Читать книгу The English Teachers - RF Duncan-Goodwillie - Страница 28

Setting the scene: Spring has finally come to the northwest of Moscow and the grass is growing back in the spaces left barren by heavy winter snowfall. Not that we can see any of this as Cheng and I sit in the small, windowless room in a school in the well-to-do area of Kuntsevskaya. The school is quiet for the moment; the numerous young students who make up the student body here have yet to arrive for their afternoon classes in the busy private school. Although we are cramped, Cheng seems animated by the spirit of spring as she speaks.

CZS: I was born and raised in China. I stayed there until I was 20 and went to Hong Kong, and then finished my undergrad in China before going to England and doing my Masters in London. I went back to China for another two years to teach English. I didn’t enjoy it but I met my husband there. We stayed in Toronto for another year or two before coming to Moscow and I’ve been here for at least two years.

RFDG: Why did you become a teacher?

CZS: It might sound clichéd, but I watched a video of me in kindergarten when I was five and when my teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I said, “I want to be a teacher!” It wasn’t something specific, it just happened and I suppose it’s meant to be.

RFDG: Why did you decide to come to work in Moscow?

CZS: Initially, my brother-in-law worked in the American Embassy and moved here with his family. They came here and told us great things and my husband and I were looking for a place to work and live together. So, I applied for this job, it worked out and we came here to Moscow.

RFDG: If you hadn’t picked Moscow, where would you have gone?

CZS: The States or probably in China, but I always wanted to leave there.

RFDG: How was teaching in China different to teaching in Moscow?

CZS: It was awful! The part I hated the most was how there was no sense of professional development, which is what I love about this job right now. I just felt there was no growth in me and I enjoy seeing myself learning different things and becoming a different person. There was none of that so I hated it.

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