Nowadays, it’s really a sticky business to find a good job. Every year, millions of graduates pour into the job markets, but few could secure good jobs. Many graduates from normal universities take up private teachers as their career. In fact, the salary and environment of private schools and tutorial classes are not so bad. The high salary attracts a large number of newly-graduated students and they regard the job as the springboard to higher employment, such as a civil servant in the government or a teacher in a state-owned school. I don’t think it’s a bad phenomenon. Young people should learn to be tough and grow accompanied by obstacles and frustrations. Only when they have gone through a series of hardships can they understand the real meaning of life. Here I’d like to share one of my experiences as a governess a long time ago.
The first year after I graduated, introduced by one of my acquaintance, I served as a governess to a family. The first time I was led into the hostess’s home, I was so timid and trembled with fear. The light inside was rather dim, I couldn’t make out the outline of furniture and other belongings. Suddenly a big boy popped up from a door. My vague impression on him was that this was a clumsy boy without any expression on his dull face. The hostess turned on the light and ordered the boy to pour a cup of tea for me. The next moment, she talked about her son’s school scores and behaviors and his poor rudimentary knowledge and urged me to help him improve. I smiled shyly and promised to do my utmost. When the real thing began, I realized that the boy knew nothing about English. Apparently, the task lying before me was rather formidable. At first, I taught the boy to read word by word, sentence by sentence, two hours a day. The boy was cooperative. After class, I asked him to read more and try to write from memory. After two weeks, the boy made unbelievable progress. His mother was glad about that. While her son was leaning, she always sat besides him, watching and listening. I haven’t seen the boy’s father. It’s said that he was a train driver. One night, I did meet him, a robust man with few words, but it’s an unpleasant experience for me.
That was a cold winter night of 2004, after class, I meant to go home. The train driver insisted on escorting me downstairs, in thinks for my help for his son. There was not a thread of light in the corridor. In every direction I saw, it’s pitch-dark. I cautiously put my left foot down, with both hand on banisters, groping in the dark. Damned! Why the community managers didn’t install some light bulbs? The man asked me to put my hands on his arms and thus he could support me downstairs. In the darkness, fear and horror overwhelmed me. Many ominous ideas poured into my mind: is the man a good guy? What if… After what seemed a long struggle, I finally found myself on the ground floor, I was relieved. It’s really uncomfortable throughout. Maybe the man only took me as a little sister.
Of course, this is not the most difficult thing. Being a governess is not as easy as you had imagined. You have to ask your salary when the contract expires. Sometimes, they don’t pay you the right money and find fault about your work. But in many cases, we have got to live, and have no other choices. Anyhow, this is a valuable experience for me. Now, I am not a governess any longer. My school don’t allow the teachers set foot in this business, or they will get a disciplinary warning. Now, when I recall that episode, I can’t help laughing.
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