This week felt full. More so than usual.

The additional events started with Duo Duo, an Owen College student, asking to come with me to my schools on Monday and then wanting to come all week. She saw it as a chance to practice her English and see how a foreigner teaches. I saw it as a chance to have a classroom assistant. Having an assistant is nice, but also not quite as carefree as blithely going my own merry way. So there was that.

Also during the first three days of the week all schools had 3 minutes of silence each day and on one day an assembly honoring the Sichuan earthquake victims. At DuTou this assembly took place on Tuesday.

The students gathered on the playground where the principal addressed them. I was told he shared a story of a child who lived in the earthquake area.

Then we had the day’s 3 minutes of silence.

This was followed by a procession of all teachers and students making a donation to the relief effort.

When the money was counted, DuTou Primary School had 1460Y to take to the Red Cross office in Yangshuo. Amazing how those yuan can add up.

On Wednesday morning there were new desks and chairs stacked in the playground when we arrived at school. They were a donation from a Hong Kong middle school that had sent a group of students on a fieldtrip to the Yangshuo area last year. Their fieldtrip included time at DuTou Primary School where the students from the two schools interacted

Now here were enough desks and chairs for two classrooms.

So it was out with the old…..

And in with the new.

Here is the third grade class last winter with their old desks.

Here they are on Wednesday with their new desks.
What a difference!







On Thursday afternoon Duo Duo, two teachers and myself took our own small fieldtrip to a local site.

Duo Duo and I traveled in one of these san lun che (3 wheeled vehicles). I used to think these were old relics from a bygone day. But recently I saw a new one on the road, with the red cloth hoping for safety tied to a mirror. Apparently there is a factory in the Guilin area and these are not relics!

Our destination on Thursday was three ponds. As Duo Duo said after the trip, “They were a bit of a disappointment.”
I myself was more interested in riding in the bouncy san lun che.

And in the old traditional architecture of Liugong, the village near the ponds.

The Li River and the surrounding karsts were also nice.

And this large old tree caught my eye. I haven't seen too many trees this size in China.
The ponds may have been so-so, but the trip was not a loss.

The week ended with an impromptu concert in the staff room at DuTou. Mr. Zhao is in charge of the school’s maintenance. Last September on Teachers’ Day, after a bit of the baijou (local alcohol) he started singing a traditional folk song. I was amazed at the operatic quality and strength of his voice. So on Friday when he appeared at school during the lunch break, I told Duo Duo about that earlier experience. She soon had him singing. He really does have a showman’s talent.

It was a fun week. But it’s OK with me if this next one is a bit less full!