tinawarren, 29 May 2008 13:37 hours
Xifeng, Qingyang, Gansu, China Life goes on.. Things have settled down a little in Xifeng. All the schools have reopened and this week they have been practising evacuation drills - something which prior to the earthquake they had neglected. Logistically getting over 3000 students out is tricky at the best of times.
I went to Lanzhou for a few days to visit a school for deaf and blind students with a view to placing a volunteer there.
There are 14 Special schools in Gansu and this one is the largest ( 350 students - all residential). It was very interesting and the teachers were all very dedicated but need training as most of them are not specialists. It will be a difficult placement because of the language barrier and also the difference between British and Chinese sign language.
I have visited Lanzhou twice and I really don't like it. It is dirty and polluted and I just didn't feel safe. My colleague from VSo had her mobile "pick-pocketed" from her bag.
I arrived on sunday and was on the 16th floor of the hotel when the strongest aftershock yet hit. I felt sick and dizzy but there was very little I could do as only one lift was working - slowly so I just waited for it to stop. Unfortunately more houses were destroyed and more people killed and injured in Sichuan and Gansu.
There is a lot of talk here about corruption both before and since the earthquake. Many of the schools which were destroyed should not have fallen and it is thought that corners were cut in construction resulting in shoddy buildings. It is rumopured that one Headmaster has disappeared for fear of reprisals. In addition money has been stolen from donations by hackers who diverted money from the Red Cross account to their own ( which they had set up especially).
There have also been cases of charity workers creaming off money by giving false receipts for goods purchased to be sent to the Earthquake area. It is unbelievable how anyone can be so callous.
The TV and papers are full of sad stories and also details of heroic rescues. Many teachers have died alongside their students and some are being hailed as heroes for sacrificing their own lives to save some of the children.
But life goes on in the rest of China pretty much as normal. The same people sit in the same places, doing the same things every day.
Summer must be here cos I heard a cuckoo and then I remembered I heard one last year as well. Another indicator that summer is here is the behaviour of the Chinese male. On hot days trousers are rolled up to above the knees, shirts are opened and sometimes removed and vests are rolled up to just below nipple height. Women, however,do not exhibit such behaviour - bare tummies are not as accceptable as they are in Europe.
I have only got 5 weeks left before I leave China so I am visiting schools involved in the new project "Happy School, Effective Learning" which we launched in March. I'll write more next time about that.
Bye for now
Tina
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