The People I've Met

The people I’ve met along the way have given this adventure its unique character. This includes both the Chinese people and the other American English teachers. The Chinese people in the street still like Americans—not a universal sentiment these days. And, the other English teachers are an interesting, talented and varied bunch.

The day I arrived in Hangzhou, an hour and a half on the bullet train from Shanghai, I was picked up at the train station and dropped off at a rather nice dormitory at Xiashiang University—where the Babel Language Camp was located. (Yes, I do frequently wonder how these anonymous pick-ups will work out. But, if I happen to look in the mirror when I wash my face or hands, the answer is obvious—I look so different than all of the people around me! It is easy to pick me or any of the 20 some American English teachers out in a crowd of any size!

Jet lag caught up with me then, and I dozed off for a rather longish nap. When I awoke, I met my roommate for the day. She was an African American student, from South Carolina, who had majored in English at USC at Columbia. In order to add something unique to her resume, she had chosen to teach English in a neighboring rather poor province of Anhui for a full year. She had come to Hangzhou to teach English in the summer camp hoping to see a bit more of China.

Later in the evening, other Americans aka English teachers came by to say hello. Some had just arrived; some had already been in Hangzhou for several days. A Mom and daughter, Mary and Molly had decided to make the trip together – a bonding experience for the girls. Andrea had come with her sister-in-law, Vivian, and a 7 year old grand-daughter. Andrea is Dr. Andrea (I never did get her last name – a professor in early childhood education. Andrea and Vivian and I were similar in age – though we didn’t do the numbers. The others were mostly recent college graduates worrying about getting old. Nick stole the show; he was a tall, gentle, African American guy who had graduated from Penn – everyone in China wanted his email address! He handled it well—he really was cool. One of the most talented in my impression was Mario. Mario was studious and quiet; he had just graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and had had 4 years of Chinese in high school and 4 more in college. (Mario he was placed with me and 4 others; we lucked out. Mario could lead the way). Also in my group is Katie who also graduated from the University of South Carolina, and plans to be a family counselor, and Jenn, a graduate from Purdue University with a major in elementary education and Nate who went to the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in economics and philosophy. Then there was me, determined not to isolated from the fun by dragging around the title “Dr. Bender” but at the same time recognizing that there are limits to faking it. And, China still shows a great respect for their elders. Caught! I needed a way out of the corner. We settled on “Teacher Bender” for the classroom and my name for other settings. The compromise seemed to satisfy concerns in both cultures.

The students I’ve taught have opened a door for me to an understanding of China past and present. The respect that these young people have for teachers and, typically, for one another, is remarkable. I understand that this is one of China’s Confucian principles. Seeing how they work is yet another insight into the remarkable history of China and its rapid march into the twenty-first century. I’ve come to compare this Summer Camp Experience to something like the TIP (Talent Identification Program) that Duke holds each summer, where teens enroll in an intensive writing or a computer course for 1-2 weeks in the summer. So I think there is an analogy. But still these teens are in class from 8 to 5, each day … that means from Monday through Sunday! I have two English Language periods with them; the morning class focuses on the spoken language and some pronunciation and grammar points. The afternoon class focuses on sharpening their listening skills through listening to short passages read at normal (aka fast) English fluency speed and again word by word or phrase by phrase. (They also have classes in Maths (sic), Geography and History during the day).

One day (in fact on a Sunday, when my “poorly trained body” simply rebelled at the thought of a lesson plan) I helped them choose and English name. The all really wanted one. I posted several hundred names on a couple of power point slides and we read them aloud to hear the sounds. They of course knew other names from movies and such. Great fun! Now, I can call on them by name, without provoking a round of laughter.

They’ve told me about their families; about half are only children; the others have one sibling. A few still have grandparents living in the same household with themselves and their parents. Parents are workers (in factories—lots of them here in Cixi), police men or women, teachers, or businessmen or women. They’ve told me too about the environmental problems China faces. One girl’s grandmother lost her garden (house and yard) to a factory; now the air is not so good there, the girl added.

On the ground there seems to be quite a bit of openness to knowledge, facts, information and opinions. As teachers, we have not been asked to censor our presentations in any way. I can’t imagine that it will not influence the way these young people think. China is changing! It is definitely looking outward – towards the US, towards Australia and Great Britain (the major English speaking countries). About a third of the students want to travel to live for a time in another country. There are definitely some who are attentive enough to their English language skill that I fully expect to see them in North Carolina.

The kids have also been kind to me; helping me with my Chinese pronunciation – tones are hard! bringing me herbal medicines when my voice starts to fail. They have been good friends during these two weeks.

The end is of the adventure is nigh. I fly from Shanghai to RDU on July 28, and arrive late on the 29th.I will miss both them – the echo of Teacher Bender, Teacher Bender will stay with me for a while. I’ll miss my co-teachers, too. We’ve become a team, building on one another’s strengths and energies! It’s been a learning experience – incredible.