Shenzhen in January of 2020 was a place changing. I was finishing the semester teaching a kindergarten class English. The city government was turning the privately owned school into a public school because it was on public land, I think. The new administration said the government was taking over about 80 schools that were in similar situations. All the teachers had to sign new contracts under the new school’s name because the old school wouldn’t exist after the Lunar New Year holiday. Our salaries and benefits were identical, the contract was just under the school’s new name. After we got that out of the was it was about time to have a staff New Year’s party. In Chinese fashion, parties with coworkers are like talent shows. We foreign English teachers did some skit that I really don’t remember and have no pictures of. I do have pictures of the skit that my Chinese co-teachers put on.
One of the teachers in my classroom was an intern and this was her training semester. She wouldn’t be returning to out class to finish the academic year. The intern would be the third teacher to leave the class during the 2019-2020 year. The students’ parents were understandably grumbling. Many were happy that I was staying with the class.
The Chinese teachers made a skit where the intern played the part of an ancient empress of China. The audience of staff cried with laughter as she was presented with different gifts to try to satisfy her every whim. At the end of the skit they thanked her for her work with gifts and praise. Tears were shed by her friends because it was probably the last time they would see her. The work party was done at the end of a regular school day. I went home to pack for Jill and my holiday trip to The Philippines. It was Friday, January 17, 2020.
