Happy Angel

Looking up words in the dictionary was her quiet response.

A young girl with a round face, glasses and slumped shoulders responded differently to my question about hobbies than any other student in the class.

Her English name is Happy Angel. Her Chinese name I never could quite understand. When I asked her to write it down, she wrote it in Chinese, making it unintelligible to me.

Happy Angel taught me so much while I taught English for one day at the Kakwang Professional Academy in Shantou March 1.

Happy Angel and many of her friends are the sons and daughters of farm laborers and house workers.

She explained to me that she only sees her family once a year during Chinese New Year. Her job is to do well in school and find a good job after graduation.

The English teacher, known by the students as Mr. Ho at Kakwang, explained that many students will not go on to the university. Most will land a job in business.

"It is hard for college graduates to find a job," he said.

I pressed him to explain.

"Their expectations are too high," he said. I understood.

These graduates expected high pay, a nice office, prestige for labor that could easily be replaced by someone due to the competitive job market in China's growing economy. The simple fact is these graduates have a hard time finding a job because so many other people are willing to work the same job for much less money, at least in Shantou. (Read more about Shantou here.)

But Happy Angel seemed different than the other students I spoke with over the three days I spent at her school.

She had an insatiable curiosity about the world outside her rural school. She hungrily ate up the vocabulary I fed to her. She willing taught me Mandarin words as well. (She was far better at memorization of new words.)

Happy Angel wants to study English in the United States one day. Like most of the students who graduate from the professional academy, she will most likely work in China's business sector. A large part of me hopes she is able to fulfill her dream.

Part of me can't help but be sadly skeptical. Kakwang is a very rural school. There will not be any money for her to continue her education. All of these factors are merely reality.

On my way to the bus station, I was surprised when Happy Angel and another student grabbed my hand. Chinese girls are often affectionate with one another. I was happy to be considered such a friend.

*Students at the Kakwang Professional Academy play a game to learn English words. Happy Angel sits in the second row on the right side looking up a word in the dictionary.