looked like she was no older than ten, and her teeth were already brown with stains. She plays ping-pong and basketball. She proudly told me that she is a very good ping-pong player and took first place in a tournament. Another delegate saw the ping-pong table, and shared that is was nothing more than a slab of concrete with a concrete net. She had one brother, and was very proud of the beautiful landscape surrounding her village. I told her about Kansas, and its lack of hills and mountains. I also told her about my children and their interests. They walked with me nearly the entire way to the bus, then veered off of the main street to return to their village and simple home. I immediately burst into tears, and it took me a long time to recover. What lovely children. What a touching moment. How many westerners are able to walk hand-in-hand with children in a location as remote as this?

LUNCH AT TRIUMPHAL RESTAURANT IN ASHUN, CHINA

For lunch, we drove to the nearby city of Anshun, a town of 4 million. It was clearly the nicest restaurant in town. We had a few moments after lunch to see what I would describe as a street fair. There were inflated dinosaurs and cotton candy.