A 16-year-old girl involves people from Canada, Asia and Europe to make a difference in India

June 2013. My Chinese friend Sophy sends me a Facebook message asking whether I know any school that would need a donation of uniforms. Apparently, her Chinese friend in Canada is running an organization that raises funds to make uniforms for underprivileged children. Amidst many emails, my internship in Brussels, the reports of Baltic-Arab study visit that I organized in Spring, I reply to her: “Yes, indeed, I happen to know such a school.”

She only wanted to go out

What comes to my mind first are my long, white legs as if they rather than my eyes witnessed the events of that night.

Indeed, I am wearing shorts. It’s around eight o’clock in the evening and I have returned from jogging. Guards open the automatic metal gate immediately upon my arrival. “Xie, xie,” I thank them in Chinese. That always makes them smile. It’s freezing cold, my body cools down after the jogging, and all I want to do is to go to my room at the school campus where I live and work. Then as I reach my building, I find it locked. I go back to the guards to ask for the key. They don’t seem to know where it is, so they ask me to stay at the gates and wait. I am waiting, but what arrives sooner are goosebumps all over my legs and arms than the key.

Aggressive landing or quasi-romantic relationship with my Chinese guest

“Are you there?”

Silence.

“Are you there, I am asking.”

Silence.

“Well, in case you are and only find it funny to ignore me, this is what you need to know: I am planning to go to bed. Now. I don’t want any interventions from your side. Neither now. Nor in the middle of night or early in the morning. Is this clear?”

The Lianshui Dance

My First Impressions of a Chinese County

Ongoing clatter of children, always busy ping pong tables and basketball courts, random flowers being given to their foreign teachers, smiles, the melodious bell ring; my soft bed where you want to sleep longer and longer, a little dusty windowsill, my newly bought mug with green liquid inside (a unique design) and quite spacious and luxurious apartment with a Chinese painting on the wall, soft carpets, perfect bathroom. They say it’s 4 stars. Hunger for Facebook or Blogspot which are blocked here… desire to update my status… crowds flowing to dining hall, crowds sitting at classes, crowds, crowds, crowds. I have arrived in China. I have arrived in Lianshui, a very small county of 1 million people, a part of Huai’an city in South East China. I have arrived at school where I will be teaching English.

Seven Days, Eight Flights: China-Barcelona-China

A trip to Girona (with all contestants).

There is one week of my life which still seems unbelievable as I look back at it. Seven days, eight flights, one night train, one night bus. That’s exactly what happened after I found out that I am one of the finalists of IEMed short story contest “A Sea of Words” and have been invited to the awards ceremony in Barcelona. Great! I am in China now. I said to myself. But in my mind, I knew, I would be there. And I was (except for the fact that I missed the ceremony itself). Now being back to boring Lianshui County (village) where nothing much happens, I am still living in those days and those planes: hectic, happy, rewarding.

EU-China Year of Youth 2011: Workshop on Youth Volunteering

EU-China Year of Youth 2011
Opening Ceremony, Brussels
January, 10-11, 2011

Audience: The workshop of volunteering gathered young people from China and different countries of Europe

Day 12: Last goodbye’s and….my big Award

Last goodbye’s

On the very last day I woke up later than usually as I had had an online meeting according to European time and therefore it finished at 6 in the morning in the end. However, I didn’t do anything special on my last day, just went for the last shopping and somehow this day turned to be special anyway: I met Marina, a nice Russian girl who loved travelling and was now living in America. After talking to her I found out that she was also supposed to come to work in the same village as me in Egypt…hmm, the world is really small…and I must say it was really like a destiny to meet her.

China Day 11: Forbidden City and the rain

Forbidden City

Waking up at Alex place, my lovely host from the previous time in Beijing. I had a clear plan for today: finally to visit Forbidden city. Since it was national holidays’ time when I had just arrived in Beijing it wasn’t a good idea to do it that time. But now on my last full day in China I wanted to see the famous spot which is included in UNESCO World heritage. The visit was really impressive and I liked the feeling of really being in a small city with its walls, museums, arts and culture and even restaurants and shops. A city inside a city with its special cultural feeling and borders and tiny corners where to get lost.

China Day 10 and 11: Shanghai Circus and 18 hours on a train

The day started early because we had just 1 day to see the main spots in Shanghai. Agenda went like this:

-Checking out of the hostel

– Visit of Yuyuan garden surroundings and the marketplace

China Day 9: The last day in EXPO: from Asia to Middle East, then to Pacific and finally to Europe

Countries/Pavilions visited: Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Oman, Israel, Qatar, Morocco, Palestine, Pacific, Malaysia, Cambodia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, UN, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Norway, Ireland, Libya, The Netherlands, France

 

(1)Nepal: let’s start with Asia today! Nepal was nice with a tower that was leading up and up till the point where you could see the surrounding Pavilions from the top.