Today was our last day in Jishou, which meant at some point
we were all going to have to say goodbye to our kids… something absolutely none
of us wanted to do!
We woke up at the usual time and went to have the usual
breakfast of buns filled with pork or red bean paste for the final time. Then
we headed to class to teach the kids about the topic of travel. You could
definitely tell it was the last day of class because you could periodically
hear 90’s pop or Chinese music over the speakers in the rooms featuring the
karaoke talents of the EGL and LAC crew. Of the performances that I saw, my
favorites had to be the “I want it That Way” duets between Keith and Chen and
Keith and Eric! After class we took a few class photos and thanked the kids for
giving us the opportunity to teach them. Then we headed to lunch/basketball.
As we walked up to lunch we were amazed to see how elaborate
of a setup they had for the game! They brought in a scoreboard, a referee,
extra seating for the already impressively sixed crowd, and matching uniforms
for the faculty. The stage was set; LAC bros vs. Faculty was about to get under
way. Keith won the tip and we took a commanding lead out of the gate. The
faculty then rallied and overtook the LAC bros by halftime. Thanks to stellar play
from Keith, Luke and Christine and solid contributions from Jesse, Eric, Gina,
Chen, Nikki, Alex, and Kiwi, the LAC team came out on top by about four points.
After many pictures to capture the moment, the team hit the cafeteria for some
well desired lunch.
After lunch we all went back to our rooms for the last time
to grab our luggage and bring it to the auditorium for the final presentations
of the mini projects we had been working on all week. Luke and Jenette lead it
off with their presentation on Industrial Packaging. Their kids had some really
great ideas and actually implemented those ideas into prototypes that they
proudly showed the audience. Then Keith and I went up with our class and sang
perhaps the saddest Chinese song through sign language, but it was an absolute
blast.
After the song, Keith and Chen went up on stage to thank
everyone who had a part in allowing us to help out in Jishou, and we all went
up to say a final goodbye. Once we got down from the stage, the kids came and
gave us big bear hugs with tears in their eyes. It was incredibly hard to leave
them because they were so amazing. They were appreciative of everything,
extremely polite, eager to help us with anything and show us their city, and
excited to learn. We could not have asked for any better kids to teach. Many of
them bought us gifts to show their appreciation. Keith seemed to steal his
students’ hearts because he received armfuls of gifts from his students. It was
really hard to say goodbye to all of the LAC people too. They, like the kids,
were also crazy helpful and fun to hang around with and get to know.
After the tear-jerking goodbye, we boarded the bus to take
us to Jishou where we boarded another bus to Fenghuang. After the 21 hour bus
ride we started to call and look for our hostel. When we contacted them they
told us that they lost power, but we’re pretty sure they actually double-booked
our room. We went into another hotel that ended up being completely booked, but
we found a travel agent there who helped us find a very nice hotel to stay at.
It actually had toilets (not squatter style) along with AC and other very nice
amenities. It was amazing to lie down after a long day of goodbyes and travel!
-Joe
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