Hiking and Books

Posted by Michelle Ross on 04/28/2008

Hiking and books. One of these falls in the "likes" category and the other land firmly in the "dislikes" category, but both were major parts of this last week for me.

Last weekend Niffy, Ben and Kristen came down to visit. Friday was a traditional national holiday (Tomb Sweeping Day- similar to our Memorial Day) so they had the day off work and decided to make a long weekend of it with us. (Because our school is in the middle of inspection this term, Thad and I did not get the day off, but it was fine because we were done teaching before everyone arrived.) The weather had been beautiful and everyone was itching to get outside and do something outdoorsy, so after pondering our options, we decided to hike JiFeng Shan (Chicken Mountain.)

JiFeng is a local tourist attraction that sits just outside of town. There is a road that goes up and one can pay to see the temples, or, one can do as the students do. By climbing the mountain (about 2200 meters from bottom to top) we avoid the entry fee, but also get to "enjoy" a not-so-relaxing hike. To its credit, the hike is beautiful and worth the effort, but it is rough, especially on non-hikers like myself.

Thad and I climbed the mountain once before, our first term here, but we wanted our friends to have the experience, so up we headed again. (We have two more sets of visitors coming before we COS in July, both of whom have expressed interest in seeing the mountain. I may leave these extra trips to Thad!) We left here, with a group of my second-year students, at just after 8AM. The mountainside was beautiful, but I swear the students ran up that dang mountain! Now, my idea of strenuous activity is having to carry multiple shopping bags around the mall with me for hours as I sort through the latest fashion, so this was not my cup of tea, but I was also unwilling to be left behind on such a beautiful day, so I joined the group for the day. While the students and Ben and Kristen made quick time of the mountain, I lagged behind. Thad is a fast hiker too, but he and Niffy hung out at the tail of the group with me on the way up. We (meaning me really) took lots of breaks and pictures on our way up, finally reaching the top about four hours after starting.

At the top of the mountain are several temples and an amazing view of the valley in which we live. We met up with an 86 year old man who lives at the temple and after taking some pictures with him, he blessed us with a fortunate future. About fifteen minutes later as we were enjoying some noodles from a woman who also lives there, Thad got an eyeful of lajiao (red pepper) sauce. I guess "fortunate future" is further-looking than the next half an hour! Luckily Niffy had eye-drops in her bag (what a Girl Scout!) which saved the day!!

After wandering around at the top, the students headed off to look at another area where I guess there used to be monkeys, but knowing that there was nothing really there, the five of us foreigners headed back down to town and school. We got home and were all exhausted, but we had a wonderful day. Although I hate hiking, I love the reward of the view from the top and then the feeling of exhaustion but accomplishment at the end of the day.

It wasn't all a week of braving "dislike" though. After everyone headed back to their sites after a weekend of playing, it was time to get ready for our Book Nook Awards Night. Rachel and I put together an essay contest this term in the Book Nook to try to encourage more students to come and use the room. (It is already popular, but like many teachers, we are always trying to get more students involved in school activities.) The topic of the contest was "How was the Book Nook helped you improve your English?" After choosing winners (we actually had a tie for first-place), Rachel and I put together a special evening for them.

Our goal for the evening was not only to recognize the students who entered the contest, but also to invite the English department teachers (many of whom have never gone to the room themselves) and school leaders so that others are aware of what the students are doing in their free time. Thanks to the urging of our dean, we had many teachers come. The school leader turnout was much less spectacular, but I can't say that I am surprised by that.

For the event, Rachel and I made certificates and bought cute notebooks and pencils for all of the students who participated. (We had 23 entries.) We also had cash prizes for the winning papers. Also, Rachel went and had some photographs printed at a local shop and we made a collage to hang on the wall. We went to town on Tuesday and got a frame (which is a whole different story involving braving a swarm of bees) and that evening we spent two hours putting it together. When we were done we were both so proud of how it looked until Rachel turned to me and said, "Michelle, it is upside down!!" She was right! As we worked on it (and talked a little too much I guess!) we didn't notice that it was not the right way. Luckily, Tomas was able to find a tool and take the hooks off the frame and put them on the other way. Oooops! We are creative, but not always logical I guess.

Anyway, last night was the awards ceremony and I think it was a success. We had 730 books, as well as many magazines to show the teachers when they came. The students enjoyed their prizes and I think everyone left feeling like the Book Nook was a good addition to our school. (Several of the teachers also left with a book in-hand! They wanted to borrow books as well, so we just make a check-out paper for staff as well. I am glad to see they like the room!)

Climbing and books. They are not two things that normally go together in my world. One I avoid whenever possible while the other is a daily part of my life, but this week they came together to make a busy and tiring, but rewarding and satisfying week.

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This webpage expresses the views of Michelle Ross. It does not express the views of the United States Peace Corps.

Last updated Sep 29 2008