Articles Written by Our International Teachers

Another Hot and Impossibly Humid Charles

by Charles Hagan
Joined since: 2005 - 2006

Origin: San Francisco, U.S.A.

An open letter to students, parents, colleagues, and friends

It’s another hot and impossibly humid mid-autumn day in Yangzhou. I am sitting at a window table here at the 1802 Bar sipping hot coffee and wondering what the heck I can write about teaching English abroad that hasn’t been said before. So maybe I’ll just start with a roll call of all the foreign teachers presently working at Beijing New Oriental Foreign Language School.

Who came back? Many of you are already familiar with the distinguished group of returning teachers. That would be Gyu, Reggie, Andrew, and Ira, all of whom speak excellent Chinese, among their many other talents.

Who’s new? Joining the above are many new faces from far away places. First let me mention the non-Americans, for without them we would be a much less interesting and diverse community here at BNOFLS. Leading off we have the gentle giant Jason from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. The chap on the skateboard sporting baggies is none other than Mark from the land down under, Australia. Next up is handsome Dave, former environmental consultant from quaint Witton Park in England. And now let me introduce those good folks from the U.S. of A. There’s that dashing, bearded gent Austin from Texas, and the farm lad Steve from the cornfields of Iowa, the erudite married couple Tim and Erica from the Motor City and Louisville, Kentucky respectively, and watch out for the notorious New Jersey Three-- Heather, Michael and Sophia, and from Minnesota, Apple Valley’s own Tessie, and let’s not forget the equestrian heartthrob Rob from rural Massachusetts, and finally Baltimore, Maryland’s favorite daughter, Wendy.

Who do we love the most? We come from many different backgrounds but if there is one thing all the foreign teachers can agree on it’s we know we couldn’t survive a minute without Alice and Emily in the foreign affairs office. Three cheers for our favorite two people!!! And who should we thank for their hand-holding, encouragement and support? That would be our fearless leaders, Dr. Bob and Dr. Suzy. And there you have it, the foreign teaching staff.

Who am I? My name is Charles. I was born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia. I went to high school in the suburbs of Boston and then studied film, American History and English (TESOL) mostly at San Francisco State University. I held a variety of jobs before landing in the ESL profession four years ago. I like watching movies that surprise, reading history, playing basketball, badminton, tennis and cards, listening to good music, eating French Fries, fresh fruit, ice cream, and spicy foods, chance encounters and pleasant surprises, shopping for bargains and finally and especially, despite my occasional need for privacy, hanging out with good friends and being with my students.

For the past fifteen years I’ve been living in one of the world’s most truly magnificent cities, San Francisco, California. Yes, there’s the Golden Gate Bridge, the hills, the Bay, the restaurants and the famous cable cars climbing halfway to the stars, but did you know that fully one-third of the population of this great American city is Chinese? And that is one of the charms of this city—its diversity. San Franciscans are also famous for being a little rebellious. They have been known to disagree with many of the policies and actions of the current administration. Should you ever have the opportunity to visit the United States, please come to my favorite city.

Why did I come to BNOFLS? I left the United States because I wanted to escape from my daily routine. I had been living in the same place, doing the same things and going to the same places with the same people for too long. I needed a change, something new, perhaps a bit of an adventure. I thought about the students I had taught at various ESL programs around San Francisco. All my Chinese students had been so generous and big-hearted and they loved to laugh. Later I clicked onto the International Job Board at Dave Sperling’s ESL Café and read about beautiful Yangzhou and its mix of the traditional and modern, the ancient canals, gorgeous willows, the cuisine…It all sounded so inviting.

Another reason for coming, I was curious. Even in the so-called information age the Middle Kingdom remains a mystery to most of the outside world. Many Americans still know very little about China or the Chinese. If they did know more and if they had a chance to meet some of the people that I have met here in the past eight months they would be less alarmed. Chinese hospitality would win them over in a minute.

What were my first impressions of Yangzhou? I arrived here in late February this year and my senses were jarred awake by all the strange, pungent smells, the bustling, hypnotic, impossible flow of traffic with the screeching brakes of the electric scooters and the clanging of the makeshift bells of the pedicabs. Pop, Pop, Bang, Ka-Boom!--the sound of fireworks--every night seems to be the Fourth of July. What surprised me?--the sight of all those consumers perusing the aisles and queuing up at RT Mart and even more surprising is the curious collection of Western pop songs from yesteryear presently blaring out of local shops, cafes, and elevators throughout China. MLTR forever!

But I realized after living here for several months I am moved most by the unexpected and unassuming. How comforting to witness a traditional peasant funeral procession down the paths of the field behind our campus on occasional Saturday mornings from the vantage point of my second floor balcony. The slightly ragged horn and drum music always sounds more celebratory than mournful. The sturdy water buffalo working the rice paddies during spring planting as it has for centuries holds the same fascination for me. And ditto for all the exotic, local birds that I can’t begin to identify. All that’s good is not necessarily new and shiny and vice versa.

What impresses me most? I’ll answer that question by asking you, who works so very hard with so few complaints? Who do I find smiling, laughing or singing and readily enjoying themselves despite the long hours of work at the shops, in the office buildings, on the streets, in the fields and here at school where the lessons, meetings, ceremonies, physical exercise and even more lessons go on from early morning to late evening? Yes, it’s the people of China, by far China’s greatest natural resource.

Postscript: It is three days after I first started scribbling down ideas for this article and I’m still not sure what the main point is. I’m sitting at the U.B.C. having breakfast and pulling together my final thoughts so I can finish up. The deadline was three days ago. By coincidence, my colleague Andrew and his girlfriend Lulu arrive and take seats across me. When I look up from my notebook I see an American and a Chinese comfortably seated next to each other, laughing and conversing in each others languages. I’m reminded of the easy friendships among the students at BNOFLS and the affection between so many of the students and teachers. My thoughts drift further and I find myself wondering about the future and why it sometimes isn’t easy for China and the U.S. to get along. After all, a mere sixty years ago these two nations were great allies in the war to defeat fascism and nationalist aggression. Was it the exigencies of war, the leadership? Much has changed in the interim but let’s hope that we can return to that spirit of cooperation soon. Chinese and English—the two most spoken languages in the world. There may be some significance in that…

Xie xie: Thanks to all the students, parents, teachers, staff and administration that have made us feel welcome within the BNOFLS community. Let us continue our attempt to bridge the language and cultural gap between us, and may the coming school year be a fruitful and rewarding experience for all of us.