T.D. Polo-Sanchez' letters to his brother in America -
pasteurized somewhat for Magic City Readers.
Hello GeGe (older brother)!
My F.A.O. is a charming man with a sly sense of humor. He invited me to another banquet, this time with some of his friends. We all had a few rounds, but my F.A.O did not last the fight as he was k.o.ed in the latter rounds. He was helped home by his friends and wife. The next day he asked me if I was o.k. because he was afraid that I would drink too much. He is such a character.
News travels fast around these parts and I found out that the school's late night gatekeeper tells the whole school of what I do. If I drink, a very rare occasion, or if one of my shoe laces is untied he has to tell someone. The final straw came when he stopped one of my students and interrogated him after seeing us together one night. I should pass the CIA his information. In his mind I was either corrupting the youth, or worse. The student is the son of a friend of mine in town and he acts as my interpreter and guide whenever I need one.
I asked two veteran English teachers in China about what to do for I had a mind to confront him. In China confrontation is avoided, and a foreigner is guilty of something until proven guilty of something. I was told by both teachers to ignore him and to smile and wave at him everytime I saw him. As my friend R.P. said, ''You should let the Chinese do the Chinese explanations.'' The other teacher told me that for the upcomming festival, the Chinese winter vacation and new years combined, that I should give him a pack of cigarrettes and apologize to him for being so much trouble- another Jedi Mind Trick Moment.
After a few weeks of smiling broadly at him, hoping inside that the cigarrette he was smoking lasted half as long, I put pride aside and gave him a pack a cigarrettes in the ciustomary red envelope. Then one day, the poor sap put his hand around my shoulder and smiled. I am glad we have made peace. I was running out of nicknames for him - Enemy at the Gate, the Gatekeeper of Mordor, Snoop Dog, 007, etc.
You have to love China. In what other country can somebody throw a snot bomb at your feet and then smile and wave at you.
T. D. Polo-Sanchez
Assembled in the United States from parts made in Mexico and exported to China, T.D. Polo-Sanchez has taken a year of absence from his post at an American high school to teach Oral English in China.
He hopes that you enjoy his posts and remember that he writes with a deep love and affinity to the Chinese people. In this world while we laugh at others and at ourselves, we laugh together. T.D. Polo-Sanchez Email: eslinstructor33@yahoo.com
