Unforgettable Memory from Nanpo Village

By Nicodino da Cruz [East Timor]

I had never dreamed that one day, I would come to study in China and got the opportunity to be a volunteer teacher in the rural area.

I was born to a simple family in a remote area in East Timor. In 2000, while my country was rebuilding from the war that broke out in 1999,everything was burnt down to the ground, including nearly every home. Many people were homeless. I used to live in a small bathroom.

During our transitional government, we received humanitarian aid from many countries—China being one of them. There were also university students from other countries volunteering to teach in every village in East Timor.

Therefore, when I grew up,I’ve always been looking for opportunities to repay the society.I’d been a volunteer teacher for village children in my hometown of Lospalos.

I became a student of the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan (CUG) in 2014.

After I came to China, I heard from some teachers and through the Internet about the poor education status of children of migrant workers in underdeveloped regions. Their stories were such a magnetic force that pulled me in. I felt that I needed to do something when I got a chance.

I kept telling people around me that I would like to go to the rural areas and help teach the children during the vacations,and the opportunity finally came. Two of my schoolmates introduced me to山中花儿爱心助 学 团 (Shanzhong Hua’er Aixin Zhuxue Tuan, literally Mountain Flowers Student’s Charity Group),a foundation at CUG committed to improving the education condition in poor areas and to upgrade the growth of public consciousness of young students.Through it, students can apply and go to teach in rural areas in their summer vacation.

I applied to the foundation, and in the summer of 2016, I joined a group of students to volunteer in Nanpo, a village in Guangxi Province.

On the morning of July 8, we took off from Wuhan. After 24

hours cheerfully spent in music playing, chatting and making new friends, we arrived at a train station in Guangxi the next morning. The mango trees and cool weather in this southern province of China brought me back to my days in the countryside of East Timor.

我是来自东帝汶的留学生，2014年来到中国地质大学（武汉）（以下简称“地大”）。

我出生在偏远地区的家庭，战乱将我们的家园毁于一旦。我童年时期生活环境艰苦，但包括中国在内的其他国家为我们提供人道主义援助，来到我国的各个村落支教。长大后，我曾在自己的家乡参加过志愿支教项目。

后来来到中国，我通过多种渠道得知留守儿童的事情，他们的故事好像磁石一般吸引着我，有机会的话我希望自己也能做点什么。

在我不断向身边友人传达这一心愿后，机会终于来了。两名中国同学把我介绍到学校以支教助学为主要活动的公益社团——“山中花儿爱心助学团”。2016年暑假，我如愿加入志愿者团队，赴广西南坡支教。

7月8日早上，我们乘火车从武汉出发，一天一夜后到达广西。广西的环境不比武汉，白天凉爽、夜晚潮湿，时常令我忆起家乡的农村。7月10日一早，我们乘车前往南坡，到达后便立即挨家挨户招揽学生。

当地人都热心好客，脸上总是挂着笑容。南坡村村民的生活水平差距较大，有些家庭条件好，有些却住在简陋的小屋里，为了让孩子上学得夜以继日地辛勤工作。尽管生活艰苦，他们依然保持乐观，热情接待来客。

7月11日是开课第一天。为孩子们办理注册手续、打扫教室后，我们便开始了课程。起初，注册了的学生只有60人，我们把他们按年龄分成两组。随着时间推移，来上课的孩子越来越多，每个班增加到40个孩子左右。

有些孩子很害羞，主要是因为第一次见外国人。由于我们之间比较生疏，加上孩子年纪小，他们上课的时候不是太专心。我通过玩游戏、唱歌和弹奏乐器的方式拉近和孩子们的距离，教学也变得更容易。

绘画课是最受欢迎的课程之一。我发现孩子们都非常愿意学习新事物，会认真细致地观察我在白板上示范的每一个步骤。其中有个学生很有天赋，回武汉前，我把我的图画本送给了他。

On July 10, in the early morning we left for Nanpo. With the fresh air and fog upon the hills, we enjoyed the morning sun while seated on the mini bus to the village.

