My private students
     Aside from teaching at Yong Hong Primary School and Middle School #47, I picked up a couple of private students that helped
me earn some extra money. Chad’s old student Qi Sheng was left without an English tutor when Chad went back to America, so his
father asked me if I would take his place. I charged them very little, only 30 yuan an hour because it wasn’t about making a profit to me.
The standard price is usually around 100 yuan per hour for foreigners. Both his parents worked fulltime, but since there isn’t much of a
middle-class in China, and obviously they weren’t rich, there was no need for me to ask for too much. Besides, I was already earning
enough money from my job at Wongas. About twice a week, I would go to their apartment, which was only about a two-minute walk
away from my apartment walking down a concrete walkway in between rows of five-storey apartments on either side. They lived in front
of the parking lot which was connected to the entrance of the apartments in that area next to the roundabout and main road. We would
first have dinner together, and then Qi Sheng and I would study together for two hours. Qi Sheng’s father could speak English very well,
but his mother didn’t know any English. She would often ask what we were talking about, and then someone would have to translate for
her. I would have to do the same when they were all talking to each other in Mandarin. For dinner, we would always eat red rice
porridge in small bowls and other dishes. The porridge itself was very bland, but Qi Sheng would pull out a jar of sugar to mix in with the
porridge, and that gave it much more flavor. Sometimes we would eat peanuts, which at first were annoying trying to grab a hold of
using chopsticks; baozi, which is like dumplings except that they had thicker dough on the outside, and on the inside was some meat
and sauce that reminded me a little of Sloppy Joes, and other dishes. When we ate, they would often ask me about different kinds of
American food, and they would also tell me about different kinds of Chinese food that I had never eaten. Some different cities and
provinces had notorious food items and cooking styles. One food item that people always talked about was Beijing duck. Qi Sheng and
his family often spoke of a province where the food was well known throughout the country to be very spicy, which I was very interested
in. In that same province, everyone also said that the women were exceptionally beautiful. I wasn’t sure how they could be any more
beautiful though, but I hoped I would have the chance to see what they were talking about. The place they spoke of was called
Sichuan province. Qi Sheng wasn’t so serious about his studies, and it seemed like he just wanted to play basketball all the time, so he
didn’t give much effort when it was study time. He only studied with me because his father wanted him to. He was also a little more
strong-willed and defiant than most other young people his age I had met there, which made everything concerning him more
challenging for me.
     The other student I got was the son of Chen Wei, the woman who worked at the general store next to the police station. One day,
when I was at the store buying some snacks, she asked me if I could help her son Teddy learn English a couple times a week. Teddy was
very young, only a primary school student, and Teddy was a good name for him because he was cute like a little teddy bear. He was
very obedient and friendly to me. Their apartment building was on the opposite side of the block from the police station on a narrow
road in front of the pond where I went to with Summer on Valentine’s Day. I taught Teddy using a book based on British English. It wasn’
t very imaginative, but at least it gave him valuable speaking time. During our lessons, when Teddy didn’t understand how to do an
exercise, he would point to the book, then point to his head and start moving his head around in circles making dizzy sounds like a little
cartoon character. At the end of our lessons, since it was dark by then, Teddy would always open the door of their apartment and yell
like “Ha!” to activate the lights on the staircase for me as I was walking down to the first floor. I would often see Teddy and his mother
near the store during the week, and Teddy would always greet me and sometimes run up to me and give me snacks from the store that
his family operated.
Frank
     One day I met with Summer and her sister Amy to have lunch at a small restaurant that I had never been to. I had plans to meet
with Frank after the meal was over, so I called him to make sure when and where I could meet him. After we finished the meal, we
walked out onto the street and met with Frank. Frank was always wearing business suits those days and looking very professional. I had
talked to him about Summer once before, because every foreigner is asked if they have a girlfriend by nearly everyone, boys and girls. If
the foreigner says no, then they will follow up with, “Do you want to find a Chinese girlfriend?” almost every time without fail. I
introduced Frank and Summer to each other, and after they talked for a moment, Summer left with her sister to catch a bus to go home.
