Category: China

Lifepegs, the international lifeskills activity club in Changchun, northeast China, recently moved to a larger facility to accommodate and serve more members. I joined the host of volunteers who signed on to do up the place and had the privilege to work with many Chinese and international members and the Lifepegs staff team. The facility needed a lot of work but everyone appeared eager to face the challenge.

During my first time at the new property, the goal was to completely paint the first floor of the four-storey building. This space would serve as the primary gathering area. A member experienced in renovating gave a painting demonstration.

As I and another member painted a wall, a Lifepegs worker looked on making it obvious he wanted to help. I gave him my roller, and another member who also quickly became efficient in painting followed him. Reflecting on all the paint I used that never reached the wall, I think they learned better than I did. The day ended with several of us having a late but satisfying meal at an outdoor barbecue.

After the first floor was painted, we focused on the garden. A forest of overgrown weeds and even a large, solitary sunflower confronted us. Although there is nothing inherently entertaining about clearing garbage from a patch of earth, having fun was contagious as everyone joked and laughed throughout our effort. Having some landscaping experience, I shared my idea about building a wall to prevent erosion for a very uneven section of the yard. When a member suggested using wood for the wall, it provided an opportunity to explain which types of materials would last the longest.

After pulling out all the weeds, the volunteers discovered a lot of tile fragments, bricks, and plastic bags. These were collected in buckets, which we hauled down to empty into a large bin. As our evening ended, a truck arrived full of plants that needed planting.

It was indeed a precious and fun experience of learning new skills and enjoying teamwork as we worked together to renovate our very own clubhouse which we will get to enjoy with many others.

Guest writer Dan, Volunteer at Lifepegs

It is the final day of English in the Wild Summer Camp and it is time for the closing ceremony. The students file into the pep rally room rather quietly instead of with their usual yells and cheers. The music in the background is strong and triumphant yet the atmosphere is subdued. The campers talk quietly amongst themselves and with the teachers. There is happiness for finishing a job well, but a sadness of seeing the camp classes, English corners, games, and pep rallies come to an end. It is time to say good bye to people who were strangers 2 weeks ago but have now become good friends.

The camp director asks the students to give a class cheer. It takes awhile for the cheers to warm up but finally the room fills with the yells and cheers for each class. Then it is award time—awards for student participating and helping others in the class; awards for the volunteers who recruited the students and who helped all round the camp; and awards for the MVP (Most Valuable Player) for each class.

One of the neat things about this camp is that everyday a video is produced of all the previous day’s activities. Today was no exception. The students cheered as the saw showed portions of the skits, the games, as well as the mascot parade that took place yesterday. One of the most moving times of the ceremony were the pictures from all of the classes put together in a montage while the song Peng You (Chinese for “friend”) was being played.

At camp students earn camp “money” by speaking English. The camp money is then used to buy things from the camp store. The students write their names on the camp money, which is then used for a lucky draw. The most exciting bit was the last item of the draw, which was for an IPod. The tension built up. And, the winner was … Henry!

One more cheer from everybody and the ceremony ended. This year’s camp may be over but there will be another English Essentials Summer Camp next year.

It is always a great thing when students participate in class. It gives them a chance to practise their English as well encourage others in English. Another great thing is when the topic being discussed is a lifeskill, and the students talk about how they can work on improving that lifeskill.

During the English in the Wild summer camp I had the privilege of talking about forgiveness in an English Corner. The students did a great job talking in class. Some of them had some very thought-provoking ideas as to how they were going to practise forgiveness with their friends or family members.

A few days later the students had a chance to practise the lesson of forgiveness. A prominent student was participating in a game in front of the whole camp. He and several other students were to blow up balloons and keep blowing until the balloons popped. Mysteriously this young man’s balloon popped when it was fairly small. The reason was that he used his finger to pop the balloon. Later that day the young man thought about his wrong and wanted to correct it. In order to make things right he went to every class and asked for forgiveness.

What a great opportunity for the students to practise what we talked about in English Corner. To some of us it may have seemed like a small thing. It was just a game. But for this young man it was something much bigger than just a game—it was more about life. The students in the classes reached out to him with forgiveness and love. How wonderful it was for this young man to be forgiven. Now when the young man looks at his classmates he holds his head up and knows the great value of being forgiven. What a great illustration to all those who were in that English corner.