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Interview 3: Mandarin Teacher for International Students.

I took the opportunity to get to know one of my teachers one break time who I knew had grown up in Beijing and has spent 13 years as a teacher here.
               I was keen to know why he had chosen to teach foreign students Mandarin, rather than Chinese students, and he said that he likes learning about foreign cultures and countries, whilst also being able to teach the Chinese culture to his foreign students. However, the worst thing about his job is hearing many people in Europe and North America don’t understand the Chinese culture, so carry a negative image of China. He explained that China is still developing so naturally has some problems. He feels that sometimes people don’t understand and exaggerate these problems which gives off a bad impression about China. He said that he’d love to go to Europe/North America, where he can spread more positivity about Chinese culture.
                He was born in Beijing and has grown up here his whole life so has witnessed the fast development of this city. He thinks that throughout development, more people, more skyscrapers and more transport have arrived here. At the same time, development is causing many problems such as lacking car parking to cope with the increasing number of cars on the road and pollution. According to him, another problem is the way that people deal with problems here, explaining that when people experience problems, they should learn how to calmly solve problems together, rather than get frustrated, so that tourists, foreigners and local people can live a cohesive life in Beijing.
                I knew my teacher has a son so asked him how he envisages life for his son's generation in Beijing. With a smile, he said that he thinks the next generation will be able to study more, travel more and experience life beyond Beijing. He feels that this exposure will broaden their horizons and help people learn how to better work together to live in a more harmonious society.