24 LUMEN | JOURNEYS
Reflections Guizhou on living in a village in
By Chua Kun Yang
I then realized that we had a lot to learn from them about how to cherish life and live it to the fullest , about how to appreciate the simple things around us , and not be distracted from the things that mattered most , like friends and family .
This page ( above ): Alastair Lee ( 209 ) and Dalvin Koh ( 434 ) teaching English to students from Pianpo
This page ( top ): Shaun Tan ( 434 ) with a new friend
As we arrived in the village of Pian Po , I could not help but observe the peacefulness of its environment . The urban sprawl that I had grown so accustomed to was suddenly replaced by an idyllic hamlet , the houses etched into the hillside in a vast sea of green farmland .
I began to think that I had not made such an unwise choice after all .
When we entered the school the next day , I was initially concerned about a possible culture clash . We were after all city dwellers , who had little , if any rural experiences . On the other hand , our buddies had lived in the countryside for their whole lives . There did not seem to be any common ground between us .
My fears were unfounded . Unlike many of us who live in the city , they were not burdened by cynicism . They approached us with warm smiles , and eagerly took us into their lives . We were never regarded as strangers in their eyes , but as friends . We were taken around the village , up dirt tracks into dark caves , across fields of vegetables they had planted with their own hands , just to give a few examples . We even drank water from a natural spring , which proved to be unexpectedly refreshing and pure .
As time passed , my mindset was refreshed as well . I signed up for this trip with a rather condescending mentality , that we were there to help those who were less fortunate than us , who had never had the chance to experience and enjoy the comforts of city life like us .
However , I was beginning to wonder if they were the ones who took pity on us . We were kids who had been shielded and protected all our lives , who lived in a pressure cooker created by high expectations . We had never before experienced the wind passing through our hair as we ran in the streets , or the fresh , bracing air of the mountains that invigorated the soul . Our childhood was spent exploring the virtual world , and their childhood was spent exploring the real world .
I then realized that we had a lot to learn from them about how to cherish life , and live it to the fullest , about how to appreciate the simple things around us and not be distracted from the things that mattered most such as friends and family .
As we boarded the bus , saying our last goodbyes , there was not a dry eye in sight . Our tears fell freely , and so did theirs . We sped off into the sunrise as they waved to us , the kids who had touched our hearts , and proved to us that there was more to life than just the material , that the warmth of human nature can never be substituted by anything else .