My students this summer (all middle school English teachers) were all from the rural areas of Hebei Province. Some came from the Chengde area in the northern reaches of Hebei. Chengde is the home of many famous temples and was the summer resort for Ching emperors. One came from An Guo, the small farming village that my student Jannet came from. (I visited Jannet's family there one Spring Festival Eve during my second year in China. Jannet is now married and is expecting her child next month).
Working with the students was not work in the traditional sense. In fact, I would cheerfully do this "work" every year for no pay (I did accept the stipend they offered me; I'm idealistic but not stupid). I am still sometimes surprised by the gap between the rich and poor in China and the differences between city living and life in the countryside. For example, during one exercise, the students worked in groups to identify what they thought were the advantages of living in an apartment building. Although different groups identified several different advantages, each group said the number one advantage of living in an apartment is that the toilet is indoors. No one giggled or laughed. They were sincere and they all clearly agreed on this one point.
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