A day in Chongzuo with some very special girls

Yesterday morning we set out early to head south of Nanning to Chongzuo City. It was a 2 hour drive to get to Banli village where we would arrive at a school and meet with some very special girls who are sponsored by GGEF (www.ggef.org) where I am the US volunteer to help run the program. The drive was spectacular...green sugarcane growing, rice paddies, water buffalo pulling people riding behind on carts, the enormous karsts popping up out of the ground. When we arrived at the village, a leader greeted us and brought us into the classroom where 10 of the girls were waiting. There were huge smiles and wide eyes as they had never seen foreigners before. But soon, they were singing a Chinese song and we sang "twinkle twinkle little star" and the laughter began. We spent the day eating with them, sharing stories with them, and playing with them. The favorite activity for everyone, including adults, was balloon toss. The girls loved blowing them up and trying to juggle with them. Lucy started a game of balloon volleyball, and soon there was not just one balloon, but 5 going back and forth. The girls also loved making friendship bracelets with some embroidery floss and Lucy's teaching talent. Word got out into the village that we were there, and young and old came out to have a peak at us. The day went much too fast and soon it was time to head back to Nanning....and to think about what we could do with them when we are here again next year :)