Report_2005

Going to the first school near the city of Guiyang, I was in amazement and awe. The long car rides didn’t compare to the feeling you got when actually saw the children. Their faces were bright with smiles and laughter everywhere; all of them shy and curious of the visitors that just arrived from America. Since this was first time traveling with the EEP group, I did not know what to expect, I had figured that I would just take the pictures mentioned in the procedure, but that was it. As soon as I pulled out my digital camera, it felt like a stampede had come over me. The children were inquiring on this device, looking at it, touching it, and wondering how it worked. They were all surprised to see the motion on the camera, much like a video camera; they were even more surprised to see the instantaneous pictures that were taken of them. Whenever they saw a picture of themselves, they laughed and pointed at the camera, they couldn’t believe that a gadget could produce such humorous results.
It was an exhilarating rush for me, to have about twenty to thirty children swamp you and then all want to see what a digital camera can do. I found it to one of the most memorable experiences right then and there. As I took the required photographs needed for EEP, one can’t help but take more pictures of the smiling children. To know how happy these children can be with just a blink of a photo shutter is simply wonderful.
As I photographed and videotaped the school and the children, it occurred to me how dedicated these children must be to learn in this kind of environment; to have so incredibly little but to have such a strong desire to learn showed me that these kids really were going to work hard at their education.
After we took all our photos, we proceeded to head on our way. It was difficult saying good-bye because this was the first school I visited and I wish I could have spent more time with them and get to know each child’s story, but unfortunately, time wasn’t on our side and we had to be on our way.
On a brighter note, eating in China was also a very different experience; because of their limited resources, every meal was “shabu shabu” or “hot pot”, in which a pot of water is boiled and items are put into cook. In the province of Guizhou, it is also a custom that they eat extremely spicy and peppery foods. I wasn’t quite used to this, but every meal consisted of a bowl with nothing but peppers and spices. Throughout our trip, there were a variety of items for every hot pot and it was pretty interesting, they ranged from bamboo to pork, to fresh caught fish, to wild mushrooms, and all different kinds of farm grown vegetables; among many other items. I must say, eating hot pot in China for the first time sitting on wooden stools was entertaining and fun, but as the days wore on, I wondered when I would ever see McDonald’s again.

On our days in Guizhou, on average, we visited about two schools per day led by our official; we went on our way to visit another school. This school was somewhat of a different experience than the last. At the entrance of this school which educates more than 300 children, there stood the native women of the village dressed in native attire and tables full of wine and eggs. As we took turns drinking wine, they would give us an egg and then let us pass. It was an interesting custom to have come across and little did I know at that time, I would be drinking a lot of wine for other different villages as well. As we entered the school, there was a presentation set up for us to speak to the children and parents, a microphone and an old amplifier were placed so that we would be able to speak. Due to certain circumstances, I was asked to speak in front of 300 children and faculty. My Chinese isn’t that great and when I was handed the microphone, I was aghast. I said a couple of words such as “thank you for inviting us” and “work hard in school” but I can honestly say that was the most embarrassing moment of the trip. More embarrassing than stepping in ox dung.
After, we went and took a look at this larger sized school; the principal there told us that the track and basketball field was built by the joint efforts of the villagers and children. I thought this was a mighty achievement and was glad that the villagers cared so much about their children’s education. As we did before, we took numerous pictures of the school, group photos of the children, and several classroom pictures.
The next day on our incredible journey, we went to a school that had dorming as an option. The school had children that had just traveled too far to go home and so therefore, was forced to stay at school. As we toured the school, I could not help but feel a stab of pain as I walked through the dorms. Each room was cramped with 4-5 bunk beds and were all made of wood planks. I thought of my comfortable spring bed at home, feeling guilty yet fortunate; I wondered how these children slept every night, if they ever got a good night’s sleep. Their blankets were thin and damp, all their belongings contained inside a trunk that was under their beds and there was no heat whatsoever. The teacher’s dorms were just as tattered.
As the principal gave us a tour, we came upon the worst room in the school; these were reserved for children who just didn’t have enough money. Inside this room, there was nothing but wood planks which made a surface. Each plank of wood was laid right next to each other till they were the size of approximately a queen sized bed. The principal explained to us that at night, there were 13 kids that called this board “a bed” to sleep on. They would sleep head to toe as to make room and to keep warm. As he was telling this to us, I visualized 13 children sleeping like sardines with thin blankets, just so they could keep warm. After he explained this to us, we headed to their cafeteria. There, he explained that for less than a dollar, they could have three side dishes to eat with their rice, such as vegetables or meat, but most kids could not even afford a dollar for food, so most are left with just white rice to eat. Each child is assigned a number box and when it is meal time, they all scramble to the main hall to grab their tin boxes. It was such an interesting thing to see, but I also felt so grateful for what I had back home.
The next day, we went to see a village, we went into the village and at that time, they were building new houses for its inhabitants. We went inside one of the new houses and it wasn’t too stable, but these villagers were delighted because they had a new house to live in.
After looking at the daily life of villagers, we stopped at a street fair. There were people selling clothes, piglets, cows, oxen, pork, beef, vegetables, luxury items, and services; services such as pulling teeth, brushing teeth, shoe shining, and many more. It was quite a sight to see so many people gathering in the surrounding vicinity and to see how many things were being traded and exchanged was quite remarkable.
On our way heading back to the car, we saw a group of children that came to find a liking for us. They came up and we took pictures with them and gave them candy, when they got the candy, they were all pleasantly surprised and excited. Then we played with the digital camera and showed them their pictures, they got even more energized and enthusiastic. They were bouncing and jumping up and down, dancing because they got candy.
The third day of our journey we were out in Sandu, we went to a school that was deep in the mountainous area. The car rocked and tumbled as we drove on the dirt road, we drove for about 40 minutes; when we stepped off the car, we began to take our procedural pictures. After we took them, I had brought with me a bottle of bubbles, the little kid toys. The kids there have never seen the bubbles and were shy of touching them, it was quite funny to see them poke at the bubbles and watch them pop. After that adventure, we got onto the car and headed back out. The next school we surveyed, the dirt road was even worse, the tumbling and tilting of the car made us believe we were going to tip over any minute. We saw the school from afar and as we drove up, there were two rows of school children, clapping and welcoming us. This was also a larger school, educating about 100-200 children, as we walked, we took pictures of the old school and the new school EEP had built. They also got new books and a lot more rooms to educate more students.
After that excursion, we proceeded to a high school where EEP has student scholarships. We came here to take portraits of the students because we send pictures and names to the donors to let them know that the money is getting to where it has to go.
The fourth day, we headed to one of the poorest schools I saw in my trip to China. This school was still in the application process and therefore when we went to visit them, they were still learning in their old broken-down school. When we arrived at the gate, we were once again approached by the wine and egg tradition. After we went through their customs, we proceeded to look at the old school and their site for the new one.

