After another grueling but satisfying week of class, this Saturday I hopped on a bus with a volunteer group of about 40 native Beijingers to head off to the countryside and donate some books, computers, and sports equipment to an elementary school in the rural part of Hebei province.
Our bus led a convoy of mid-sized family cars that snaked behind us on the dirt road leading to the village. When we arrived, this village, called Heituwan, was a genuine Chinese village, and nothing like the one I visited in Sichuan. There were no "tourist attractions" here- it was just one downtrodden building after another lining narrow, unpaved streets. It was no place for a motorcycle joyride like the one I'd had in Sichuan.
The bus parked and I followed the other volunteers towards the elementary school. It was at this point that I realized I was the only white person in the entire group of about 70 volunteers. And as I walked through the welcome reception of 50 or so applauding Chinese elementary students, they were all staring right at me.
And for those few hours we spent at that little village, I was like a rock star. I was pretty much surrounded by at least 20 students at all times. We talked (in Chinese) about sports mostly, especially basketball. I was surprised when I asked them who their favorite professional basketball player was and they all said "Steve Nash!" (coincidentally a Canadian) And then I asked them what they thought about Yao Ming, and the kids all replied "He sucks!" which made all of the older Chinese within earshot aghast at this seeming affront to national pride.
Diplomatic crises aside, according to one of the "village leaders" I'm welcome back any time, so I might head back next weekend for some more fresh air, maybe to climb a nearby mountain, and to experience some low-key village life as a change of pace from busy Beijing.
Photos from the village: http://s256.photobucket.com/albums/hh173/bills_pictures/Hebei%20Nong%20Cun%20Adventure/
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