After some hours, we finally arrived at Nanpo. On the same day, we went to visit local families. We went door to door to ask whether there were any children able to come to a class that would start in the next few days. We met some of the children on our rounds and made our way to their homes with their help.

The local people were warmhearted and welcoming.They especially welcome volunteer teachers like us, “No matter what language you speak,it seems everyone understand the true meaning of a smile, it communicates everything that a heart wants to express and understand.”

Some people were living in good homes but some were not—some of them were living in very simple huts made of leafs, grass,wood, and clay. They have to work hard each day and night in order to support their children to go to school. Even though they have a hard life, they still appreciate everything they have—you can still see the happy faces behind the huts.

On July 11, we started our first day of the school program in Nanpo. Some of us were in charge of the students’ registration process and some cleaning the classroom. At the beginning, only around sixty students registered.We split them into two groups based on age. After a short while,each class had around forty students.

Some of the younger ones were shy, especially when they were seeing a foreigner for the first time. They didn’t know much about my lessons. In order to overcome this challenge, we played games and sang along with them. When they became more familiar with me and the other teachers, the teaching process became easier.

孩子们都善良可爱，其中有些有点淘气。有一点我很喜欢的是，孩子们每天早上会来我们寝室笑着打招呼，甚至带着零食与我们分享。在一起的时间越久，他们对我们越好奇。

他们给我“赐”了姓，叫“欧阳”，于是，我的中文全名成了“欧阳鸿飞”。有些人还给我取了各种外号。他们逐渐对学英语也产生了兴趣。还有学生在课上和课后找我要画，想当作纪念。

7月18日是我们在南坡的最后一天。我们团队一起整理好教室和教学设备，还举办了送别晚会。孩子们唱歌跳舞、朗诵诗歌、表演小品，并和我们互换礼物。大家都依依不舍，气氛伤感，但离别的时刻终究还是来了。

我从未想过有一天能来中国学习并去到偏远地区支教。在南坡支教的这段时间是我人生中最宝贵的、最令我骄傲的经历。

我会永远记得南坡的孩子们。◆

Art class was one of the most interesting classes. I was convinced that the pupils were willing to learn new things. All of them were really careful with their work. They paid attention to the steps I drew on the white board closely. Among the pupils there was a little boy who was very good at drawing. On one of our last days in Nanpo, we visited his home and I decided to give him my drawing book as a gift.

The pupils were cute and very nice, even though some of them were a bit naughty. One thing I liked about these pupils is that,every morning, they would come by our dormitory and greet us with their happy smiling faces.They would even take snacks in and share with the teachers. After more time passed, the students became more curious about us.

I didn’t have a Chinese family name before going to Nanpo.There, my students helped me in choosing my family name 欧阳(ouyang). From that moment on,my Chinese name became 欧阳鸿飞(Ouyang Hongfei).

Some started to call me飞 哥(Feige), especially the naughty pupils would prefer calling me黑哥(Heige) or even 老黑(Laohei).They started to ask me many questions. One of them asked me whether one day he will be able to speak English well. Sometimes after class the pupils would ask me for my drawings, because they wanted to keep them as a memory.

July 18 was the last day of our stay in Nanpo. Before we left the village, the whole group rearranged the rooms and the school facilities that we have used,and made sure everything was put in place. We also managed to organize a farewell party with the children, where the students presented their talents such as singing, dancing, poetry, and we gave them the presents that we bought from Wuhan and their certificates. The students also surprised us. They gave us some souvenirs and other small gifts.It was a sad day for all of us.Eventually we all left for Wuhan.

I’d never dreamed that one day, I would come to study in China and get to teach in a rural area. Being part of the life of the children of Nanpo might be the most incredible experience ever for me. If you asked me what would be the thing I have done to make me the proudest, my answer would be putting a smile on the faces of the children of Nanpo.

Those children will always be in my heart.◆