【正文】 a bush school the cl asroom s are m ade of bam boo and the roofs of grass. It takes m e onl y a few m inutes to wal k to school down a m uddy track. When I reach the school grounds there are l ots of “good m orni ngs” for m e from the boys. Many of them have walked a l ong way, sometim es up to two hours, to get to school . There’s no el ectri ci ty or water and even no textbooks either! I’m sti l tryi ng to adapt to these conditi ons. However, one thi ng i s for sure, I’ve be e m ore i magi nati ve i n m y teachi ng. Sci ence i s m y m ost chal l engi ng subject as m y students have no concept of doi ng experim ents. In fact there i s no equipm ent, and i f I need water I have to carry i t from m y house i n a bucket! The other day I was showi ng the boys the weekl y chem i stry experim ent when, before I knew i t, the mi xture was bubbli ng over everywhere! The boys who had never e across anythi ng li ke this before started jum pi ng out of the windows. Som etim es I wonder how rel evant chemi stry is to these students, m ost of whom wi l be goi ng back to thei r vi l ages after Year 8 anyway. To be honest, I doubt whether I’m maki ng any difference to these boys’ li ves at al . You asked whether I’m getti ng to know any local peopl e. Wel , that’s actual ly qui te di fi cul t as I don’t speak m uch of the l ocal Engl ish di al ect yet. But l ast weekend another teacher, Jenny, and I di d vi si t a vi l age whi ch is the hom e of one of the boys, Tom be. It was m y fi rst visi t to a rem ote vil l age. We wal ked for two and a hal f hours to get there fi rst up a mountai n to a ri dge from where we had fantasti c vi ews and then down a steep path to the val ey below. When we arri ved at the vil l age, Tom be’s m other, Ki ak, who had ben pul li ng weeds i n her garden, started cryi ng”i eee i ee”. We shook hands with al l the vil lagers. Everyone seem ed to be a rel ati ve of Tom be’s. Tom be’s father, Mukap, l ed us to hi s house, a l ow bam boo but wi th grass sti cki ng out of the roof thi s shows it i s a m an’s house. The huts were round, not rectangul ar li ke the school buil di ngs. There were no wi ndows and the doorway was just bi g enough to get through. The hut was dark i nsi de so i t took ti m e for our eyes to adjust. Fresh grass had been l ai d on the fl oor and there was a newl y m ade platform for Jenny and m e to sl eep on. Usual ly Ki ak woul d sl eep i n her own hut, but that ni ght she was goi ng to share the pl atform wi th us. Mukap and Tom be were to sl eep on sm al l beds i n another part of the hut,. There was a fi repl ace i n the centre of the hut near the doorway. The onl y possessi ons I coul d see were one broom, a few ti n pl ates and cups and a coupl e of jars. Outsi de Mukap was bui ldi ng a fi re. O nce the fi re was goi ng, he l ai d stones on i t. When hot, he pl aced them i n an empty oil drum wi th kau kau (sweet potato) corn and greens. H e then covered the vegetables wi th banana l eaves and l eft them to steam. I sni ffed the food。 i t sm el led del i ci ous. We ate i nsi de the hut si tti ng round the fi re. I l oved li steni ng to the fami l y softl y tal ki ng to each other i n thei r l anguage, even though I coul d not parti ci pate i n the conversati on. Lucki l y, Tom be coul d be our i nterpreter. Later, I noti ced a ti n can standi ng upsi de down on the gri l over the fi re. After a short tim e Tom be threw i t out of the doorway. I was puzzled. Tom be tol d m e that the can was heated to dry out the leftover food. They bel i eve that any l eftovers attract evil spi ri ts i n the ni ght, so the food i s dri ed up i n the can and the can i s then thrown out of the hut. O therwi se they don’t waste anythi ng. We left the vil l age the next morning after m any goodbyes and fi rm handshakes. My m uscl es were achi ng and m y knees shaki ng as we clim bed down the mountai n towards hom e. That evening I fel l happi l y i nto bed. It was such a pri vil ege to have spent a day with Tom be’s fami ly. It’s getti ng l ate and I have to prepare tomorrow’s l essons and do som e paperwork. Pl ease wri te soon. Love, Jo TH E WO RLD’S MO ST USEFUL GIFT CATALO GUE Woul d you l i ke to donate an unusual gift? Then thi s i s the catal ogue for you. The gi ft you gi ve i s not som ethi ng your l oved one keeps but a vol untary contri buti on towards the li ves of peopl e who real y need i t. Choose from this catal ogue a real y useful gi ft for som e of the worl d’s poorest and bri ng hope for a better future to a muni ty i n ned. When you purchase an i tem , we wil send you an attracti ve card for you to send to your speci al person. You can use the cards for any speci al occasi on weddi ngs, bi rths, birthdays, Chri stm as or anni versaries, etc. Unit 5 KEEP IT UP, XIE LEI Chi nese student fi ti ng i n wel l Si x m onths ago Xie Lei sai d goodbye to her fam il y and fri ends i n Chi na and boarded a pl ane for London. It was the fi rst tim e she had ever l eft her motherl and. “After getti ng m y visa I was very excited because I had dream ed of this day for so l ong. But I was al so very nervous as I di dn’t know what to expect,” Xi e Lei tol d m e when I saw her wai ti ng i n a queue at the student cafeteri a between l ectures. Xi e Lei , who i s 21 years ol d, has e to our uni versi ty to study for a busi ness quali fi cati on. She i s halfway through the preparati on year, whi ch m ost forei gn students pl ete before apl yi ng for a degree course. Xi e Lei hi ghl y re m ends i t. “The preparati on course is m ost benefi cial, ” she sai d. “Studying here i s qui te different from studyi ng i n China, so you need som e preparati on fi rst.” “It’s not just study that’s di fi cul t. You have to get used to a whol e new way of l ife, whi ch can take up al your concentrati on i n the begi nni ng, ” expl ai ned Xi e Lei, who