The old school was such a shock to look at; I was appalled at the learning environment they were in. The floor was sand and the desks were made of splintered, tattered wood. There were not even enough seats for a lot of the students, some had to stand and listen to the teacher. On top of that, there are no separations for different classes, a mere fence separated from one class from the other, but how distracting it must be to hear two of the other classes that are going on. The ceiling was made of rages, the walls were made of cracked and damaged wood, and the wind constantly blew in cold air while the children were learning. Their books were worn and used, and the book bags they carried were dusted with dirt.
As we handed out candy, they were pleasantly surprised and kept thanking us for bringing them candy to eat. It was really a great feeling to have, to look at all the adorable children and to film them on camera and once again, having their intuitive curiosity rush over me when I was taking pictures or filming them.
The next school we visited was a school where we had to hike to the destination. We hiked on dirt trails for about 45 minutes until we reached the entrance to the village. The hike was steep and I for one was aching when I reached the top. The villagers had set off fireworks and crackers for our arrival and again, they did the wine drinking custom. This was a new experience because all the villagers were in native dress and were very bright and colorful in their fabrics. The musicians played bamboo instruments while the women wearing bright white sneakers danced and preformed for us. The jewelry and garments they wore were such a sight to see.
My firsthand experience meeting one 15 yr old girl and inquiring her about her school and the way they dressed was very informative and interesting. It was nice to interact with the native villagers and to see their way of life and culture. We also went to this girl’s house and saw their living style was ragged and poor, but yet, they were very content with their lives and satisfied that they had the lifestyle that they did. They had think blankets and only three rooms to house an extended family. They also had a loom where they quite often stitched clothing and garments. So after, visiting their house, surveying the school, having the group speak to the children, taking pictures, we were on our way out. We were bombarded with more requests to drink wine as we left their village; I can say that the hike back down was a little better than the hike up.
To conclude, that was the last school that we visited on our China trip; even though we spent a great amount of time in the car, nonetheless, the experience of visiting each school was incredible and uplifting. The experience alone has made me appreciate and recognize the value for what I have in life. To fully comprehend how fortunate people are, I have come home from China and told many people about my trip and about the harsh conditions these children live in. Conditions such as sleeping on wooden planks, having paper thin blankets, or having no plumbing whatsoever has made me realize what kind of day-to-day life these youngsters go through. Ever since I have been back in the states, I have also shown many people the pictures that I took; they all seem shocked and amazed when they saw the children in these kinds of circumstances because they cannot envision living in such a bleak environment.
The vivid imagery of being there in person has been more powerful than any picture, than any piece of video; because you see the smile on every child’s face, you feel uplifted when they run up to you to see digital pictures, and you feel privileged when the villagers treat you like imperative individuals.
The EEP program gave me an opportunity to go on a journey, a journey through the towns of Guiyang, Sandu, Libo, Rongjiang, and other settlements. I learned that we should be more grateful, thankful, and appreciative of all that we have in life, to recognize that these kids really do deserve aid and support because they are all hard-working and diligent when it comes to their education. They strive to do well in school so as they can succeed in the real world. We should give them the chance to do so.