FBC Richmond

The Qujing teachers, Penny, Tish, Kim, and Brownie, arrived on site Monday, July 5, but I didn't arrive there until Friday, July 9. I found scenery very similar to, and just opposite from, that of Lanzhou. Yunnan is also a province with a high level of poverty and is very mountainous, but the mountains and fields are lush and green, where the Lanzhou mountains are brown and barren except in the summer when crops do give a scant green cover. When I flew into Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, it was sprinkling rain. I found a driver who would take me to Qujing, about two hours east of the city. By the time we arrived, it was raining steadily, and the temperature was rather chilly. I had not anticipated being cold, and was glad for the loan of a sweater from Tish, who had brought extra.

Their program was housed in a primary school (the students were primary school and middle school English teachers; the Amity summer programs are held in a variety of facilities, often in colleges, but sometimes in city schools) and they were having a birthday party when I arrived. Each room had an activity, such as a balloon relay, musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, and of course, birthday cake.

On Friday night and Saturday morning, we went on a walk around town. Penny had been an Amity summer teacher a few years ago and was very familiar with the streets. The other teachers were more familiar than I was, but we all enjoyed trekking around looking at the shops and the people we saw along the way.

On Sunday, we walked to church, 15-20 minutes away. Inside the auditorium, there was a large red cross as the central focal point, with a large Chinese character that says, "love," under it. The sermon was based on John 3:16 and included information about AIDS in Yunnan, as well as in China and the world. The churches are being asked to provide AIDS education and also to develop ministries to victims. The pastor stressed that God loves all the world's people.

After church, we walked home by way of one of several superstores in the city. The streets of Qujing are a mixture of very modern and very small town traditional China. It's a fascinating contrast.

On Monday, it was classes as usual. Some teachers from the city were attending a conference at the school complex where our teachers were conducting the Amity program, so they were able to chat with some of those teachers on the way to classes. In the regular teaching program, the students rotate among the American teachers, according to a rotation plan, so that each student experiences a variety of teaching methods and hear different speaking styles.

Over the rest of their teaching time, in addition to classroom activities, morning and afternoon, there were evening outings with students and weekend adventures to various scenic spots in Yunnan.

Trip to the countryside

On Sunday afternoon of my visit, I arranged for a taxi driver to take me for a drive in the countryside surrounding Qujing. It was a beautiful, lush green, though it was clear that most of the people lived at a low economic level.