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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Education / 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China (1107 Views)
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10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 6:52pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
1. Students react to the beard. They ask about the beard. They ask you what to call it. They ask you about other forms of facial hair. Most importantly they are asking questions. If you've ever held an English Corner you know that if no one is taking your English corner is dead and will be very long and painful. But if there is something interesting to talk about the students will talk on their own without you having to prompt them. 2. Different people will have different opinions and all of them will express them. Some students have told me they think that I should shave. Others have told me that they think that I should keep the beard. Some think that it looks strange. Others think that it looks cool. The end result here is that they are talking. See point number one... 3. Even when you have a lively conversation going in an English corner there are sometimes lulls in the conversation. These lulls came result in the death of the rest of the English corner if something is not done. There are a handful of things that can help to prevent this but among them is the use of the beard. Sometimes it happens on it's own with no action from me. As a conversation lulls an otherwise quiet student (who might not understand the current topic anyway) will sometimes ask a question about the beard. At other times if I stroke the beard it will illicit comments or questions about it. I noticed this happen the first few times accidentally but now will do it on purpose. 4. Most Chinese people are an only child. And most of my students come from families that have a better than average income. Like in America, these individuals who grew up as an only child give off the distinct impression that they've not heard the word “no” very much in their lives. It gives me a deep sense of satisfaction when a little twenty-five year old princess who isn't used to the word “no” tells me that she thinks I should shave my beard; to respond to her that this is my decision and that I don't believe that I will any time soon. 5. Some of them are jealous. Most Chinese men seem to be unable to grow an adequate amount of facial hair. I've seen many students here with feeble attempts at mustaches. I've seen others with patches of hair on their face. The vast majority however shave every day whether they are able to grow facial hair or not. With many of them there seems to be a look in their eyes that says, I'd like to do that too... if only I could. 6. The subject of the beard often naturally leads into other subjects. The conversation in English corner might drift from the beard to differences in culture. Today the subject of the beard shifted to the subject of cleanliness as one student asked me if it was difficult to eat. For some reason students often think that having a beard makes you a messy eater and the beard will get in the way if you are trying to eat with chopsticks, if you are eating rice or if you are eating soup. The subject then naturally shifted again to the subject of food. On occasion people will even talk about Christmas. Students who used to tell me that I should shave now tell me that I should keep the beard through next Christmas so that I can play Santa Claus. Again all of the students were talking at some point about something. 7. It actually feels good. At first it was a little itchy but after a while the itching stops. I find that I enjoy stroking the beard and that I sometimes do it unconsciously. 8. I've grown to like the way that it looks. Having never had a beard this long before I've never seen myself look like this. I like changing the way that I look and because of this I will eventually shave. At the moment I'm enjoying the beard because I look different from how I used to. At some point I'm going to want to look different again and that is probably when I will shave. 9. It is something that I can control. There is so much in Wuhan and in China as a whole that is completely out of my hands. Ordering food in a restaurant is often challenging because my skills in Chinese are limited. This means that often I can not even control something as simple as what I have for lunch. I can't control simple interactions that back home I wouldn't have even thought about. My face though is my property. It belongs to me as much as anything in this world ever will. This face and what is on it are probably the one thing that I can dictate exclusively. Growing a beard and keeping that beard gives me something that I can almost completely control. Or at least it gives me that sense of being in control of something. 10. There is something about China in general and Wuhan specifically that makes me feel lazy. I don't know if it is the dust in the air, the construction everywhere or the sloppiness of the way people here dress. But there is simply some quality to the social atmosphere here that makes me feel like letting go enough to not do little things like shave but instead grow a full, long, shaggy beard. |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by gunuvi(m): 6:54pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Mr goat how market. |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 6:58pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi: Mr goat how market.insalt? ![]() |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by gunuvi(m): 7:04pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
SpaceGoatt:no inspice |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:07pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi:your wgo is over the edge' im sure you will not have any girlfriend . anyway i will solve your problem" click here to solve your ego problem and kill ego forever https://www.nairaland.com/1791752/does-well-around-girl-secret tank |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by FlintGuevara(m): 7:20pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
So spacegoatt is actually smart? Never knew that. |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:22pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Flint_Guevara: So spacegoatt is actually smart? Never knew that.*brushing* |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by gunuvi(m): 7:27pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
SpaceGoatt: your wgo is over the edge' im sure you will not have any girlfriend . anyway i will solve your problem" click here to solve your ego problem and kill ego forever https://www.nairaland.com/1791752/does-well-around-girl-secret tankthanks for the advice. I enjoy nkwobi so much o. are you available. I get banga and other accessories |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by FlintGuevara(m): 7:27pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
SpaceGoatt: *brushing*stop brushing bro. ![]() |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by FlintGuevara(m): 7:28pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi:I fit join? |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by gunuvi(m): 7:29pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Flint_Guevara: I fit join?3 is a crowd. sorry o I dey very stingy |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by Guykhena(m): 7:29pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
But how many accts you get sef? |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by FlintGuevara(m): 7:31pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi:Hia... Okay o! |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:32pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Flint_Guevara: stop brushing bro.i love u ... no omo ![]() 1 Like |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:37pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi:what is this saying? bro kill your ego!! you re loosing it ![]() |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:38pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Guykhena: But how many accts you get sef?don mind dat "anikum" (spell it backwards) |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by gunuvi(m): 7:42pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
SpaceGoatt: what is this saying? bro kill your ego!! you re loosing itabeg make I win am |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by Guykhena(m): 7:42pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
SpaceGoatt: don mind dat "anikum" (spell it backwards)Wetin you do wen she ban you? Cus I don see Spacegoat,Spacegooat,now SpaceGoatt,she dey after you or wetin? |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:47pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
gunuvi:see i know how it feels not to have a female girl. hmm this is yor problem .. ur re talking gibberish cos u ve no female girl .. pleas read the post again thread. click here https://www.nairaland.com/1791752/does-well- around-girl-secret |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by SpaceGoatt: 7:48pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Guykhena: Wetin you do wen she ban you?it is like shes crushing on me ![]() |
Re: 10 Reasons A Foreign English Teacher Should Grow a Beard In China by FrenchyL(m): 8:39pm On Jul 03, 2014 |
Hello, i just called an ESL agency today concerning my interest to teach ESL in China. It is rather refreshing to know that someone out there can share of his experiences. Please would you be willing to share more about the steps you took to get the position? What the standard of living is like over there and other bits of important information . Thanks a lot and i will keep the beard growing too |
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