Yn 19 ~ QingjianWhen we asked Qingjian what her name means, she said that her family is very poor and she was very fat when she was born. Qingjian said that her name means “less” because they hoped she eat less food.
Qingjian wants to be a lawyer or a teacher. She loves studying politics and English. Because her family was involved in a lawsuit with the Chinese government, she wants to be lawyer to protect people.
YN 20 ~ Kailei
Kailei’s name means “the flowers have blossomed.” She wanted us to thank her sponsor again and let her know that she will help others in the future just as she has done. She wants to become a social worker so that she can help the elderly. Her dream is to take her parents to Beijing and Shanghai some day.
She said that she is very sincere to her friends. Alma, the Yunnan Education Coordinator, says that Kailei smiles a lot. Kailei says that she is obedient to her parents because there are five children in her family and it’s not easy for her parents. She is very grateful for everything they have done for her and for everything her sponsor has done for her.
Yn 21 ~ Shuanglan
The teachers in high school love Shuanglan and her grades are very good. She loves to write and has had an article published in her school newspaper.
Shuanlan’s name means “double flower.” Her parents “wanted her to have good morals.” Shuanglan wants to be a manager some day and wants to be able to help others.
Her favorite thing about her village is “the fairy cave.” This is what another girl wrote about the fairy cave…“There is a fairy cave, too. The entrance is so small that you have to crawl inside. Just 10 meters from the entrance, there’s a deep hole and someone could fall into it if they weren’t being careful. So you would need to pay extra attention. After crossing the hole, it becomes very wide but it’s also very dark. If you want to see the inside, you have to bring a lamp. Can you imagine how wide the cave is? It’s wider than my village. It would definitely take more than one day to visit it. Sometimes I am afraid to go too far, for I am afraid I will lose my way. There are stone chairs and beds in the cave. They are said to be used by the fairy ladies living there. There are many stone columns in the cave, too. They look like stone babies, monkeys and cats, etc. Inside the cave, there are many small caves. So you’d better remember your way!”
She wants us to thank her sponsors again. She said, “Without your help, I couldn't study here.”
YN 22 ~ Huamei
Huamei’s name means “beautiful China.” She wants to teach history at her high school someday. Huamei seems very quiet and a little shy. Her village is near a beautiful mountain and has lots of trees. She is very grateful for her scholarship but she is also very excited to have the opportunity to write to her sponsor.
YN 23 ~ YanIn Chinese, Yan is a type of bird. Yan’s parents gave her that name because they wanted her to fly freely in the sky and realize her dream.
Yan’s English is very good. She wants to teach English in the city some day. She loves the apple trees in her hometown. Her parents are farmers who grow apples, potatoes and corn.
Yn 24 ~ Xingyun
When we asked her what her name means Xingyun said that xing means "happy and glad" and yun means "cloud". Xingyun loves to draw and wants to be an artist some day. She said that there are beautiful mountains near her home. Farmers there plant trees and crops at the foot of the mountain. Her family grows apples, corn and potatoes. Xingyun wishes her sponsor a happy life.
Yn 25 ~ DedanDedan giggles a lot and smiles often. Her name means “harvest”. She was given this name because she was born on Oct 7th during harvest time. She wants to be a translator or doctor so that she can keep her family healthy. Her parents are both farmers who grow apples, potatoes and corn. Dedan loves to climb in the mountains and look for mushrooms after the rain.
She lives close to school ~ about ten minutes by bus. When we asked her about her dreams for the future, she said, “I want my mother to be happy.” When we asked her if she wanted us to give her sponsors a message, she said, “I want them to be to be happy forever too.”
YN 26 ~ Jinfeng
Jinfeng is taller than most of the girls we met. She seems very sweet and smiled the whole time. Jin means "moving forward" and Feng means "harvest." She said she was given this name because she was born on October 18th, right in the middle of harvest time. On the high school entrance exam, her Chinese score was the highest score in her grade (150 students).
She hopes to become a tour guide in a place with lots of history like India, China or Egypt because she loves history. We were surprised to hear that she wants to go to a university that teaches English (as opposed to history.)
She likes school but misses her village because the people are so “warm hearted” there.
Yn 27 ~ JiacuiWe asked Jiacui what her name means and she said that Jia means “home and family” and Cui means “green and fresh.” She hopes to become a Chinese teacher in her village because she wants to stay with her family so that she can take care of them. Her village is in the mountains and it is very beautiful. She loves to climb in the mountains there.
