Twenty students and two teachers from the Hong Kong International School set off in high spirits late last month on an eight-day school expedition to China's Yunnan province. After a three-hour flight, we arrived at Lijiang, a beautiful city famous in the past for its matriarchal society and for its use of pictograms. Instead of touring around, we hiked up a dusty road to the Lijiang Ethnic Orphans School, established in 1999 for children whose parents had died in natural disasters, especially earthquakes which are common in this area of China. The students, aged between two and 18, are drawn from 14 minorities. As we approached the school we were given a celebrities' welcome, greeted by 300 students standing on both sides of the road. Enthusiastic children took us around the school and made us feel at home. Over the next three days we developed a close relationship with the orphans in Lijiang, preparing teaching materials and organising games for their free time. Our job was to teach them English, music, arts and crafts. The arts and crafts were particularly well received; all the students took part in these classes with great enthusiasm. As part of the music classes we introduced them to some Canto- pop songs. Our visit passed swiftly and when the time came for us to leave the farewell party left everyone with a feeling of sadness, very different from the atmosphere of our welcome a few days earlier. The parting was hard for us and for the orphans. In order to show our love and concern we donated $30,000 to the school to improve the kitchen facilities and to renovate the dining hall. We also donated 250 books which we had collected from fellow students in a book drive in February, plus seven bags of toys from Operation Smile. I celebrated my 17th birthday during the farewell party and it was a very moving experience to hear them singing for me in Chinese and English. The presents I received will always bring back pleasant memories of my stay. Tiffany is an eleventh grader at the Hong Kong International School Graphic: perspglo
