Bolivia and Beyond

From 10:40 to 12:10, Monday to Thursday I study Chinese in the United Nations.

Our little classroom has nine students:


WILL
alias:  Conan O'Brien
Nationality:  English
A witty Brit with style and interesting hair. 


LAO BAN
alias:  Lao Ban
Nationality:  South Korean
No one knows Lao Ban's real name. Lao Ban is the Chinese word for "boss." All we know is that Lao Ban is Korean, must be rich, and doesn't not smell good. 


THE FRENCH DUDE
alias:  The French Dude
Nationality:  French
I don't know the French Dude's name, but I know he's French. 


JIMENA
alias:  My Future Wife
Nationality:  Argentina
It was love at first site. She has a boyfriend. He is Polish. Some see obstacles; but I choose to see hurdles that begged to be jumped. 


XIAO SHUAI
alias:  The Bolivian Identity
nationality:  Bolivia
Xiao Shuai is his Chinese name which means, "Little Handsome." He's a hilarious man who is always tucked in and his comb over either means that his Dad is in the military or Lutheran pastor. 


HAROL
alias:  The Bolivian Ultimatum
nationality:  Bolivia
Harol is the comic relief in the class. Always playing games on his cell phone, whispering dirty phrases in Spanish to his Bolivian compadres. He's fifteen. 


PABLO
alias:  The Bolivian Supremacy
nationality:  Bolivia
I actually knew Pablo last year. He was a friend of a friend. I introduced him to this language school in March. When I came back to the Big B and came for class, there was Pablo! He now can speak, write and read Chinese. He also has brought his Bolivian amigos to our class, which now has the highest concentration of Bolivians in the Eastern Hemisphere. 


LI LAOSHI 
alias:  The Forty-Year-Old Who Looks Like She's Twenty-Three
nationality:  China
Li Laoshi ("teacher") is amazing. She gets so off topic that we end up spending four days on one chapter. But she teaches with an intoxicating level of enthusiasm. I love learning from her. 


This is my class.