农民子弟

Recently, I was told to write an article about my experience doing community service with 农民子弟 for GAHA. For those who don't know, every Friday I troop merrily/reluctantly down to the main gate, cross over, take 812 for 11 bus stops, get down, turn right and walk for about 200m before I reach a 村 or village (its basically a cluster of houses given a pretty name), I enter the village and THUD. Its not Shanghai. Or at least its not a part of Shanghai they would publicize.农民

I can rattle on and describe the place. I would rather not though.

I don't know how to describe what i do. I don't even know the proper translation for 农民子弟. My dictionary tells me that proper translations should be peasant children. However, i know that peasant children lacks accuracy and context. I don't know what is right for this very special, very large group of people that are discussed so extensively. The 农民 issue in China is a big one, as seen from all the emphasis put on a famous figure if he came from that particular background, the row of books in the library all dedicated to this issue and the particular attention paid by the media with regards to this group of people. 农民.

The family i teach came from Sichuan. The dad came first with an offer from a supermarket as an attendant. Mom and two sisters came shortly after. Till now, the mother of the little girl still forlornly longs for the big house they left back in the fields. When i ask her if she wants to go back, she says -he's here, there is nothing there for me. Holding the one year old girl in her hands, her backdrop being that grimy shack the size of my bathroom... Perhaps you can accuse me of being sentimental, but it evokes true feeling. 农民.

Its winter now, and they have no heater. When i ask the mother if its hard for them she shrugs and says 就穿多一点！没事！On Friday I spent 4 hours on their bed (for its the only place to sit in the house) teaching the kid. When i got back, i was paralysed with a dripping nose, a sore throat and a feverish brow. I limped to bed and only got up at 5pm the next day. For 4 hours i lived their lives. The result of it? My collapse. Amazing. My weakness and pathetic inability. 农民.

婷婷, my exuberant tutee. Often when i arrive she is off somewhere playing in the cold. Her mom would holler for her, sometimes to no avail. Finally she'll arrive, flushed and excited chattering about her day. When asked about her exam results, I'm normally greeted with a slightly embarrassed smile and a 又不及格了. Then, the optimism will start spilling out. =D HAHAHA! -but! two marks before I pass for math! and English, the highest was only a 70! Its okay. This is the second exam in a shanghai school with the locals. I'll do better the next time. -smile. I don't know what to do with the mischievous imp. She won't study and yet she somehow possesses or is infected with the supreme Shanghainese confidence that she'll go somewhere in life. She fails but she doesn't let it get her down. Sometimes i wonder if i should reprimand or praise that blind optimism. 农民子弟.

Dinner is always a tug of war affair. 不不，我们不能一直吃你们的！不可以！青菜就够了！不用大鱼大肉！啊！太客气了！肉给婷婷！不可以！不可以！好好我也吃一点＝／I insist on not eating and they insist on me eating. As you can see, they often win as the mother likes to pull out her most devious weapon! -你嫌弃我煮的菜！After that, i always give in with a whimper... knowing that i cannot insult their pride for all the money in Bill Gate's various bank accounts. 农民

So what are they? :) I say, strong resilient ordinary human beings.
And what is it that i do? Now i finally know. I'm not helping someone who needs me. I'm doing it as a favor for another human being.



This post deserves the first photograph i ever took seriously as a photographer. Then, I learned something about the hobby that has since accompanied me for 7 years. Now, I just learned something about the duty and delight that will accompany me for the next 70 years. (Provided i live that long).