April 2005 Update
Greetings again to all O.B.s!
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It’s been six years (six!) since I first told you about what had happened to yours truly since leaving School 21 years ago, so I’ll update you all on the latest. The main news is that I am married to a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, since this is the country that I have been living and working in since October 2001. My wife’s English name is Jenny, and, together, we have a daughter whom we have named Kelly. Neither Jenny nor Kelly has been to the U.K. yet, but we intend to settle in Blighty by the time Kelly is old enough to start primary school, since we both agree that she should have a British education. (Indeed, Kelly is a British citizen – even if, as yet, she has no concept of “citizenship”!)
I first came to China in October 2001 in order to teach English as a foreign language. I originally intended to stay in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in east-central China, for just a year, but fate took a hand and I ended up marrying one of my ex-students! I am still in Wuhan after all this time, but I am now in my third job here.
For my first two years, I taught for a private franchised chain school, teaching both adults and children. I even became acting director of studies at that school for a time. After that, I moved on to teach at a public-sector primary school in the same city, and it was a marvellous experience teaching there. My first foreign language was French (with Mr. A. L. Austin as my first French teacher) back in 1977 when I was coming up to 12 years old, yet the children at that Chinese primary school start English when they are at kindergarten! How things have changed in the past quarter-century! Needless to say, Jenny and I intend our little one to be multilingual from an early age.
Right now, I am (according to my job title, at least!) a lecturer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at a private school affiliated to the Northern Consortium U.K. (NCUK) of universities. I am attached to the Pre-Master’s Programme (PMP), which, as the name implies, prepares Chinese university graduates to undertake postgraduate study either in the U.K. or in Australia. Hence, I am helping to prepare them for the kind of academic skills that they will need when they go there in the autumn.
As for Canada, I did visit during 1999 (Toronto), 2000 (Vancouver to Quebec City by bus!) and 2001 (Toronto again, plus Niagara Falls), but I have not been there since coming to China. I still intend to immigrate there some day with my family, although there is no timetable for that now, since I would want Kelly (and any more children we may have) to have as much (cultural) experience in Europe as possible.
And what happened to the intended business? Even with an MBA from Scotland, I wasn’t going to take the plunge into the deep end without having any idea what I was doing, so I wisely did not entertain this idea at that time. And yet, a Buddhist teacher friend of my father-in-law actually said earlier this year that Jenny and I would do well if we were to start up our own language school in China. Right now, though, our priority is to invest in a brand-new flat in a brand-new housing development on the other side of town (conveniently near my school!), though one might say that this is a kind of first step towards that goal (maybe!).
That is about it for now, so maybe I will be able to update you again in another six years!
Best regards to all O.B.s,
CHRISTOPHER CROSSLEY
(1977-1984)
chrisrccrossley@hotmail.com
