I was asked by Hilary weeks ago if I would like to go to English corner with her one Thursday evening. Obviously, given that English corner is merely two hours of sitting, surrounded by many Chinese students, chatting about anything they wish, unpaid - I said no. After relentless nagging, I gave in and decided to give it a go. If all goes wrong, i'll just pretend I am French and understand neither the Chinese students nor Hilary.
Only 30 minutes before it was due to start, this being 7.00pm, did Hilary inform me that English corner takes place outside. Not inside, huddles round a table, as I had imagined. But rather outside, literally on a street corner. My anger reached new levels, but there was nothing I could do and off I went. Following on from my previous post, you can imagine how cold it was.
Now for those who know me well, I am not one to enjoy having to speak to many new people at once. Add to this the inability to speak Chinese and the fact that it was freezing cold and I was all ready to jump in the next passing taxi. By ten 7.10pm, no word of a lie, I had nearly 35 students stood around me, listening to every word as if I had something important or intellectual to say. Which of course I didn't. But it didn't really matter. I could have spoke in cockney rhyming slang and they still would have been enthralled by every word that left my mouth.
Two hours flew by and the fact that I was surrounded by so many people meant that it wasn't remotely cold. I amused myself by telling them that the reason Hilary invited me was because it was called 'English corner' after all and not 'American-English corner'. Questions ranged from 'what is my favourite colour?', to 'do you think that the Earth will be able to cope in the near future given the ever increasing population?'. Obviously I stuck to what I know - 'my favourite colour is blue' and 'don't worry your little head about the population, keep reading your books'.
Only 30 minutes before it was due to start, this being 7.00pm, did Hilary inform me that English corner takes place outside. Not inside, huddles round a table, as I had imagined. But rather outside, literally on a street corner. My anger reached new levels, but there was nothing I could do and off I went. Following on from my previous post, you can imagine how cold it was.
Now for those who know me well, I am not one to enjoy having to speak to many new people at once. Add to this the inability to speak Chinese and the fact that it was freezing cold and I was all ready to jump in the next passing taxi. By ten 7.10pm, no word of a lie, I had nearly 35 students stood around me, listening to every word as if I had something important or intellectual to say. Which of course I didn't. But it didn't really matter. I could have spoke in cockney rhyming slang and they still would have been enthralled by every word that left my mouth.
Two hours flew by and the fact that I was surrounded by so many people meant that it wasn't remotely cold. I amused myself by telling them that the reason Hilary invited me was because it was called 'English corner' after all and not 'American-English corner'. Questions ranged from 'what is my favourite colour?', to 'do you think that the Earth will be able to cope in the near future given the ever increasing population?'. Obviously I stuck to what I know - 'my favourite colour is blue' and 'don't worry your little head about the population, keep reading your books'.
It kills me that it wasn't the worst evening I have ever had in my life. Unfortunately, I may be inclined to go back again. I never thought those words would leave my mouth. But it did make me realise that the students here must be pretty desperate to practice their English with native speakers if they are so eager to listen to what I have to say!
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