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義工分享 : Harold & Andrew Li

We began our attachment at the School of Public Health the next day after we returned from Chengdu and were quite busy for the first few days, adapting to the life of researchers and academics in the school. We traveled to Shenzhen to conduct surveys, learned how to model infectious diseases and observed the common practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Baptist University.

Teaching a 7-year-old and a 17-year-old in the same class was challenging yet fun for us at Chengdu. We thought we would have problems engaging them to learn English. How wrong we were! When we started playing Hangman, they couldn't stop guessing the answer. Some even tried to take the flashcards from us! We enjoyed the morning with the children, and I hope they enjoyed the experience as much as we did.

Talking with the three would-be participants of the Hong Kong trip shed light on teenager's pre-college anxiety in China ( 高考 ). Although going to college is a rite of passage for many these days, getting admitted to the college of their choice is never easy. I guess this is true everywhere.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with Damian, helping him mold casts for children about to undergo surgery. Damian was most kind to explain to us what occupational therapists do behind the scenes. We enjoyed experimenting with the soft casts, and even made a croissant-shaped mold to bring home!

On our way to home visits, George shared his experiences as a physiotherapist with us. We learnt a lot watching him deal with home-visit patients.

We met 李露 and 小超, and they were in high spirit. We were warmly greeted by their family members, who dressed up for the occasion (mothers in nice dresses and high heels). As my mother pointed out, Hong Kong people have long lost the hospitality of hosting guests at home and serving them local delicacies. We had local watermelon and roasted sunflower seeds.

We had a pleasant conversation with 李露 about our respective school lives. She showed us some of her school textbooks and we thought they were rather advanced! 小超 has grown a lot over the past year and is more aware of his disability and appearance. We certainly share his concern. We were really impressed with how he had taken care of the laptop computer we gave him last year, even though it was not in its best condition.

Sharing by Harold & Andrew Li

April 2012