By Angelique Myles, Masters in Community Health Program, Memorial University of Newfoundland
We arrived to the sound of firecrackers being set off and smoke filling the air. The villagers rushed to our sides greeting us with smiling faces and warm handshakes. As we entered the farmhouse we were shown to our modest rooms containing sleeping mats on the floor and a table and chair in the corner. For two weeks, fifteen volunteers from seven different countries would live together with a Chinese family from this village. The experience would prove to be exhilarating, exhausting and filled language, personality, and cultural barriers.
I recently came back from a seven-week trip to China. Two of those weeks were spent on Hainan Island at a work camp organized by an association called Volunteers For Peace. The camp allowed for volunteers to interact and become immersed in a rural village, while developing relationships with the families that live in the village. The introduction of foreigners to a small remote village was filled with curiosity and excitement. I am sure that it was quite an overwhelming experience for the villagers to learn that we were from countries, such as Germany, England, Korea, the United States, France, Holland, and Canada.
The first week of the camp was spent doing odd jobs around the village. We would brave the tremendously heat and spend out mornings clearing brush, and working in rice fields. Hainan Island has a monsoon tropical climate and temperatures can range from 22°C to 26°C. It is for this reason that most of the villagers would wake up early to start their work in the fields and then by the afternoon they would find a nice shady hammock in which they could cool off. I adjusted to this routine quite nicely and would often be found lying in a hammock enjoying an afternoon nap, while being surrounded by the rustling and clucking of hens.
The farmhouse living arrangement proved to be a challenging experience. The house was equipped with a shower, a squat toilet, no hot water, and a pump that could be used to hand wash clothes. The high-demands for the shower forced the volunteers to coordinate their daily activities. This was difficult at times because some volunteers were showering twice a day in order to cope with the extreme humidity. It was clear that we were consuming water as if we were living in our home countries, thus putting a strain on the village water supply. Some volunteers were aware of their impact on the village and made an effort to be more ecological-sound, whereas others seemed to be indifferent. It was through situations like this that I learned a lot about cultural and personality differences, while also having to look inside my own beliefs and background in order to understand these conflicting views.
The second week of the camp was spent teaching English to the village children. The classes were taught outside under the shade of large trees or in a rundown school house. Children could be seen walking to the lessons all carrying red stools that they had brought from their houses. The volunteers were split up into groups and assigned students. My group of students ranged from ages 5 to 13. Most of the children did not know any English and therefore, songs, pictures and games were used as tools to make learning fun and engaging. This was my first experience teaching a group of children and towards the end of the third day my enthusiasm was waning. I now have even more admiration and respect for teachers because I am aware of the challenges that they must go through in order to perform in front of their students every day. I was very proud of my students because by the end of the week they were able to say their name, their age, the alphabet, and they could count up to 20.
My experience living in the village has provided me with so many wonderful memories. I came to really appreciate the simplicity of village life and the fact that as we take on more modern lives we begin to lack a strong human bond between members of our family and community. The children that I met in this village were always surrounded by family. The village elders could be seen with young children going for walks or gathered with other family members. The older children took on the responsibility of caring for their younger siblings and cousins. Babies were always being held and given attention. The children that came to visit us at the farmhouse enjoyed playing badminton and cricket in the courtyard and would climb trees to bring us delicious fruit, such as guava and star fruit. The contrast to children in a more developed country could not have been more pronounced. The village children led very active lives in which they played games, and road bikes. The farmhouse had a television but it was rarely turned on and the advent of video games had yet to become part of the children’s lives.
As I was observing and embracing this exemplary upbringing I could not help but think about what the future holds for these children? The one-child policy does not exist in rural Chinese villages. The reality for most of the children is that they will stay in their village with their family. I am not even sure if many will be able to get the chance to leave Hainan Island and visit Mainland China.
Once the camp was over and I returned to Tianjin, the third largest city in China, I began to reflect on my rural village experience. I was still astounded at the hospitality and generosity that the villagers expressed, for it was sincere and wholehearted. There are many aspects of their way of life that I would like to adapt into mine, such as being community-oriented. I am very aware that I live a privileged life that is in sharp contrast to those of the villagers. Moreover, a two-week stint in a village is by no means a lifetime and thus my experience was still quite superficial. It is for this reason that I want to make changes and adaptations to my life that take on a more simplified approach. Thus, making the time I spent in the village everlasting and concrete.
