The Mind
Checked out of the hotel @ GOng An County. Ate the same food as the night before - yup, u guessed it! It's the noodles with spicy soup & beef. Realised that the noodles are the same no matter where u eat them from. The whole street may be lined with such mian tiao stalls....typical hot stove and boiling pots...THEY WILL ALL TASTE THE SAME. Some kind of generic recipe i guess.

VEntured to Yang Chang Middle School. Was nice of the school to send a HOD to pick us up. Took our first China mini-bus, though it lasted only 15 minutes. Shocked by the bright red banner that they hung over the school gate, indicating that we were there to 'direct and inspect their work'. Goodness! Met most of the teachers and they led us into two dorms, males and females. Felt blessed we had an attached toilet, unlike the guys. Realised much later their reason for not showering was understandable. Open army-style showers (mind u, its brrr cold!) and choked toilets w shit.

Chose a bottom bunk bed nearest the toilet. Not too bad with a thick quilt though the mattress was very thin (barely there!) and no pillows. So this is wat the children go thru around here. Wasn't particularly disappointed coz i had imagined the worst. This was good enough for me. =) We r on the 1st level, together with the rest of the year 3 gals. Wat was to be for the next few nights were loads of peering into our room via the unlockable window and knocks on the doors. First taste of paparrazi.

Also checked out the classroom for the lesson. Settled on using the reading room @ the 3rd story. Needed to put up the stuff later.

In the evening we headed for Hong Ping's home for dinner. THe rural countryside's rustic charm is mesmerizing. The barren trees, the long and wide village road leading into the distance, the crops along it....juz breathing in the beauty of the place. Mebbe it's coz i m an urbanite thru and thru. Am realli glad to have a chance to take in these sights.

His parents were realli lovely people. They always make me tear and cry. Well, they juz touched me alot. A tall, tanned man with a sun-beaten face and a wide smile. A petite tanned lady with a feisty spirit about her. I fell in love with them instantly! They took so much effort to whip us a dinner which we knew was similar to a feast they wld prepare for new year. Ate mandarin oranges, peanuts which they grew all natural.

Anyway, it was a looong walk there and a loong walk back, in total darkness. Thank gdness some of us brought torches. Hence we huffed and puffed our way back in the cold, randomly running along the way to keep warm. Probably cant even see your own hands if u put them in front of u.

Preparation for the room started once we reached the school. This was to be our 'home' for the next few days. Came back too late to take hot water from the kitchen and had to endure a night withot showering. Not that i mind. For once, it was so cold and all of us were really exhausted. Not to mention we start the next day with 5 classes early in the morn.

The only way to stay warm and sleep well is to cuddle into the sleeping bag with socks and thermal wear on, then cover ur whole body including ur head with the quilt.
Give urself around 15 minutes and u shld feel warm. Tried and tested.

At this time, most kids wld have streamed into the sch to prepare for classes tom. These r the kids that had to stay in the dorms due to the distance. about a thousand of them, gals alone.

Excited about tom..

The Heart
God is such a wonderful creator. The beautiful scenery was His handiwork. Amazed at His power and awesomeness. Beginning to feel compassion for the children as i lived the way that they did.
jotted down by Elise on 1:53 PM