Diplomats for a day. All important messages at our school are spread last minute via word of mouth. If you don't ask questions or at least keep your ears clean, you might miss the boat, an occasional meeting, or a chance to plant trees. By Thursday, rumours of a trip to the foreign forest were spreading like wildfire. I knew said rumours were true when I attempted to talk with my co teacher about the next day's teaching plan. Her: "But you won't be here tomorrow. You will plant trees." Me: "Oh. What?!"
The foreign forest of Wuhan: Over two hundred trees planted by people from 20 different countries. Inviting the non-Chinese of Wuhan to the rocky forest is an annual tradition, six years in the running. Friday morning came around and despite a thunderstorm and a recent downpour, we were off.
Representing our school were the 14 other English teachers and our boss, Mr. Ye. We took place in a five bus police escorted caravan that took us two hours out of Wuhan and straight to the forest. This forest hasn't yet grown into its name. It was more like a hill. A rocky dusty hill with short trees no taller than the ceilings in my room.
When we got out of our buses all foreigners and Chinese alike huddled around waiting for direction. I wasn't sure what was going on, but suddenly, two Chinese men armed with megaphones began giving speeches. Apparently, as a coworker pointed out, they were holding those loudspeakers as props. I could barely hear a word they were saying! I did catch that they welcomed us foreigners. They believed that improving the environment is a common goal for all countries, and that by volunteering our labor we were offering a gesture of friendship. At the end of their speech, they unveiled a giant rock carved with Chinese characters. I couldn't read it and so could only guess what it said: "Foreign Forrest of Wuhan"....."Foreigners Support China"......
The firecrackers began and we stood through what felt like five minutes of explosions. Meanwhile the TV cameras and reporters swarmed.
Before I knew it I had a bucket of water in my hand and a shovel. By the time I got to my first tree, there was already a crowd atop the hill digging. However, I realized that the hole for the trees were already worked out. We just had to place the tree in the pre dug hole, shovel some dirt around it, water it, and move on. While the work wasn't as strenuous as I thought it would be, it did present a great photo opportunity. The video cameras and reporters kept busy while the foreigners of Wuhan did their work. My coworker Lillis and I managed to stand 10 or more trees up and "plant them".
An hour or so into it, just after I began to break a sweat, we were herded back onto the buses. It was time to go. That was it?!
I guess so.
They escorted us to a fancy banquet hall and as a sign of friendship treated us to a delicious lunch.