As she was walking away, Frank kept his eyes on her suspiciously and told me of his impression of her. He said, “I’m not really impressed
by her. She seems like there is something weird about her, and like she’ll be trying to get you to do things for her all the time. I don’t
think she is the right person for you. Don’t worry too much about her.” I took what he said into consideration, especially since my first
impression of her was that she was not someone to rely on, but not worrying about her was a little difficult at this point.
     More foreigners were appearing from everywhere in the world. I once ate at McDonald’s on Changjiang Road one afternoon near
where my favorite old primary school Changjiang was located and ran into a young couple of foreigners on the second floor there. Out
through the windows, there was a view of Changjiang Road below with many vehicles zooming by and many two-storey or higher
buildings lined on the opposite side of the road with a walkway connecting both sides. That road was the backbone of the city. One of
the foreigners was named Tom. He was from England and he was wearing a baseball cap so I couldn’t see his face so well. He was very
tall, had short brown hair, and had a very strong British accent. The one sitting across from him at the two-person table was named Nina.
She was from New York City, and she had gone to school to become a lawyer back in America. Both of them were teaching in Hefei
until the school year was over in the summer. They didn’t know too many foreigners themselves in the city, but I told them that they were
bound to get pulled into the group that was forming sooner or later.
     Frank also introduced us to one of his foreigner classmates from the Traditional School of Chinese Medicine named Umesh
(Oomess). Dusan, Spela, and I met them together on the main road in Hu Po early evening one day to have dinner. Umesh had been
studying at Zhong Yi Xue Yuan for several months, and he had several more years of studying to do. It was convenient for him to study
there because it was much cheaper than in his home country. He was from Nepal, and he was very friendly and had a big charming
smile, and his hair was well-combed to the side and it looked like he spent a lot of time taking care of his appearance. It was easy to
believe that he was a genuine person because of his personality. After meeting so many foreigners, it was hard sometimes to know who
was going to stick around and who was going to disappear and never be seen again within the densely populated city of Hefei.
Free from Summer
     It was time for Summer to go back to Korea and continue studying after her holiday in China was over, but we still had no plan and
no idea what to do about our future. But after she had arrived safely back in Korea, she told me that it was OK if I wanted to find another
girl. Until that point, I still had loyalty for her even though we were not exactly a couple anymore, but after she said that, I felt a little
sad, but there was no longer any obligation to her. While I was with her, no other girls I knew even tried to get close to me because I was
that serious about her. But after she set me free, it was like all of the girls in Hefei received a collective signal at the same time that I
was available. It’s not that I was anything special, though.
     I noticed that there was a strong attraction between Chinese women and foreigner men for different reasons. But Spela and another
girl from Germany named Katerine told me that there wasn’t such a big attraction to Chinese men for some reason. Sometimes the
Chinese girls just want a foreigner boyfriend because they want to learn English from him, or because he has money and a free pass out
of the country. Since people in China are usually either rich or poor, it is common for people to consider about money first before other
things. The way to get more money from other people is like a game that everyone plays together. Whoever is the smartest wins. But
people always have loyalty to their families because it is a great shame to betray one’s family members. Sometimes the attraction
between foreigner men and Chinese women was just about differences and curiosity though. But sometimes those differences fueled
the fire for conflict. I’m sure each individual case had its own unique circumstances and reasons.
