Days of life under Qilian mountain

YU zi

Qilian Mountain is high, covered by snow on the mountain. In summer, melting snow will infiltrate into underground and pool into a river, flowing down hillsides and forming a piedmont oasis that become area with well-developed agricultural and animal husbandry and population concentrated. For example, cities like Wuwei, Zhangye, are important place between east and west since ancient time. 

This is the text content of the fourth lesson in Volume 3 <Gansu province >in geography textbook from national institute for compilation and translation eight years ago. Today is 10th, October 2008, the 57^th day since I came back to Taiwan. When I pick up my former middle school geography textbook, turn to the lesson of Gansu Province and read this text content, the feeling in my heart is mixed. The content that used to annoy me a lot know is the only thing, except the pictures, that can take my mind back to Xidatan 2 month ago. When read the Qilian mountain, it called up my mind in that day, I asked them:“do you know which mountain do you live in?”, the innocence faces looked at me and answered my together with 3 words:“qi-lian-shan”. Expectation again shown on their faces, as if they were listening to a idol’s speech attentively. More important, they believe a person on the platform is elder and their idol, and they all will give their enthusiastic and response. “the mountain is covered by snow, in summer, melting snow will infiltrate into underground and pool into a river, flowing down hillsides and forming a piedmont oasis that become area with well-developed agricultural and animal husbandry and population concentrated.” The sentence covers the majority scenery we saw in xidatan. I also remembered the day of watermelon contest, teachers and us ate watermelons fiercely. The moment we wash and play by the streamside, the moment we stand on the stone in the stream crossing finger…the Xidatan village we lived for a week in fact is the beautiful oasis described in the text content

I miss everyone in 901 so much. To be honest I have to say that I hate junior high school students, they always make me think they are a group of naughty kids in mutinous period. However, the students in xidatan middle school subverted these stereotypes thoroughly. They are so pure like a white paper with no stain, respect for teachers, courtesy and obey discipline, bashful and shy. They got up just over 5 o’clock every morning, after running for N circles around the school playground and do gym together, it was the beginning of morning reading as well as morning study time. The first class begins on 8:20 until the class over at noon, and then they had their lunch. After lunch, they had no lunch break you will see that outside the classroom, on the playground, in the campus, students hold a book worn out badly, one and another. They keep reciting and reciting repeatedly, may just for a quiz or for the preparation of next class. Seeing their attitude to learning, there is no doubt that people can understand why students in Taiwan has no competitive strengthen. It is because we live so comfortable, because we are frog in a well (a person with a very limited outlook) who always think after reading a little books we are fearfulness enough to fly up to the sky. Our living environment decided our attitude towards doing things.

Each time when I across the playground from classroom faraway and entered into the brick-stacked toilet to answer to call of nature, I cannot image how the students here can be such comfortable. Later, when I began to adapt to local life gradually, I finally realize how fool I was. It is not they felt comfortable, it is not because they want to have no any light at night and no any street lamp, most of all they may only able to use a flashlight of yang chun brand to go to the toilet in the cold wind. It is not their will to walk on the muddy dirt without blacktop and cement in rainy days to the toilet, shake and careful. These children had no other choice. The irony of four words is quite powerless and helpless, at the same time, it also the reason that why people in Eden willing to leave their position in city, trip over land and water, carry a heavy mountain package and overcome problems all the way to service here. 

The total teaching period here is 5 days. I have 2 English class everyday and also include the joint history classes and the co-chaired instructor class with other partners. Living in the temperate grassland (alpine) climate where the daily range of temperature is so large, also with the large amount of class capacity, I have a cold in the third day. Catching a cold in the mountain is not a pleasant thing. My throat is quite painful, thanks to Guangzhong who took the place of my English class, here I want to express my special thank to him. Thank to Zhaowei gave me his life-saving use’s cold medicine to me at last with Zhicheng’s panadol, gradually I almost got well until the day I had sauna in Shenzhen. Ha-ha.

Before teaching students here, I had no any experience in teaching in Taiwan (at most only as a tutor). However, the children in Xidatan gave me incomparable self-confidence and sufficient enthusiastic to impart knowledge to them when standing on the stage. Each of them all had incomparable desire as if having classes is the holy things to them. Recalling our previous life in class, snacking and drinking, sending short messages, looking into the mirror, throwing notes, how shame and ignorance we were when thinking about it now.

Still remember the Taiwan culture tour class, our four partners decided to ask students to play chain game of Taiwan songs. The whole class was divided into six group, the more Taiwan songs they can remember the better they are. Each group must can sing for 1 or 2 sentence of a song and then another group. No repeat is allowed the group can’t go on will be washed out. At first, we thought this game can only play for 10 minutes, but it did not work out like this. They responded enthusiastically, no matter from huimei Zhang, yilin Cai, xinling Wang, jay Zhou to the less popular Champion band. The game lasted for a class and what left the most impression on me was that chaoyang Zhang’s group can’t go on at first. At that moment they were going to wash out, they started to sing the song “kapok road”, they song I’d ever heard before but not very impressed. I do not know why but they sung into my heart. I fell in love with that loud and dynamic song- kapok road, how much I hope I can remember their songs for my lifetime. That kind of moving in heart cannot be expressed in words.

