Today, we met at 8:30 and got back on the bus to go to the children’s village. It was about an hour drive outside the city. It’s weird that as soon as you drive a little bit outside the city, it immediately becomes a rural area. I don’t think they have much in the way of suburbs here. It’s either you live in the city or you don’t. When we arrived at the children’s village, we walked around the facility and saw the buildings that the children live in. The children who live in this village have parents who are in prison and they have no one else to care for them. They are given housing, clothing, and the ability to attend school. All their expenses are paid for through private donations. I’ve never heard of any place like it. The woman who gave us the tour mentioned that these kids could have been given a bad name because of what their parents have done. Instead, these kids are given a chance to have a good, productive life. Someone took the time to care for them when their situations could have easily been ignored.

After we toured some of the buildings, they took us to the auditorium type room and we watched a few of the kids perform a dance. Saturdays at this village are open house days. Any of those who make donations can visit, so we weren’t the only people there. Then they showed a video about who started the village and other children’s villages around China. At some point, it was suggested that our group get up and sing for everyone. Me and Fodun stayed sitting while everyone else got up and sang ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’. It was an interesting performance, but I’m not sure if many people were paying attention. Once the singing was over, the boys went to go play basket ball with some of the children while the girls went to the next building over to do origami. The girls we were with, who were probably only eight or nine years old, were amazing. They could make such intricate things out of paper. I didn’t realize how important it was to get the folds just right. Eventually, I gave up on the flower I was working on and the one girl finished it for me. None of them spoke any English, and none of us spoke Chinese, so communicating was a little challenging, but I think everyone got the gist of what the other was saying for the most part.

After the activities, we ate lunch with the kids in their cafeteria, and then got back on the bus to go see the Greater Wide Goose Pagoda. A pagoda is a temple and I believe the tour guide Rocky told us that Buddha was referred to as a Goose, so its his temple. We learned a lot about Buddhism as we walked around the grounds beneath the pagoda. We didn’t go inside and climb the temple because that was an extra fee. Then we went into one of the buildings next door to the pagoda and had a calligraphy/art history class. Tonight, Dr. Lee is taking the 17 of us out to dinner.