As a volunteer teacher, I travelled a long way to a small village school in Longzhou, Guangxi. On my way there, I thought about the village, the school, and the children there. However, my heart sank when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all. The school had only 3 classrooms, one for Grades 1, 2 and 3, and another for Grades 4, 5 and 6. There was a third one for me.
The children welcomed me warmly on my first day. They asked me a lot of questions, and I told them stories and my life in Shanghai. The next day, I gave them a test to find out their level. To my surprise, although the test was very easy, over half of them failed it, and yet they all wanted to learn new things. I knew they needed me.
I was busy preparing lessons, and reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard—working children, and I could see that they were making progress with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their lives better and we are now good friends.
I have worked in Longzhou for a year by now. I'm very happy, and the experience has been very useful for me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I would like to continue working here.