Yn 28 ~ Jiao
We asked Jiao what her name means and she said that it means “shy and beautiful.” True to her name, Jiao’s voice was very soft and sweet and she seems to be very shy. She wants to work hard and one day, she hopes to meet her sponsors. We explained that her tuition was donated in memory of her sponsor's mother-in-law and she seemed to be touched. This photo was taken as she looked through her sponsor's family pictures.
Jiao’s dream is to travel all over world. She wants to begin at The Great Wall of China. She likes school but misses her village. She said that all the people there are hard working.
Yn 29 ~ Xuanmei
Xuanmei was unusually confident and very well spoken. Xuan is the name of all of the children in her generation. Mei is a type of flower that blossoms in winter. She loves her name.
Xuanmei wants to be a tour guide on the Great Wall of China and she loves Beijing even though she has never been there. She is a little homesick. Her family lives so far away that she can only go home once a semester. She told us that her village is on a mountain with a very beautiful waterfall. Her parents are both farmers and they grow corn and a special spice that is so spicy, "it makes your mouth numb."
Yn 30 ~ Hongling
Hong is the name given to each of the children in her generation and Ling means "tomorrow." She said her parents gave her that name because they wanted to her to have a very bright tomorrow.
We asked Hongling for more details about the story she wrote in her letter to her sponsors. She said she hid her high school acceptance letter in a box but her father found it. Her parents still wanted her to go to school. Her father said, “No matter how poor we are, we will help you go to school.” Hongling’s family was able to raise enough money to pay for the first semester of school but they used all of the money they had saved. Hongling felt guilty because she wanted her brother to have a chance to go to school too. Because she is the older sister, she believed that she should take more responsibly for her family.
Her biggest goal for the future: She wants to earn a lot of money to take care of her family. Her favorite thing about her village is “the fairy cave.”
YN 31 ~ Daoli
After she graduates, Daoli wants to help “provide justice in society and to protect people who need it.”
Her math teacher helped her study for the high school entrance exam. She studied for two years and the teacher worked with her after school on his own time because he believed in her. Daoli wishes her sponsors have a happy life and she hopes to meet them someday.
YN 32 ~ Yongcui
When we asked Yongcui what her name means, she said that the two characters together mean “forever green” but her parents say that it means “outstanding.” She says that they gave her that name because they want her to have a successful life.
Yongcui wants to go to Kunming Medical College and work in Kunming as a doctor. She likes the big city even though she has never been there.
Her favorite thing about her village is the rice that they grow there. Her mother died two years ago when she "fell out of bed and hurt her back." Her older sister moved away when she got married, her little brother is in middle school and her father works in the city. When she goes home she stays with her aunt and helps with the farm work.
She is very close to her father. He gives her lots of emotional support and always encourages her. Her father lets her know that she is as good as other children even though they are poor. She wants us to tell her sponsors that she wishes them a happy life.
YN 33 ~ Dongmei
Dongmei has an older brother in Kunming University. She wants to go to Yunnan Normal Teachers’ College so that some day she can teach English at her high school in Yunnan.
Dongmei is very quiet and soft spoken. She said that her name has a special meaning, Dong means “winter” and Mei is a flower that is very strong and blooms in the winter. Her parents wanted her to be strong and blossom like these flowers through all kinds of difficulties. She said they wanted her to have a wonderful life.
Dongmei is very quiet and soft spoken. She said that her name has a special meaning, Dong means “winter” and Mei is a flower that is very strong and blooms in the winter. Her parents wanted her to be strong and blossom like these flowers through all kinds of difficulties. She said they wanted her to have a wonderful life.
Dongmei’s chores include cooking and washing the family’s cloths but she says she likes housework. Her favorite thing about her village is the fruit that they grow there ~ including several types of apples, grapes and peaches.
Yn 34 ~ TaizhouTaizhou wants to be a tour guide in the United States. She would like to show Chinese tourists the Mississippi river because her geography teacher in middle school told her that the Mississippi River is beautiful and the water is clean and clear. She laughed when we told her that the Mississippi River is called “The Muddy River.”
Taizhou’s village is in the mountains but is not very high. Her parents are farmers who grow corn. We saw lots of corn drying on the rooftops in the village we visited. When we asked what it is used for she said it was drying for the winter and will be used to feed both the families and their pigs.
When we asked her the meaning of her name, she told us that Tai is the name of all the children in her village and zhou means "boat." She was given that name because a boat represents “freedom to search for her dream.”
Yn 35 ~ Zejian
Zejian was very sweet. She told us how she was named. Ze is a generational name and Jian means to see with her eyes. Zejian wants to see the whole world someday. Her first stop would be at the Great Wall of China.
