I had finished my first full week in the training centre at around 8pm on Saturday. I took appropriate lengths to make sure I made a good impression by dressing formally the whole week in navy blue trousers paired with a light blue high neck collar silk shirt. One of the benefits of choosing EF adults was that, unlike EF Kids who were paid more, there was no uniform, and working on online classes would involve taking a pay cut, so teaching adults seemed to be the best 'compromise' between the other two.
Figure 1: Drinking coffee at a cafe in Hangzhou
During the week, I had observed around five classes by local teachers and foreign teachers, mostly the Dan, an obese ginger bearded American from what he calls the 'countryside' of Las Vegas. I also taught half of one class myself, which was to a Level 7 student who was advanced in English. To my relief, my first half class wasn't awful-I think. I kind of just read whatever was on the PPT and got the student to repeat.
After successfully getting through the week, the Chinese girls in the office left swiftly with only the guys in the office, including Chris You, the Chinese local teacher, my boss Andy and American Dan. Andy's Chinese wife and kid were coming, which I was disappointed by, because I kind of had a crush on him. He was handsome, eccentric, spoke Chinese, and wore his heart on his sleeve. Sunday was Andy's day off. Working in the training centre meant that new teachers couldn't have Saturday or Sunday off, but we usually had two consecutive days off during the week instead. This arrangement worked for me, since everywhere in Hangzhou, especially shopping malls, the WestLake and....well....any activities involve huge groups of people due to China's population.
In any case, Andy and the guys had some beers in their lockers to drink on the way downstairs outside the mall. He suggested that we go to Lawson to buy more alcohol. I agreed to tag along but told them "I'm sorry, I don't drink'. His mouth seemed to drop to the floor, and the guys seemed perplexed.
His wife, Alice, also didn't drink-so I wasn't a complete alien. The guys sat on the floor outside in Lawson's drinking, with his daughter Celeste, belting out a Chinese song. Andy, Dan and Chris were drinking beer, while Alice had bought a large milk tea filled with tapioca balls. Alice kept saying in "I don't want to go and drink by the lake, we do that every Saturday".
They seemed to respect the fact I didn't drink, and Alice was around, so she was policing Andy. We made our way to the lake, which I had never seen at night.
It was beautiful, but I pretended not to be taken in, because the guys didn't seem to share my appreciation, nor Alice, who was native to Hangzhou.
The lake was quiet at night, after around 9pm, filled with the odd passerby or security guard on patrol. The backdrop of the gently lit mountains could only be compared to fairies inhabiting treehouses built into the crevices, creating a magical ambience. From the upbringing of Disney stories, the back drop would be an ideal place for Peter Pan his lost boys and Tinkerbell to live out their care-free life. Its beauty is the subject of paintings, poetry and folk stories, with an aura of romance. The fusion between humans, nature and modernity can be experienced, seeing the lake from this perspective I understood why it was dubbed 'Paradise on Earth'. Every week there was a night show, which was heavily policed, but always well-attended. I ensured I didn't pass the lake during this time, and for my remaining time in Hangzhou it became my regular 'thinking' walk.
Andy usually sat on a bench by the lake drinking, while Dan and Chris Yu played loud music on their phones while getting more drunk and dancing. Alice supervised her daughter a little further away from the prying eyes of the guys getting drunk. An elderly lady came up to me while I was sitting on the bench also, trying to sell me a rose, but I didn't know what to say....she didn't understand English and I couldn't understand Chinese. The lady continued to follow me, trying to give me a flower. I had no idea what this was, or what she wanted. Andy stepped in, which was the first time I heard him speak Chinese....I had no idea what he said...but the lady went away.
This was a job in China, or as I called them 'a flower lady'. They were either young girls or older ladies in their 50s or 60s, who would harass foreigners or other Chinese visiting Hangzhou to ask them to buy a flower for around 10RMB. I didn't see a problem with buying a flower for 10RMB, but Andy seemed to disagree with giving her money, for reasons I didn't think to ask, he had been living here for eight years, knew the culture and understand the language, so didn't ask questions.
After around one and a half hours, Andy left with his wife, and daughter all huddled together on his e-bike back to his apartment, which was around a 1 hour journey. Dan and Chris Yu followed shortly, as they also had long hour-long journey's home by Didi, Chinese taxi or Uber-again, another concept I didn't understand. Uber didn't exist yet in the UK, and to this day, still not even in my hometown, and can only be found in major cities such as Manchester, Leeds and London. I was lucky enough to be able to walk home, and safely, with my apartment being only a 10 minute walk.
The night marked my experiences of many 'firsts' including expat nightlife, Hangzhou's West Lake and socialising with colleagues, while I hadn't thought about home, or called, or Skyped, I simply sent the odd email home to mum and dad. Otherwise, after two weeks I had blended fully into China expat life.
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