“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.” - Adolf Hitler

A special Nanbeihu entry.

Helloooo everyone!

Since staff training ended it's been pretty much non- stop, for those good enough to be picked to do actual work :-p. Katie, being fabulous beyond belief, (or, in fact, just white and female - the two things missing from the other Nan staff) was selected to go to Nanbeihu where there were two back to back trips. To get there, the staff had to undergo a grueling 1 and a half hour bus journey, a 24 hour train journey and then another 2 hour bus journey from Shanghai; definitely an ‘experience’ but perhaps not one to be taken regularly! Having said that, the combination of getting to know the Chinese staff better (and exchanging English/Chinese vocabulary), train bouldering and a trip to baijo land (baijo being a potent spirit most locals try to stay away from as much as possible…) made the journey far more bearable, even in the face of the near toxic smells that emanated from the toilets in the mornings!

The first trip was a D of E Silver prep, for which Katie had to lead a group with Liang Meng, the scariest looking but possibly most hardworking of the Chinese staff (with long, dark hair, tattoos all over his body, pointy silver earrings and combats and big black boots), and the second was with an international school with year 6 kids, for which she was a group leader. This meant being solely in charge of the group - bonding with them, being their friend, being responsible for them, taking them from activity to activity and doing these with them (or belaying them for things like climbing and high ropes) - maintaining energy and enthusiasm in a childlike manner while still being the person in charge. Both trips were great fun but for very different reasons!

The hike for the D of E was brilliant: up and down hills; through orange groves and tea plantations; past temples and pagodas etc... but the kids in Katie’s group (nicknamed Team Korea) hadn't the first clue about anything to do with the award, with maps, compasses, hiking, camping, the outdoors in general. When questioned what they enjoyed doing, it emerged that they in fact hated every component of the award - why do it in the first place, one wonders?! Inane questions such as “where are the shops?”, “are we really not going to shower?”, and “do we have to carry EVERYTHING on our back?!” were common, much to their group leaders’ despair. With that in mind, the trip was taxing, and the whole system was very different from the way things are done back home. Thankfully, Katie had loooooaaaads of energy so skipped and squealed round the route in typical Katie fashion, and whipped at least one of Team Korea into the shape of a moderately enthusiastic and competent Duke of Edinburgh student. This was, however, negated on the final night of camping, when Chris and Katie stumbled across 4 Korean students walking back towards the campsite with a bag full of beer, fizzy drinks and oreos! After implementing a fairly severe ticking off, the mature and responsible Katie and Chris felt it was in everyone’s best interests to confiscate and consume said items.

The second trip was in the end more tiring but the kids were a great bunch - 10 year olds and still full of energy and enthusiasm, which obviously Katie loved! Particularly memorable moments of the week included the flowers picked for Katie by her group at the end of their stay; being serenaded by Afa whilst sitting in a tree; convincing the children that the stone animals and gnomes dotted about the hill used for hiking were in fact real people and animals turned into stone by an angry and jealous king who was in love with a princess who lived on the island in the middle of the lake; and being WILDLY enthusiastic to the point of alarming the children while belaying them for high ropes!

The main reason for Joe and Andy’s insane jealousy at Katie’s Nanbeihu fortune was the accommodation and food there. Except when camping with the Duke of Edinburgh kids, all staff had large and luxurious hotel rooms or their own separate clubhouse, in which to relax at the end of the day with - yes that’s right - yet more free beer. If only Katie genuinely liked beer… The real treat, however, was with the food. Every morning, lunch and dinner a large and spectacular buffet spread was provided in the dining hall and every dish was absolutely delicious - the banana pancakes, REAL (haha boys) coffee, bacon, eggs and sausages for breakfast on the second trip were particularly welcome, although the best meals were had in the village up the road from the hotel compound. These were eaten outside on a table brought out by the rather startled looking owner, who hurriedly barked orders into the kitchen as he sighted the fifteen strong horde of Company staff marching up the hill towards his establishment! The dishes, ordered by the food expert Tommy (who kept disappearing into the kitchen to ‘monitor’ - ie. taste - the preparation), were unbelievably good, and just kept appearing and appearing far beyond the point of everyone’s appetite being satisfied! Chilies were used to flavour in copious amounts, much to a particular staff member’s delight.

Having reminded the boys exactly what they missed out on and reignited their jealousy, it should just be added that by the end of her Nanbeihu trip, Katie was in fact missing the stunning beauty of Yangshuo and the brilliant adventures of night swimming and random bike rides, so perhaps the boys didn’t have too much of a bad time being left behind after all.

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