【正文】 “I’ve just got one m ore thi ng to achi eve. I have been so occupi ed with work that I haven’t had tim e for social acti viti es. I thi nk i t’s im portant to have a bal ance between study and a soci al l ife, so I’m going to joi n a few clubs. Hopefuly I’l m ake some new fri ends. ” We wi l fol ow Xi e Lei ’s progress in l ater editions of thi s newspaper but for now, we wi sh Xi e Lei al the best i n her new enterprise. She deserves to succeed. Peru Peru i s a country on the Pacifi c coast of South Am eri ca. It has three main geographical areas: a narrow coastal bel t。 the Andes Mountai ns runni ng paral l el to the coast。 and hi gh, fl at plains in the southeast. In the high pl ans area is Lake Titicaca, the highest l ake in the world, on whi ch boats can travel . Peru has abundant pl ants from desert grasses to vast areas of jungle. O nce the centre of the powerful and extremely wealthy Inca Em pire, much of South 1獨山縣肉牛養(yǎng)殖基地建設(shè)項目 可 行 性 研 究 報 告 項目主管：獨山縣人民政府 項目實施：獨山縣康復有限公司 項目申報：獨山縣殘疾人服務(wù)總社 編制時間：二 00二年七月三日 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 i nutes 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 wal ked a l ong way, som etim es up to two hours, to get to school. There’s no electri city or water and even no textbooks ei ther! I’m stil tryi ng to adapt to these condi ti ons. H owever, one thi ng is for sure, I’ve be e m ore im agi nati ve i n m y teachi ng. Sci ence is m y m ost chal engi ng subject as my students have no concept of doi ng experim ents. In fact there i s no equi pment, and i f I need water I have to cary 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 thi s before started jum ping out of the wi ndows. Som etim es I wonder how rel evant chem istry i s to these students, m ost of whom wil be goi ng back to thei r vil ages after Year 8 anyway. To be honest, I doubt whether I’m maki ng any di fference to these boys’ li ves at al. You asked whether I’m geti ng to know any l ocal people. Wel l, that’s actual l y qui te di ffi cul t as I don’t speak much of the local Engl i sh di al ect yet. But l ast weekend another teacher, Jenny, and I di d visi t a vil l age whi ch i s the hom e of one of the boys, Tombe. It was m y first vi si t to a rem ote vi l age. We wal ked for two and a hal f hours to get there first up a m ountai n to a ri dge from where we had fantasti c vi ews and then down a steep path to the val ey bel ow. When we arri ved at the vil l age, Tom be’s m other, Ki ak, who had been pul i ng weeds i n her garden, started cryi ng”i ee i eee”. We shook hands wi th al the vil l agers. 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 i t i s a m an’s house. The huts were round, not rectangul ar l i ke the school buil di ngs. There were no windows and the doorway was just bi g enough to get through. The hut was dark i nside so it tok tim 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 pl atform for Jenny and m e to sl eep on. Usual y Ki ak woul d sl eep i n her own hut, but that ni ght she was goi ng to share the platform wi th us. Mukap and Tom be were to sl eep on smal beds in another part of the hut,. There was a fi repl ace in 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 couple of jars. Outsi de Mukap was buil di ng a fi re. O nce the fi re was goi ng, he lai 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。 the Andes Mountai ns runni ng paral l el to the coast。 i t sm el l ed 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 in 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 gril over the fi re. After a short ti m e Tom be threw i t out of the doorway. I was puzzl ed. Tom be tol d m e that the can was heated to dry out the l eftover food. They beli eve that any l eftovers atract evi l spiri 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 therwise they don’t waste anythi ng. We l eft the vil lage the next m orni ng after m any goodbyes and fi rm handshakes. My m uscl es were achi ng and my knes shaki ng as we cli m bed down the m ountain towards hom e. That eveni ng I fel happil y i nto bed. It was such a pri vil ege to have spent a day wi th Tom be’s fam il y. It’s getti ng l ate and I have to prepare tom orrow’s lessons and do som e paperwork. Pl ease write son. Love, Jo TH E WO RLD’S MO ST USEFUL GIFT CATALO GUE Woul d you l i ke to donate an unusual gi ft? Then thi s i s the catal ogue for you. The gift you gi ve i s not som ethi ng your l oved one keeps but a vol untary contri bution towards the l ives of peopl e who real y need i t. Chose from thi s 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 m uni ty i n need. When you purchase an i tem, we wil l 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, bi