English Corner...
I spent much of today wandering around the city checking out a few of the parks, listening to ladies singing classic Chinese songs, old men play the erhu. I ended up meeting a Chinese tourist who didn't speak any English, but we managed to communicate with my broken Mandarin, and went for lunch at a cool place on the lake in the park.
In the evening, one of the English teachers took me to the western part of the city to show me a few different places to check out. He also took me to a local "English Corner" where people, mainly high school students, meet to practice their English every Saturday night. Of course I was like a piece of meat thrown into a tiger cage. Almost immediately 20-25 people circled me and asked all sorts of questions. I met some students by the names of Tom Sawyer, Arthos (I asked him to spell it), Smiling, Betty, and many more.
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5 comments:
It sounds like the students have a very long day from 7-30 until 10 and I noticed the picture inside the school had classes on Sunday night. What are the hours that you've been working at the school like?
what is the game erhu, and is it only played by the men?
wishing you good luck when you start teaching your classes. know you will be awesome.
The erhu is a musical instrument with two strings. It's similar to a violin except that you rest it on your knee, and hold it upright. There's a photo of it at the link.
Hey Yì Wén! What do people say about your name? Was their English any good and had any been out of China?
One of the teachers studied for 4 months in Kamloops, and another has spent a few weeks in Cambridge. Most of the English teachers have never been to an English speaking country, though a few have.
As for my name, I think they're more impressed that I have a Chinese name and can write it!
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