Spring Blossom 2002

July 6^th – 4^th day into the trip and 2^nd day working with the Spring Blossom girls. After the first day’s formalities and shyness, the girls have started to open up despite the fact that it still takes them time to get creative.

Buns from breakfast were brought and distributed at the school, the later realization that the girls frequently received only one bun a day made us extremely grateful and even guilty of our privileged lives.

The day began with ‘tae bo’ (kickboxing), led by Katie and Fiona. This

was then followed by a singing session. The traditional Spring Blossom song ‘Jie Mei’, meaning ‘Sister’, which was chosen as it appropriately describes the relationships formed between us, the KGV team and the girls at all Spring Blossom schools, kicked off the session. At first the KGV team overpowered the shy and timid Spring Blossom girls, but after our continuous encouragement, they gradually ‘let loose’ and their shyness faded.

WASSUP!

The second song ‘Head and Shoulders’ similarly lacked sufficient confidence to ‘sing their hearts out’ but as the language factor diminished and they realized our Mandarin was far more embarrassing they sang with more assurance.

In the afternoon, the KGV team and the Spring Blossom girls played team games that were very successful. The girls were split into four teams: blue for honesty; purple for responsibility; red for caring and orange for respect. They were all taught what each of the qualities meant. Each team was required to make a flag to illustrate each quality and the flags were then judged by our teachers. Attempting to build team spirit and more defined relationships between the girls, we played various team building games including Dodge Ball, Train Game, Dr. Tangle, Shepherd Game and several relay races (e.g. egg and spoon, sack race and the M&Ms race). Their smiles assured us not only we were having fun.

The highlight of the day was definitely the home visit. We visited two homes and both were emotionally moving, leaving many of us in tears. Both girls from these homes were not only top of their classes at Spring Blossom but had been recognized as exceptional students in Qinghai. Their maturity not only surprised but also touched us. They understood the effort needed to achieve their highest aspirations and the hard work needed to improve their everyday lives. Both homes were simple huts built out of mud and their annual income exceeded no more than RMB 300 Yuan (approximately the same in HK$) a year. This shocked all of us, as many of us spend this amount on one meal without a second thought. One girl cried as she described her family conditions, their hardships and the labour her father encounters as a construction worker. The father moved us as he explained he would eat less in order to allow his two children a proper education. For both families we donated a sum of money – it was the least we could do. However, even though they lived in such poor conditions, we all agreed that perhaps comparing their living standards to those of Hong Kong were unfair and surely though they may not be wealthy, the simple lifestyles they led, held happiness and were unobstructed by the luxuries and complications many of us face.

The home of Ma Chi Ling.

The positive feedback from both debriefing sessions (one at lunch and one after dinner) and even the overpowering emotions left us agreeing our efforts and preparation were not wasted and that the day would not be forgotten.

By Nicola Chan and Kay Lai

For more pictures of DAY 4 click here.