This morning we took a bus to visit a country school that is sponsored by Viking. The children danced and did a Kung Fu performance for us and then we went into their grade 4 classroom. They took us by the hand and led us to their seats, where they read to us some English words in their workbooks. Michael then volunteered to draw a Chinese character on the blackboard, and they said he did a good job! They really seemed to enjoy having us there. The desks were primitive and close together. School is free for the first 9 years, but getting into university in the larger cities is difficult if you're from a rural area, because they accept many more children from the city, and therefore competition for the remaining spots is fierce from the outside areas. Many of the teachers live at the school, as the travelling distance would be too far.
Before breakfast I walked slowly on the treadmill (the bike irritated my broken foot) and attended the 30 minute Tai Chi class which was led by the ship's doctor. To my surprise I found it relaxing, and am thinking of getting a DVD to continue with it at home. After dinner we saw another great show of music and dancing put on by the young ship staff.
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