Thursday, October 17, 2013

My First After-School Activity

After a very long day of lying in bed with a sore throat, swollen lips, and an aching body, I assumed that things could only get worse from here. I saw today as my body's way of telling me to get out of China, fast! I realized that of all the medications I brought with me, I completely forgot to bring cough/sore throat medicine (for any of you who really love me, here's your cue to prove it)! Thankfully, one of the other foreign teachers in my building brought me some natural herbal supplements that were absolutely disgusting but did the trick. Either way, I spent all of last night and today in bed so I never imagined I could end the night on such a positive note.

My University hosts a weekly after-school event called The English Corner where students meet to practice speaking and pronunciation in English along with all 5 of the foreign teachers at the school. That now includes me. I did not believe I would be able to stay the whole time but 5 minutes into the class, I forgot that I was sick and realized that I was in complete shock and awe of these students. There must have been about 55 students there and they were the most eager kids I had ever seen. They were respectful and kind and most importantly, engaged. They repeated every phrase with diligence, they remained focused throughout the hour and a half, even though it was 7 pm when we started. 

The most amazing part for me was walking around the room and listening to their responses to the discussion questions posed. Tonight's topic revolved around Beauty-inner beauty, outer beauty, definitions of beauty, etc. These students all believed that what made someone beautiful had nothing to do with physical attributes and everything to do with personality which is an interesting notion considering Asia is the hub of plastic surgery and skin whiteners. I was so impressed with not only their language skills but also with their level of thinking and I saw hope for the future of women everywhere when I listened to these kids. The best part of the night was when one girl stated: "Teacher, when I think of the word beautiful, I think of you. You are very beautiful." I nearly lost it and I had to do my best not to cry because the other girls in the class repeated the same thing to me as I walk around the room. Many of the girls wanted to have me as their new English teacher and I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the love. Before I left, 4 of the girls asked me for my phone number and promised to take me out to dinner sometime soon.

I have had a very tough time adjusting to the Chinese culture. I have felt like a zoo animal from the beginning. Knowing that many of the Chinese (as well as Japanese and Korean women) prefer lighter skin and a more European look, I came here already very self-conscious which was not at all aided by the constant pointing and ceaseless staring but tonight, I recognized that there is a group of more educated women who are starting to understand that they look gorgeous just the way they are and I now realize that I have a lot more to learn from them than they do from me.

These girls stayed after class to talk to me. It was adorableee:)

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