Missing Kakwang

I miss Kakwang. The rural school made quite an impression on me.

One week after my trip to Shantou and I can't get the place out of my mind. (Read more here.)

Most of my other posts have been strictly stories or anecdotes about my travels. Every time I sit down to write about my three-day trip to mainland China, words will simply not come to me. (See a slide show here.)

One girl named Shirley asked me on my first night, "What do you do on holiday?"

I listed a litany of responses, reading, going to the beach, writing, swimming. I asked what she did.

She looked down.

"I work."

I gulped. For these students, work is part of their life. Although they are poor, I would not say they are unhappy. With each interaction I saw that these students were generally happy and content with their lives.

Yet I could not get over how poor this school appeared.

At Kakwang I experienced the disparity of wealth in China. Standing on the balcony of my room at the school, I could see the city of Shantou across the harbor. The night lights of the high rises reminded me of Hong Kong.

Turning around to go back into my room, a stark disparity stared me right in the face. The room was very clean, yet some effort had been made to make it look that way. The walls were white washed (meaning if I happened to brush by the wall white chalk would blanket my clothes). A closer looks showed the white wash covered up a layer of grime.

The toilette ... well I've uploaded a picture so you can understand how basic the amenities were. That bucket in the picture is for manual flushing.

The dirt did not bother me. I found the bed comfortable (even though there was mildew on the bottom of the pillow).

Grime covered most of Kakwang and other buildings around Shantou. I believe the black layer on most buildings comes from soot. (Most of China's power comes from burning coal.)

The classrooms were just as stark as the bedrooms. Sheets hanging over the windows kept the sun from overheating the room. The windows did not close well, creating a nice draft of air into the room. The desks look banged up, but they work nicely.

The chalk boards seemed new and worked well. Buckets of chalk were available for use. Most of the students had a Chinese-English dictionary or at least they shared.

What most surprised me was the mid-afternoon nap each student took after lunch. I had a full two hours to explore around the school (I'll write more on that later).

Outside of class, I was surprised at how well our hosts fed us. I felt a little guilty when I asked one of the students what they usually ate. Congee (rice porridge), bread and fish -- a very different meal from the shrimp, fish, spinach, bean curd, squid, fish ball soup, and other dishes I was served three times a day.

*Photos from top to bottom: 1) A student sits in a classroom at Kakwang Professional Academy in Shantou, China. 2) A typical squat toilette.