G L O B A L T R AV E L
I learned that has been given a unique‑ ly human touch: there are 44 million orphans in this world. I spent the second half of my senior spring break in the company of Pami, Geta, Sanda, Delah, Gabi, Dia, Dora, and Nati, eight beautiful, talented, and unique Romanian girls, who live in an orphanage in Beius. There is nothing that makes these children at all deserv‑ ing of the struggles they face. Delah is incredibly athletic, attentive, and when she thinks no one is looking, an amaz‑ ingly free spirit. Nati wants nothing more then to be loved every second of every day. Dora will act as strong as Superman, and then become the most loving child you’ve ever met when she melts into tears in your arms as she realizes she’s loosing you. Pami has the most beautiful heart, but if you don’t give her the time to show it to you, you’d never see. You can’t see any of this sitting in any classroom, even ones as nice as Derryfield’s. As students, we all try our best to connect with the material with which we are presented. But even the most effective class discussion cannot com‑ pare with the hands‑on experience of
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meeting these kids, all of whom are trying desperately to show you how great they are. There is no way to go back to seeing these girls as a number after discovering how fantastic they are as individual people. Derryfield is constantly reminding us how blessed we are to be part of a community where we are individuals and not numbers. The most important lesson I have learned from Derryfield is that we owe it to the world to pass that blessing on by never letting people just as amazing as us be seen as a group of numbers. Even if there are 44,000,000 of them.
Bruce Berk — China Derryfield is developing a sister‑school relationship with the Blue Tassel School in Suzhhou, China. Our students spent time there, experienced a homestay, and volun‑ teered teaching at a school in Beijing. All students at Derryfield study Chinese history during the ninth grade. The March trip to China, how‑ ever, offered a different challenge— one in which our fifteen participants needed to go beyond the lessons of the classroom, and be willing to be open minded, to persevere, and to take posi‑ tive risks. We could not have been more proud of this group. They ate everything put in their path, perse‑ vered through challenges of hygiene, and learned to adapt at a moment’s notice. Lessons learned varied from the unimportant (one CAN live without a cell phone for two weeks) to being an American role model to their Chinese peers. On several occasions they taught,
sang in both Chinese and English, and even took part in a spirited discussion of “What Defines Success” with their Chinese counterparts in front of an audience of over 200. They worked at embracing Chinese culture and taking leadership posi‑ tions. Eating Chinese food once a week in an American restaurant is a far cry from consuming Chinese food three times a day. Yet this group enthusiasti‑ cally ate every new food they encoun‑ tered, including scorpions. They were fierce bargainers. Never did Ms. Foster and I suspect that, after a short lesson on haggling, this young group would “fight” Chinese merchants to within an inch of their capitalist lives. More important, however, were lessons about governments and leadership. Students learned that communism is a political system and not a culture. Our students were overwhelmed by the kindness, warmth, and hospitality of the Chinese. Equally as important, they spent time in two different schools teaching English. Lesson plans were tried with both success and failure; revamped and strengthened. Derry‑ field students were forced to think, literally, on their feet, and were stretched in ways they had not imagined. For example, one night we prepped them with instructions that they would be co‑teaching with Chinese teachers, except then the teachers left the entire session up to our students. On another occasion, at a moment’s notice, they found themselves asked to perform in a home for elderly Chinese. In both instances they were great.
Derryfield Today – Spring 2009