English Quest

On our second day here, Hilda and I were trying to find a bus stop for Bus 31 to return to our apartment. We found one bus stop, but it did not list #31, so we needed to find the proper bus stop. As we reviewed our map, a woman approached us and asked if either of us might be interested in tutoring English. She had a friend who was looking for a tutor for his daughter. Yes, we were standing there speaking English, but surely there was a better way to find an English tutor (?). As it turned out, it was a great way for us to find a bus stop. This woman dialed 114 on her cell phone and with one quick question, and in less than a minute, we were directed a couple of blocks west, where we had no problem locating the bus stop.

Teaching experience was not a requirement for the tutoring gig, so Calliope signed on. The upshot was two tutoring sessions per week from 6:30-8:00pm for two eight year old girls in our apartment. This seemed a bit ambitious for children so young, so late in the day. But in China, this is not an unusual setup. Success and achievement are paramount. Success is so important that I have been told there is a significant upsurge in suicides during exam periods.

A couple of weeks later, we met a woman from the United States, who has been teaching English in China for nine years. There were very few native English-speakers in Xiamen, when she first arrived. People would follow her home on the street to see if she would teach them English. If they got her phone number, they would call her morning and night trying to hire her. All of her protests were generally ignored. I have noticed an intense single-mindedness amongst some of the Chinese people we have met, so her stories did not sound at all exaggerated.

Most universities around China have an "English Corner". This is a time and place where students of English can connect with others to improve their English speaking and listening skills. Xiamen University is no exception and we finally had our first chance to attend today. When we arrived, there were two native English speakers, each surrounded by five to ten Chinese people. A couple of people in the vicinity joined us and we split into two groups. By the time we left, we each had about fifteen to twenty people around us.

What did we talk about? Calliope found the subjects introduced in her group to be uninteresting. They wanted to know what she thought of Paris Hilton. Neither she nor I think anything about Paris Hilton, so it's hard to know where to go with such a question. But I find it to be of cultural interest. Either they think Paris Hilton is an interesting topic, or they think we think Paris Hilton is an interesting topic.

On the other hand, my group was entertaining. First off, they all assumed that I was a teacher. As each newcomer found out I was a student, they struggled to find the questions to put my student status in an understandable context. One participant insisted that I looked like a principal and he explained to me the defining characteristics. All-in-all, the demeanor of these up-and-coming English-speakers was so friendly and sweet. Even the twenty-something, tough-guy rebel was adorable.

Here's an amazing statistic. I asked the first five people I spoke with how long they had studied English. Two of them had studied for twelve years. The other three had only studied for ten years !!! They are shy about speaking English, but there must be far more people who know English than let on to it.

One undercurrent of our conversations was the feeling that Chinese culture was the best. The first time I kept moving with the conversation. But the second time I heard this, I asked why they were all wearing Western clothes. One woman in the group replied that she was wearing a traditional dress. I could not tell, because the dress was black, she was standing toward the rear, and it was already dark out. Perhaps I will use a different example next time.

An interesting question that surfaced was how I would compare traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. I started to give a little history of Western medicine, with its traditional roots that include Western herbalism. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by the mosquitoes mid-stream. The mosquitoes found English Corner to be quite tasty. Additionally, Calliope was not enjoying herself. I, on the other hand, plan to return at least once.