Hoi Ha

I met a beautiful teenger named Hoi Ha (literally meaning "sea shrimp") while visiting a rural village in Guiyang, China. Hoi Ha is 16 years old. She lives in the village and goes to school in the city, Guiyang. I talked to her one afternoon about schooling. This is what she told me.

She likes going to school because it gives her knowledge. Her favorite subject is Maths and she likes learning the equations. English is her worst subject. She says because the condition in China is not good and it isn't easy for them to learn a foreign language. She also says she can't put it in practise and she doesn't see the point of learning it.

Hoi Ha made me think of myself. When I was in school in HK, to the opposite of her, Maths was my worst subject and English my best. I didn't understand any of the equations nor the meaning of learning them but I liked the sound of English words and knowing about all the grammatical rules. I also had a lot of chance to use the language in my school.

What she says does make sense. If there's not much use of a language, how can you learn it well? And what's the point of learning it anyway? She lives in this remote village where it's rare to have visitors like us, let alone a foreigner. So why does she need to learn English? Perhaps it would only be for one's interest and curiosity.

Talking to Hoi Ha made me wonder the meaning of education. For a teenager like her who was born in a farm and will probably marry in just a few years and live in a village all her life, she still finds school interesting because as she says, she can learn new things and meet new friends. She appreciates knowledge. I think learning itself is elating: It gives us pleasure. It makes us confident. It makes us feel good when we learn something - when we have the freedom to learn.

I'm happy for Hoi Ha that she has the chance to go to school and that she enjoys it. (In the village, children often have no extra money to go to school unless they have sponsors.)

Meeting her was the highlight of my trip.