 We first met Juliet during a summer trip organized by the Meitong Foreign Language School where she was teaching English as a foreign language.
Juliet made an impression on us because of the strong curiosity she showed in Chinese culture and many thought-provoking questions she asked.
We later learned that Juliet came from New Zealand. She received her Bachelor of Education in 1972, and used to be the secretary general of the New Zealand Teacher’s Association. She is now an IELTS examiner at the Culture and Education Section of the British Embassy. This year Juliet is sixty and, according to the Chinese calendar, this is her year, the year of the Dragon.
Juliet first came to China in December in 1995 to visit her daughter who was then teaching at Tianjin University. In February 1997, Juliet came to Tianjin University and taught there for a year and a half.
In 1999, Juliet was invited by her ex-students to return to Tianjin to teach again. Juliet came and began working at Meitong Foreign Language School as a full time English teacher.
In China today, being able to speak the languages of developed countries, especially English, has come to mean better opportunities. English is important to be able to learn advanced western technologies and to get an alternative, and perhaps better, education abroad. It is also an important avenue for the cultural exchanges.
Learning English has been made a priority by all levels of the Chinese government in every part of the country. From the young to the old, the popularity of English keeps increasing.
As an IEILTS examiner delegated by the British Embassy of China, Juliet frequently travels between Tianjin and other major cities of China, such as Beijing, Shenyang, Dalian, Yantai, and Xi’an.
Statistics show that the total number of Chinese people who have studied overseas since China’s economic reform twenty years ago has reached over 320,000. Chinese students overseas are located in 103 countries. Recently the average number of overseas students has reached 25,000 per year. Of these, 110,000 have returned to China. As this number continues to grow, the Chinese with foreign education are making a noticeable contribution to China’s development.
“I know a fairly select group, you know, it’s not just the ordinary average young Chinese person that I know. They are intelligent, they are educated, they’ve got initiative, they’ve got courage. So they are not just ordinary people. And I’m very impressed with their strong desire to do something better with their lives then they’ve had so far. I’m also concerned for them because they don’t really know much about the world outside and they perhaps don’t realize how difficult it’s going to be to achieve their dreams. I think it’s ironical that I love China, I want to live in China, and I’m helping people to leave China,” said Juliet.
The day before Juliet’s birthday, Linda and Wangwei go with her to get the traditional Chinese dress that they’ve had made especially for Juliet to wear at her 60th birthday party.
“I think they (Chinese clothes) make people more graceful. My feeling is that it makes me generally want to move and hold my posture in a better way, you know, more graceful,” Juliet said, “I’ll never forget receiving 60 roses one by one and realizing, rather slowly, that it was 60 roses, and that all had their stems trimmed of thorns so that I couldn’t hurt myself on them. Absolutely fabulous! You know, when I arrived at the hall, where the party was, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. It was all real people that I know and loved and… I just… you know there are several times when I felt like crying because it was just so warm and wonderful and very moving.”
Juliet has been invited by the Tianjin Institute of Technology to give a speech on how to study English.
To command and thank foreign business people and employees who have made contributions to the city, the government of Tianjin holds an annual banquet before the Chinese national day. Juliet attended this grand occasion as the foreign teacher’s representative.
“I have seen massive changes. My first impressions of China, five years ago, six years ago are very different from my impressions now. Everything is becoming tidied up, and cleaned up at a very fast rate. It’s incredible!” said Juliet.
Juliet has spent four Spring Festivals in China, and the festival atmosphere has always delighted her. Juliet has learnt quite a bit about this traditional Chinese new year. The previous three Spring Festivals, Juliet has spent with friends, but this year, she is celebrating it at her own place. She insisted on being the host this year because she wanted to celebrate the end of her Dragon Year and enjoy the family atmosphere with her dearest friends. Like many other Chinese families, they are making dumplings with special filings on the Eve of Spring Festival in the hope of bringing good luck in the new year.
“I know that the Spring Festival is extremely emotionally important to Chinese in one way or another, especially as a family thing. I often ask students to talk about Spring Festival, and most of them of course will talk about the importance of the event as a family get-together and how they enjoy being together and talking and exchanging experiences and sharing the cooking and things like that. And other people say, ah, it’s just so boring, it’s the same as last year and the year before. But whatever point of view they have, it’s obviously important, and it cannot be ignored,” Juliet said, “For me personally, most of the Spring Festivals I’ve had in China, I haven’t been able to share with a family. My own family was not here, and other people’s families were with their families, you know. But at some stage I’ve been involved with families, and I really really appreciated the atmosphere.”
“I think I’m lucky that I’m in Tianjin, because there’s two weeks of fire works. I love fireworks! I know it’s filthy, dirty, and noisy and all that, but I love the feeling of it. Today is the end of my Dragon Year in China. It’s been the most remarkable year in my life. There have been some wonderful things, many wonderful things, and some not so wonderful, but it’ll always be the strongest in my memory. It may be the end of this year, but it certainly is not the end of my love for China. That will continue, forever.” Juliet said.
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