I still remember the group time one day, the captain asked us 3 to 4 the most expected things to participate in this team or the things most unable to overcome. When Yien answer the most expected thing, her answer was: “can have lifetime friends in our team.” At that time, I thought how can we make lifetime friends in only a few days. Junior high school classmate may not be able to become lifetime friends, much less the 2 weeks’ team. Until the team really over and got back to Taiwan, after setting down slowly, I finally understand the meaning of the words.

We got together from all parts of Taiwan to a common destination. Sharing hardship together and hurrying to catch a train carrying our maintaining bags. Staying together for 36 hours on train from morning till evening. Shopping in Tianzhu urban, eating potato, beef noodle. Taking photos before the station broad in Wushoaling. Eating Ci ba, drinking tea with milk and Huang river ginger beer, teaching together and standing in line to wait for uncle Wang’s pepper eggplant noodle. Washing dishes with cold water and even talking while at stool. Looking up praise the starry like fairy-tale. Teaching together and eating noodles on street at leisure time. Buying nutrition express, Lulu, Mengniu milk. Playing by the stream and eating freshly slaughtered sheep on Snow Mountain on a crowded truck. Saying hello to the white yak and singing drolma song. Shopping in the night market in Lan Zhou and eating kebabs that six Jiao per bunch for more than 20 bunches also having European massage. All in all, these firmly united us each other and become the most beautiful memory like Shangri-la.

    If asked me to talk about the worthiest things in the journey, I will answer, it is the last class in the last day but one. The students said their feelings to our four guidance teachers. I still remembered there were seven or eight groups. Zhicheng suddenly came out with a idea that was to discuss whether they had something to tell us. At first, we thought may be only three or four students will raise their hand to tell about their feelings. We didn’t expect that they quickly separated into groups and discussed intensely. We started to listen from the first group to the last one, and felt astonished when listened to them. We didn’t think of that the group of students from the poor area in Wuwei city in Gansu can speak quite well like this. They said: “teacher, thank you for coming to teach us here, though we just stay together for several days, we will remember you forever and hope you also not forget us…” “Teacher, you work so hard … thank you for your accompany in the five days, you taught us knowledge and we gain a lot from you. We like you no matter whether we can stay for a long time or not, en, oh, only we only belonged to each other. I hope you will not forget us when backing to Taiwan and write letters to us…” “Teacher, thank you for you’d like to come here from far Taiwan to teach us, the several days’ contact will be the most beautiful memories in our life. I hope you will miss us when backing to Taiwan…” the last group consisted of four girls. “Teacher, thank you for the happiness you bring to us in the several days, and also thank you to teach us hard. But people have sorrow and joy, they part and meet again; the moon dims or shines, it waxes or wanes. You will leave tomorrow, we will miss you and hope you not forget us…” at last, we thought they finished, but they jumped up in a second and shown a 90-degree bend to us, said together: “thank you, teachers.” Without other words, Xiaohong and I began to cry. Zhi heng and Qi de are boys; they went to hug with boys for afraid of crying which will lose their faces.

Ah, how kind and considerate the students are, how thanksgiving they are. Why the chances they have is disproportionate less than we are? I can only sigh: the world is unfair. Seeing this, I think even stone-hearted person will be moved to cry (except my writing style is so poor, ha). Therefore, there is no doubt why more and more foreign volunteer team want to participate in the activity, because we all want to do good things…ha.

Jiaxin once said sentences that make sense: “at last you will find that what you gain from the children is much more than you gave to them.” Her words were quite delicate and interesting; we who participated in the Foreign Service team should keep a service heart to advance. We gave them knowledge, gave them stimulation of different culture, and gave them a different worldview. However, think it in turn, we who grew up in the small Taiwan island, the group of children in the vast mountain also taught us to have a wider vision and mind. Sometimes we used to preoccupy with the trivialities, but in their world those are negligible or even have no doubt or problems to these.

We finished our Taiwan-Xidatan journey, but if without smart and sensitive Jiaxin to play the leading role, without considerate gentle music soul Brother Chui and Sister Yang yang with who we all felt ease and always deal with problems happened, our team 45 would not be have a smooth trip. I think behind a greatest thing always need the members of the group to join forces to complete. Thanks God let us to make lifelong friends in our team, though one or two times’ help cannot help children in Xidatan more, only two or three children change their life attitude and thoughts because of us, then our work was worth. I hope children in Xidatan can live happily with dignity. Maybe they need not to away from the mountains, to be a self-responsible person in society in the future is enough.