Langfang City, Hebei Province, China— The atmosphere is charged with energy as over 350 students push into classroom 408. The air is thick with the warmth of breath and bodies, despite the windows open wide to the cool air outside. Hours before the Club begins, students save seats and prepare their cell phone cameras for this special night. Every chair, desk, aisle, windowsill, and empty space is occupied by students eager to catch a glimpse (and hopefully a few photographs) of the exotic visitors.Around 6:30pm a van arrives, and the much-anticipated visitors disembark. There are two Chinese students and five Americans--two men, three women, and one guitar. The visitors climb the stairs to whispers and stares. A small crowd forms behind them as they ascend. As they enter 408, the classroom explodes in spontaneous applause for each American.
The visitors each introduce one of their foreign friends: Jessie Distad, Brad, Jess Shamblee, Peter, and Shannon. Their light skin, light hair, and light eyes attract every camera in the room. They can hardly finish a sentence without boisterous applause. They tell funny stories and compliment their friends with obvious affection. They follow their introductions with a game of “Finger Fencing” and the two winners leave one chocolate bar richer.
Jessie introduces Shannon, who pulls out a guitar to teach her attentive audience “Lean on Me” and “Country Roads.” She reviews the words with them and then slowly sings the song with them, gradually picking up the pace as she goes. As the other four exit, Peter challenges four students to eat a mantou (steamed bread) and drink a bottle of water as fast as possible. The winner celebrates his full stomach and full mouth by raising his empty bottle high over his head in triumph, and happily accepting his chocolate bar prize.
Peter then switches to teaching and explains to the students the meanings of three words: immunities, “getcha,” and species. He says that his four friends like to use these words, and that they like to listen to music. A moment later, there is a commotion in the back of the room as two costumed characters enter the room to “Hips Don’t Lie”. What follows is a humorous play in which “Bubble Boy” (Brad) attempts to woo his friend Paula (Jessie) with his Shakira-like hips and the help of two hip-hop “Dahnce” Instructors named Gloria (Shannon) and Stefani (Jess). Gloria and Stefani have little tolerance for Bubble Boy’s sweet moves, warning him that “The Rhythm’s gonna getcha, getcha, getcha…” The crowd laughs heartily at their antics, and cheers enthusiastically for each character.
After their exit, Peter teaches the students some voice modulation through shouting, and has them in stitches. The other four return, and Shannon teaches two more songs with her guitar.
“I can see clearly now, the rain is gone, It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun-Shiny day!”
“If I gave it all away for one thing…If I knew all about this one thing…Wouldn’t that be something…”
As the last notes fade away, Peter introduces Jess Shamblee to the audience again. The crowd is silent as Jess takes center stage and shares a message of hope. She tells the story of a man named Andy who had hope. Andy believed that “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. ...” Her rapt audience tracks along with her, knodding and smiling, wordlessly attentive to a message that crosses all cultures and all boundaries.
The speech and Club completed, the students surge forward and swarm around the American English teachers, eager for photos to show friends and family back home that they met a foreigner. After about 10 minutes, the Americans pack up their belongings and return to the curb for their van ride back to the city. It’s cool and quiet outside, and they breathe in the silence. Back in the van they are common folk again, English teachers in China. Earthen vessels raised up for this very purpose:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men…”
--Jessie Distad
