I'm on my 2.5 months holiday break from teaching at the local university at the moment, but before I left one of the Chinese English teachers asked me if I would help out a family member of hers who was holding an enrolment day at their private school in Laishi about an hour's drive outside Baoding. She said it was an afternoon of activities and I would get 600rmb's. Ok I said,not bad money for 4 hours and I would have helped a colleague at work too. This is China so 2 days latter I get a call saying now it was in the morning and not the afternoon. I would be picked up outside my apartment at 8am and be home by 12, Ok I said no problem. Last night I get a call saying I would be picked up at 6 and maybe be home by 2pm was that alright? One thing you learn fast here is that if they think they can get away with it they will take advantage of you. It's good to be flexible for example if the school asks you to do some unpaid activity like run an English corner but there is a limit and now and again it's just good to say no. So I said "That's not going to happen" and 30 minutes latter I get the call to say that 8-12 was just fine.
So this morning at 8 I'm in the back of a car being driven through the countryside to the low rise agricultural town of Laishi. Not sure what I'm expected to do or for that matter where. This is China so most of the time you don't quite understand what's going on around you but you will be told when you need to know,honest!. We arrive outside a large Chinese state middle school at 9am just as all the kids are leaving, lots and lots of proud mums and dads picking up their kids. I'm met by a representative of the school I'm employed by for the morning, a very attractive Chinese girl in her late teens early 20's wearing bright pink sweat pants and top with " Juicy" written in gold lettering across the back. She had my full attention! I'm led to the school gates and told to wait there. Then I'm introduced to a team of her helpers who are dishing out business cards and flyer's to the waiting parents. I dawns on my that I'm there just to attract peoples attention and that's what happens. All those mums want to show off there kids grasp of the English language to me and all there friends,a crowd quickly gathers.
The school rush over I'm led away and around the corner to be seated at a table set up in the street piled high with more cards and flyer's and the team is doing brisk business handing them out to passes by,and I'm the bait. Or as my new best friend in pink said I'm the flower that's going to attract the bee's! Not too many white folks have ever been in this town so the strategy is paying off! I must admit it was an entertaining hour or so. Then I'm taken through a court yard and up some stairs to the Language school. The one and only classroom is full to bursting and I'm passed a microphone and introduce myself to everyone. Then I'm taken to one side and it's on to the break dancing display, well what else did you expect? The music is turn up so loud that it's all distorted and 3 Chinese teens with their caps on backwards are trying their best to spin on their heads, the crowd loves it and are clapping along happily.
Then it's our turn. Miss "Juicy" and I, she did tell me her name but I was distracted and can't remember it, so Miss "Juicy" will do fine! We start by getting the kids to name that animal by the sounds we make, cats meows, dogs barking, lions roaring you get the picture and just as it's starting to be a fun activity we have to stop for the Kung Fu display. That's fine and I get a cup of tea. I then get to do my demo lesson for real. I have her write some single letters on the board one at a time I say them out loud and get the kids to repeat them after me, we build up to simple words. Ten minuets of this and it's time to have some fun so I send miss "Juicy " out to find 3 toilet rolls while I get six youngsters to " volunteer" and come to the front of the class. I explain that they must pair up and one must wrap the other from head to foot with the said toilet paper. I briefly toy with the idea of wrapping miss "Juicy "up.....................just for an example of course, then decide this is not such a good idea. Once done I explain that the kids that are bound up mummy style have to jump up and down while the rest of the class clap and count and try to free themselves. Last one wins. Its chaos's kids shouting out the numbers and clapping ,toilet paper flying about until we have a winner, everyone is happy and that's the lesson over! As an English teacher as long as your students are speaking English it's considered a successful lesson. How you achieve this is up to you and if you've got 30, 6 or 7 year olds you can have some real fun!
I'm ushered out to have my photo taken with the kids and their parents and then with the team that were distributing the flyer's and finally with Miss"Juicy" who tells me they are arranging a visit for the schools students to see the Beijing aquarium and would I please accompany them. She then offers me private Chinese lessons, I give her my wife's phone number and leave. The car is waiting, I'm presented with a large cake for some reason I don't understand. I'm payed and I'm home an hour latter.
Just another day as an English teacher! Sure beat's the UK I know that much!
