The other day when I was at English corner, I got a phone call from an unknown number. This being at about 9 o’clock PM, I assumed that it was probably Anissa, who would be getting ready for her day, and I answered by phone by saying “Good morning dear, how are you?” To my surprise a male voice spoke back to me saying “Good evening is this Adam?” I said “Yes, can I help you?” This man, who I by this time had determined was probably not a student, proceeded to tell me that he was an English teacher in a city called Wugang and that his nephew, one of my students, had approached me to ask if I was interested in going to his school to give a lecture. The purpose of the call was to determine my answer.
Unfortunately, I did not remember being approached by anyone asking me to go to their school to give a lecture. I tried to politely tell this to the man on the phone without telling him that he might be mistaken, but the conversation had already taken an awkward turn as he began complementing me on how natural my spoken English sounded. At this point it became obvious that this man, although he is an English teacher, had never spoken to a foreigner before. He told me how meaningful it would be if I could go to the school and talk to and meet with the students. I have to admit he was quite persuasive, but I was a little turned off by the fact that the school is a three-hour drive away from Kaifeng. I ended the conversation by telling him that I would talk to his nephew about it and make my final decision as soon as we had discussed the details.
To make a long story short, I talked to the student and decided to go. I have been staying in Kaifeng the entire time that I have been here. I have spent every night in this apartment. It was time for me to get out and see another city. this would be a great (paid) opportunity to do it! This trip will be described in forthcoming blog posts.
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