An unplanned stop at an isolated Chinese elementary school turned out to be the highlight of a six-week Study Abroad trip to China for more than a dozen Grand Valley State University students last summer. Now the students are collecting supplies to send to the impoverished school and are reflecting on the unexpected lessons they learned from a group of smiling Chinese schoolchildren.
By our standards they've got so little, yet they're happy. Be it humble, they all have homes and families, said David Gould, a Grand Valley philosophy sophomore from Davison, Mich. There's something there for us to learn.
In these final weeks before Christmas, Grand Valley philosophy sophomore Shannon Crowley is spearheading an effort to gather supplies to send to the Chinese school -- an intricate process as China has stringent overseas package requirements. Crowley has sent an email appeal for contributions to her fellow Study Abroad students and plans to ship the packages to China the week of Dec. 16 (after finals).
The visit to the school last June was a serendipitous stop for the Grand Valley group of 17 students and three professors as it traveled through the mountainous Yunnan Province of southwest China, near the Tibet border. Children at the remote, rural school had never before seen foreigners and were initially shy, said Jill Gunnerson, a GVSU senior.
At first they were hiding behind corners and trees, giggling, Gunnerson said. The children quickly warmed up to their visitors, however, particularly when the young Americans lined up with them in a large circle and taught them to do the Hokey Pokey.
Before they left, the Grand Valley students pooled their resources and donated $200 to the school -- a windfall, as it turns out. The teacher was almost moved to tears, said Peimin Ni. professor of philosophy at GVSU and one of the organizers of the trip. He told us it was equivalent to more than three years of funding for them.
Several weeks ago Ni received a letter from the teacher stating that he had used the donation to purchase such supplies as dictionaries, notebooks, textbooks, and pens and brushes. The visit made a huge impact on the children, who constantly look at the photographs that the American students sent (their first photographs), and still dance and sing the Hokey Pokey, he said.
When we talk about the short time we spent with you, [the children] seem to have endless happy feelings to share, the teacher wrote (Ni, a native of China, translated the letter from Chinese). From the way they talk and the way they act, I feel clearly that, after being with you, they now have confidence, have ideals, and are full of dreams for their future. This is the result of your support and encouragement! You are now sacred models in their heart, and they all wish that they would grow up to be an able person. I myself was greatly inspired and encouraged by you also!
The monetary contribution pales in comparison to the realization that people from outside their poor, tiny village know and care about them, noted Ni.
It's kind of like we made an investment in them as people, said Gunnerson. We invested in their education and their lives.
In return, the Grand Valley students gained a valuable international lesson.
I didn't feel sorry for these kids, Gunnerson and several other students stressed. They didn't have everything that we feel is normal, but they were happy and well cared for. That's what I really appreciated.
For their current shipment to China, Crowley has so far collected maps and pens, and plans to send many more school supplies and possibly Grand Valley t-shirts. The GVSU students are hoping that their packages will arrive at the school in time for the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 12, 2002. The letter from Chinese schoolteacher took 40 days to arrive at Grand Valley.
Next year's Study Abroad trip to China will surely include a scheduled visit to the elementary school, said Ni. We treat them almost like our adopted kids, he said.