     It didn’t take long for me to get noticed as a free man. Dushan had talked to Andy from England’s now ex-girlfriend Lucky about
getting a job as a DJ at the club she worked at. Dushan invited me to accompany him there one Friday evening. The place was called
Best Beautiful Club, except someone forgot to include the T in beautiful. The club was located on the Walking Street, or Bu Xing Jie in
an area called Bai Cheng which was the largest open area on the whole street. There was a small street that ran in front of the Best
Beautiful which intersected the Walking Street from Changjiang Road and another busy street where taxis that were not allowed to drive
on the Walking Street would pull into and drop off passengers. There was excitement in the air in that place at night because everyone
came out dressed elegantly to be a part of Hefei’s nightlife atmosphere, couples and groups from young to middle age. The entrance to
the Best Beautiful was on the third floor of a large building. The elevator was built on the outside, so we could see over the Walking
street and thousands of people walking through the area as we rose up the side of the building. After the elevator door opened up, there
was a hallway, and at the end of the hallway, there were two or three young women who were wearing long red dresses that were
prepared to greet customers. On the right, there was a locker storage area where people could put their belongings if they didn’t wish to
risk losing them inside the club. As Dushan and I walked closer towards the attendants, one of them went over to a large door that was
on the side and pulled it open for us to go inside. It was very dark inside, but there were neon lights in many different places like on
tables and some of the walls. It was so dark that it was hard to see much of anything or to know the exact layout of the place. I could tell
that the place looked ultra-modern compared to most other places I had ever been to anywhere. There were some small round tables
that were at about stomach level with a ring of light with a butterfly pattern that seemed to be the logo of the place. Dushan and I took a
seat to wait for Lucky to arrive. I could see people and hear voices engaging in conversations all around with cigarette smoke rising into
the air and blowing out of people’s mouths. There were also a few television screens showing fight videos, sporting events and other
programs. It felt like the first day of school where everything looks and seems different compared to the rest of the year. Lucky finally
found us and ordered a plate of fruit for us and some whiskey drinks. On the fruit plate, there were watermelon slices, cherry tomatoes,
cantaloupe pieces, pineapple slices, and other fruits all arranged artistically with toothpicks for us to use to get each piece of fruit we
wanted. Lucky said she needed to speak to the boss for a minute before she let Dushan negotiate salary and other things for the
contract. While we were waiting, some back doors that led to some VIP rooms in a back hallway busted open, and a man was being
carried out by two other men, all wearing business suits, toward the entrance. He looked like he wasn’t sure where he was, but he was still
looking around the place. Maybe that was why he was looking around. I checked my watch, and it was only 9 p.m.! I wasn’t sure how he
got tore up so quickly. He must have been drinking that killer Chinese rice wine. Dushan got the opportunity to speak business to the boss
of the club, and everything seemed OK. He would start playing there in about two weeks. Lucky then sat us down at a booth where there
were a couple of her friends. There was one young man, and also a young lady named Ting Ting. She was very beautiful, easily one of
the most beautiful I had seen so far in Hefei. Though she wore a lot of makeup, I think a lot of her beauty was natural. It seemed like she
liked me! Most people would not have a problem with this, but there is no free lunch as many people have said before. So why would
someone so beautiful be interested in me? She liked to pretend to punch me in my chin and jaw in slow-motion and squeeze my arms
because she thought I looked strong. She had kind of a quirky personality, but sometimes she would also be quiet and thoughtful. It was
unfortunate that I couldn’t understand anything she had to say. The DJ in the club was playing dance tracks that could be heard in
almost any bar in the city. That is why they wanted Dushan to come there and give their music an overhaul. After playing and dancing
for a while, we all got in a taxi together and left.
Inside the taxi, Dushan, Lucky, and I were in the back seat, and Ting Ting was in the front next to the driver. There were some metal
bars that separated the front of the taxi from the back. The combination of drinking, and the fact that Ting Ting kept playing with me in
the bar got me so excited that I tried to reach through the bars and squeeze her arms like she did to me before. She kept wriggling in
her seat and saying something to Lucky in Mandarin. Lucky then paused her conversation with Dushan and looked at me and said, “She
says you are crazy.” I said back to her, “How am I crazy for doing the same thing she was doing to me?”I should have known a double-
standard when she squeezed my arms. I then decided to calm down and give her a little back massage, and she ceased resisting me
and relaxed after that. Then she turned her head around and said, “Thank you.” That was probably one of the only things she knew how
to say in English. Then she got out of the taxi first and went to her friend’s late night party, and the rest of us went home.
     So many changes in such a short time were leaving me a little confused. There was so much I valued that I had lost since I first
came to China, friends and feelings of wonder and excitement, yet many more things were coming quickly. It seemed as though I had
one final chance to get it all back, and more.
China Dispatch/Andrew Gramling

Summer Free?