Propositioned

    It is Thursday morning, the beginning of my 'busy' day with two 1 1/2 hours classes in the morning and then lunch, a break and English corner for another 1 1/2 hours. Not sure why it is so busy but this day wears me out.
     I walk into the first class early and I finish setting up for class. As is my usual routine when this happens, I start up a conversation with the students around me. Looking to the students in the front rows, I asked "How are you?"
    The response, "Tired." Knowing that my students have an undying love for the online chat program QQ and for the online video games on that program and others, I asked if they had stayed up late playing games. Michael, the boy in the first row said he had. Mind you, I was really only talking to Michael and his deskmate at this point. His deskmate piped up, "He was talking to his girlfriend on QQ."
  "OH! Really?" I responded with eyebrows arched and a bit too much enthusiasm and curiosity. I love it when my students share their personal lives.
    "No!" He said, "I was just playing games. I don't have a girlfriend." Michael then turned to his deskmate and said something in Chinese. I think he wanted to know if I had a boyfriend. At any rate, I told them I did and that he was very romantic and handsome. They asked if I missed him very much, and in typical sarcasm, I replied, "Some days." hehe
       Michael proceeded to speak in chinese to his deskmate again for her to translate, "He wants to date an American girl," she said.
      Hmm... I thought. Not altogether surprising with the inundation of Western movies, alot of my students want to date foreigners.
      "I'll see what I can do." I said. "No, He wants to date you." she said after more chinese translation. "He says you are perfect." 
      Ok.. awkward...
    "Well, I have a boyfriend already, I can't date him." I said, looking back and forth between Michael and his deskmate. By this time there were at least 4 people gathered around my podium and I am fairly sure I was turning red.
       "But I am rich!" Michael says. Finally you speak for yourself and that is what you have to say!
"He says he has a lot of money so you should date him." I am laughing by now and it is time to start class, so I regain my composure and try not to let the fact that he is sitting in the front row make the beginning of class awkward.

    Later, during the ten minute break, my students gathered around my podium to talk and we were again chatting about the boyfriend and one asked if I was going to get married. I said, you know probably, and Michael said, "Yes, she is going to get married to her boyfriend." I am fairly sure he was just trying to see how I would react earlier....
     They asked how many kids I wanted and I made them guess... Chi Haiza! WHAT! She wants six kids! oh my goodness.
        Yeah. It is strange and outdated but perhaps it is good to do things differently every once in a while.