That day， on the way to Baoling， we passed by a small primaryschool called Yahujia. Seeing David from several hundred metersaway， the children there began to holler， “Ding-Da-Wei！” The mountainroad and the school are separated by a broad dry gully， so Davidhollered back that he’d stop by the school on his return trip. But theheadmaster and several students still ran out from the school to crossthe gully and exchange a few happy words with David.
The kids at the schools all like him， showing visible excitementwhenever he is around. They enjoy having this giant grab them orhang some boy upside down by his legs. They like to crowd aroundand watch him spin a basketball on his finger.
And David is at his most relaxed and happy when messing around308 with these children.
The teachers also all like him. The female teachers often joke withhim that it’s no wonder he has yet to marry， since his feet stink so bad.
David is 37 this year （in 2004）， according to the Dongxiang customof calculating age， and says he was born in the year of the monkey.
His mother， however， says that he is still just 35 because he hasn’
t had his birthday yet. He describes himself as “probably one of thosepeople who doesn’t often jump emotionally into things”。 At times heasks a few Chinese-style questions， like whether my residence permitis in Beijing or not， which are quite shocking to hear from a foreigner.
He thinks it a natural thing.
“If you lived in some other country for ten years you’d be thesame way. He often sings or hums a tune while walking along. Once I heardhim sing “Be Like Lei Feng”， a song very popular during the CulturalRevolution （1966-1976）， coming from his lips.
That tickled me. “You know that song? “I know a lot of songs.” He claims， “If we go sing karaoke， I couldkeep singing Chinese songs all day without repeating myself.” Heknows the music of Tian Zhen and Sun Nan， as well as Sun Yanzi （StefanieSun） and even Zhou Jielun （Jay Zhou）， who are all top pop singersin China. He used to listen to music often when living in Guangdongand Lanzhou. But Dongxiang is quite lacking in entertainment.
He occasionally can snatch a newspaper like the Lanzhou EveningDaily from someone on the bus， and when he’s done with it makes sureto pass it on to teachers at his schools. With his great love for basketballit’s a pity he cannot see any NBA games in Dongxiang. But his fathermails him sports magazines from home which he treasures.
David is considerate and caring. When walking together hemakes sure to stand between you and the cars. He helps children andwomen with their bags on the bus. He’ll talk with you about his familywith truly deep feeling. At his English Corner， he never allows himselfto repeat a speech topic， with the exception of Mother’s Day， duringwhich every year he relates stories of his mother， grandmother andhis great-grandmother.
In public places he’ll often run into those who find a foreigner anodd curiosity. When asked， “So what are you doing there? What kind ofsalary do you get?” he replies honestly， “Helping to build schools， but I’
m not making any money. The usual response is， “No money?！ Okay， if you don’t want tosay then just forget it.” Some in the county advise David to use his“celebrity” to do more promotion of his work， becoming better knownand thus increasing donations.
“I don’t want to do that.” He said， “I just want to do what I amsupposed to do. I don’t intend to be labeled a Lei Feng or a NormanBethune.” He is not interested in being a role model and isn’t out thereto influence others.
The thing he desires most is a little more free time to improve hisDongxiang language ability. He also has a dream of taking a little tripto visit Qingdao and Mt. Tai with “Miss Right”。 He also is awaitingthe day when the Dongxiang are no longer the most illiterate people inChina.
“How much longer to you expect to stay here? “As long as they are still willing to employ me， I’ll stay on，” hereplied with certainty.
David is a devoted Christian. But he also knows that in the worldtoday the “religion” with the most influence is the so-called “AmericanDream” — striving to get a higher salary， better car， bigger house，more beautiful wife， etc.
But his earnest response to this is that everyone ought to askthemselves deep in their hearts if this is truly what they want and need.
Will it bring them peace? Satisfaction? Fulfillment?
“Late late at night， when you can’t get to sleep， your soul， yourheart of hearts will try to talk to you. It will ask you what it is that youare living for. Don’t just ignore this， or take a sleeping pill and try todrive it away.” The deep calm in his blue eyes， as he sits on his littlebed telling me this， makes me feel he is in possession of the entireworld， the whole of life.
By Feng Yue in 200Translated by David Deems31 0 Editor’s PostscriptRealizing Chinese DreamWhen compiling this book in 2007， I found this article written in2004 by Feng Yue， a journalist at the China Youth Daily. Reading it， Iwas deeply moved by his spirit， and by his work in Dongxiang. Threeyears have passed since Feng Yue’s interview. Is he still in Dongxiang?
How is he getting on? I’m anxious to learn his recent situation.
How are your Dongxiang language studies coming on? Have youmarried your “Miss Right” from Dongxiang? My questions came flyingout as soon as I met him.
