Spartan Style Living

First of all, I should probably point something out. I had previously believed that I would be capable of accessing my blog while here in China, and post things directly. Unfortunately, it seems that the blog of a 16 year old volunteer in a threat to national stability in China, and the site I'm using is blocked here. Fortunately, I'm using a more roundabout method of posting, but my posts may be a bit out of sync with what is currently going on. I'll still definitely be able to post about a handful of times each week.

The last time you heard of me, I was in Beijing, just getting my bearings strait. Since then, I have traversed quite a distance, reaching the city of Huaihua by train, and finally arriving at the school by bus. The trip definitely exceeds the harshness of the plane ride to get to china, which pales in comparison. The train ride itself was almost 24 hours long! During that time, I joined in, and after several hours had to endure, the almost constant singing of the female volunteers. Seriously, it's like someone brought in the cast of a musical for the ride: they have the tendency of bursting into song everywhere, even on public transportation. Still, it's funny if a bit out of place at times. Other than that, and getting a bit nauseous on the train, the ride was mostly uneventful, and I was soon in Huaihua. Despite how draining the train ride was, all of us had the energy to go walk around the city, and we even went to do some Karaoke. It brought back some great memories of my first time in China with the French American school.

After a 3 hour long, very uncomfortable bus ride, we made it to our school. And let me tell you, it's spartan enough to give a Spartan homesickness. And maybe a bit of back pain. I had known the school would be in a very rural and impoverished part of China, but I definitely did not expect just how bare bones it is. It's really unfortunate that I cannot post photos, as I'd be able to give you all images of the school, but hopefully my description will suffice in creating a good picture for you:

The entirety of the school in a long, three stories tall rectangular building, approximately 50 meters long and standing perpendicular to the road. The rooms closest the entrance are the classrooms, and have small wooden desks, a blackboard, and little else. There is also a large office room, with contains the computers I am and will use to keep you all up to date. The next set of rooms comprise our living quarters. First we have the dorms, which have 6 sets of bunk beds two beds high, and a few fans. No AC in this joint, so things get sweaty fast! As for the beds, they're little more than a rigid base, a thin pad, and a blanket that I doubt anyone that is still sane will actually use. The pillow is a tiny, uncomfortable thing, and makes me glad I lugged my own pillow all the way from Portland. Not that comfortable, but hopefully they are sufficient, and hey, at least we're not sleeping on the ground!

Next to the dorms, there is a small cafeteria, where we will be eating every meal. The food here is actually delicious! Next to it there is a small hose that we use to clean our plates, and is currently our only source of running water. There are also two other buildings that are in the school grounds: near the entrance, there's the bathroom, which is little more than a covered trench where we have to squat to do our business. Closer to the dorms are the showers. Unfortunately, they are still under construction, and while they were meant to be completed by the time we got there, we'll have to wait around two days until we get running water up there and have the chance to take a shower. Until then, the only option is to use the rive in order to wash away the gallons of sweat.

So yeah, not exactly a five star hotel, but to tell you the truth, I'm actually very excited! I feel that this is an opportunity to live the way, really, the vast majority of the population of the world lives. It'll open my eyes to the truth about poverty and the living conditions of those less fortunate than I, and help me realize the opportunity I have of living in such luxury back home.

But enough with the serious stuff, I'm sure you all want to know about the main reason I'm here for: teaching! Unfortunately, I actually don't start teaching until tomorrow, July 26, but I do know who I'll be teaching with. My American partner will be Jerry, a volunteer that has already been on the program once before. We'll also have two other Chinese volunteers to help with communication, although both me and Jerry understand Mandarin just fine! I'm both excited and nervous about teaching: we were assigned to the oldest group, however we do not really know what their level of English will be. I do believe that our group will be able to work well together, and in fact, I believe that I have bonded with all the volunteers very well. It almost seems like we've known each other for a very long time now!

So that's it for today! I'll probably update after a few days of teaching, so stay tuned.

Also, for anyone interested in travelling to rural China, let me tell you one critical tip that will save your life: Bring deodorant. Lots of deodorant

See you all on the other side!

Diego Molina