Coke Zero

I really hope that I am making some sort of impact at the school. If just one student walks away pronouncing “the” as “the” instead of “zhe,” or maybe gets to university in London and understands when someone tells her they pulled an “all-nighter,” I’ll be happy.  Right now I suppose I’ll have to settle for knowing I truly affected the school in one way: Coke Zero.  My first two weeks in Changde I thought the only place to buy Coke Zero was Walmart. THEN suddenly one magnificent day, there was a single Coke Zero at the small store beneath the school. I eagerly went up to buy it, but OH NO! it wasn’t for sale! I guess it must have been the storeowner’s personal drink. But the next day something MIRACULOUS happened! The store was selling three Coke Zeros! Sam and I (let’s be honest) frantically purchased them. Teaching is exhausting; we began buying two a day. And then it spread like wildfire. All of our students began buying them. The store fridge now contains just as many Coke Zeros other drinks. The storeowner knows me. He always hands me the delightful beverage before I can even ask for it. Someday Chinese scientists will be studying the aspartame cancer outbreak that struck Changde’s children the hardest. That was me boys, that was me.

I mean “girls.” That was me GIRLS, that was me. In a previous post, “These things look weird without a title,” I wrote about how the boys greatly outnumber the girls in my classes at the very expensive school. In contrast, the less expensive school has a much more even boy-girl distribution. After consulting with one of the Chinese teachers, Nicole, I concluded that it was gender discrimination. However, a recent conversation with another Chinese teacher, Magic, made me wonder if I hadn’t jumped to conclusions. She said that girls are simply easier, therefore parents don’t have to spend extra money on the expensive school. The boys need the small class sizes; they need someone constantly making sure they are paying attention. Girls will pay attention in the big classes, so there’s no need to pay more for smaller class sizes. She told me that gender discrimination doesn’t happen anymore in the cities. I didn’t really know what to think. Nicole had told me herself that it was gender discrimination, but Magic seemed to have a point. The few girls in my classes were always so much better behaved and focused.

Then a new school appeared on my schedule. It was a kindergarten, the only one run by the company. Since there is only one English kindergarten, there are no price options. My first day at the school I was terrified. What was I going to do with a class of thirteen four-year-olds??? What I didn’t expect was that in a class of thirteen, I  would have only two girls. I don’t want to make assumptions anymore…so do with those numbers what you will.

The teachers at the kindergarten were such sweethearts. On my first day two of them shyly asked if I would have lunch with them. They bought me way more food than I could ever eat, and refused to let me pay for anything. I was surprised because most of the teachers at the school in which I usually teach seem a little wary of me. Perhaps it’s because I’m always with the other Americans. Perhaps we’re much more approachable when we’re alone. When living in homestay, it’s so nice to take a break and just talk to someone in rapid-fire English (who totally gets it) for a few hours a day. But I think in being together at school so much, the Northwestern teachers made ourselves unapproachable. To truly immerse oneself in a culture, and make the most native friends as possible, perhaps one has to forgo some of that rapid-fire English time.