Red Room Where the Writers Are

Ernest with his primary pupils in class

Despite its roller-coaster economic upheaval, China still remains one of the few places in the world with a lifestyle characterised by basic simplicity which almost resembles child-like innocence. Most of the people I have met in China are simply down-to-earth curious about non-Chinese. They are so earnest that sometimes people who don’t understand often misunderstand some of their words and actions. For example in the rural areas, Chinese people are more open about their curiosity .

I went to the beach, in a pace in Dalian called Da Hei Shi in August 2009 and had a very interesting experience. This wasn’t the first time, though, but this one touched me particularly, because it happened seven years after similar situations had taken place. I am a Cameroonian: writer, teacher and journalist who has worked and lived in China for 7 years. What happened on the beach?

A woman came up to me and stared at my hair and then asked me if it was real. When I said, “Yes” she looked at me in surprise and asked if she could touch it. I smiled and joked that she could touch it only  if she would pay me. To my surprise she asked, “How much?” I was in a great mood , so I simply said, “50 RMB!” The good woman exclaimed, “That’s too expensive!” With those words, she walked away. I continued digging a hole in the sand (for that’s what I was doing before she came up to me.)

A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my back. I turned around quickly. It was the woman. She  was with four other women. They all wanted to touch my hair. But the most interesting thing was, since 50 RMB was too much for them, they had each contributed 10 RMB and were determined to either take turns touching my hair, or to sacrifice their money and let one of them do it and then tell the rest of them about the experience later. This simple event touched me so much that I let them all touch my hair many times, for free, of course!

this is only one of the many interesting things that has happened to me in China. In the classrooms when I teach, the situation is simply magical. I have even published some of the situations here http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/teach-english-as-a-second-language-or-english-as-a-foreign-language-without-sending-students-to-sleep-17-easy-to-use-techniques-4-extra-tips-practical-examples-based-on-the-real-life-experiences-of-an-esl-teacher-in-china/7457533