She said that her dream is to become a doctor so that she will be able to help other people. She misses her hometown, especially the beautiful river in her village.
Yn 36~ Zeling
When she graduates, Zeling wants to be a teacher and wants to return to her hometown to teach English.
Tomatoes are her favorite food but they have a special buckwheat pie in her village that she also likes. Her favorite thing about her school is the classroom because “it is a place where she can make her dreams come true.”
YN 37~Huifang
Huifang said that the name Fang means “beautiful flower.” She said that her mother gave her that name because she hoped that she would be beautiful when she grew up. Her parents are farmers that grow rice and potatoes. Her favorite foods are apples and oranges and her favorite thing about her village is a flower pole in the center of her village. She wants to be a doctor in Dalian because it is beautiful there and it is near the ocean.
Yn 38 ~ Mei
The word Mei in Chinese is a strong and beautiful flower that blossoms in winter. Mei dreams of becoming a doctor someday. She loves school but misses her village. She said that she lives near a mountain that is covered with flowers in the spring. She said it is very beautiful there.
Mei’s parents are hardworking farmers who grow apples and rice. She says that her parents have been very important to her success. They give her strength. When asked what she likes to do with her spare time, she said that she loves to play basketball and she’s pretty good at it.
YN 39 ~ WenjuWenju wants to be a social worker when she graduates. As a social worker, she hopes to be able to help children go to school. She said that her name means “gentle flower.” This special flower blooms in the fall, so it is a strong flower. Wenju is soft spoken and very sweet. She says her school is full of love and harmony.
Her favorite foods are apples, hamburgers and meat. When we asked if they ever made apple pie, Wenju was surprised that we actually cook apples here. She says that she loves the pears in her village too because they grow very big there.
YN 040 ~ Yanhong
Yanhong was very quiet and sweet. Yan can mean “flower or pretty” and Hong means “red.” Yanhong said that she has decided what she wants to be but she is keeping it a secret. Her dream is to travel the world starting at the Great Wall. She said she was homesick when she first came to school and that she loves her family. She said her family is full of love and harmony. Her favorite place in her village is under a big tree where people rest and gather. She asked us to thank her sponsors again.
YN 018 ~ Zhiqi.Zhi is the name of all the children born in her generation. In Chinese, Qi has the same sound as seven and ZhiQi is the seventh child in her family. She hopes to become a writer or a poet some day. Her favorite thing about her village is the marsh nearby. She loves to watch the black necked cranes there. Unfortunately she doesn’t get to go home often because her village is 5 hours away from the school.
YN 013 ~ Taicai
YN 013 ~ TaicaiTaicai means “too colorful.” Taicai says that she loves to sing. She didn’t sing for us but she does have a beautiful speaking voice. Taicai is very outgoing and laughs often. She also loves to play all kinds of sports.
Taicai wants to be an accountant after she finishes school so that she can take care of her hard working parents.
YN 015 ~ Guoqin
YN 015 ~ GuoqinIn her letter to her sponsor, Guoqin wrote that she wanted to make a special dish for her. We asked her what was in the dish. I think the recipe is a village secret because she would only tell us that it was made with soy beans.
Guoqin told us that Guo means “country” and qin is a type of instrument. She said that her parents gave her that name because they hoped that her life would be full of sunshine.
Guoqin’s dream is to travel the world. She would like to visit the US first. She said she would love to have more freedom. She wanted us to thank her sponsor again. Because of her help, Guoqin has “less burden.”
YN 012 ~ Dahong
We asked Dahong what her name means and she told us that it means big and significant. She said that her parents “wanted her to be successful on the road of life. Even if there are difficulties, they hope she can get through.” Dahong wants to become a tour guide in Dalli and then she wants to travel abroad. Dalli is in Yunnan and is an old city with a famous tower. Dahong loves the mountains in her village. Her home is at the foot of a mountain and her family grows corn and potatoes.
YN 014 ~ Wang Mei
Wang Mei said that her name Mei is a flower that blooms in the winter. She hasn’t decided what she wants to do for work when she graduates but her dream is to be able to travel. Her parents are farmers who grow apples, potatoes and corn. Her favorite food is the apples that her family grows. She says that they are the best.
YN 014 ~ Wang Mei
Wang Mei said that her name Mei is a flower that blooms in the winter. She hasn’t decided what she wants to do for work when she graduates but her dream is to be able to travel. Her parents are farmers who grow apples, potatoes and corn. Her favorite food is the apples that her family grows. She says that they are the best.
She wants her sponsors to know that she is very moved by their help. They have given her a happy life.
