We see them everywhere – ambling the streets in adorably mismatched outfits, holding hands with their wrinkly significant others, flapping their arms and legs enthusiastically during group exercises at the park. Unfortunately, I have had little chance to interact with them. Most of the time, Beijing’s elderly simply stop and ogle me. They are too baffled to press me for details on my background (Chinese-American, in case you were wondering), while I am loath to open up to strangers.

Enter the Chaoyang Library Retirees English Language Club, a group of local seniors who meet every Sunday to practice conversing in English. The club first sprouted out of the 2008 Olympics effort to prepare for foreign visitors, but became permanent once it was discovered that the members had an earnest interest in continuing with their lessons long after the sporting events were over.

And now they were on the lookout for more volunteer teachers. I steeled myself for a slow afternoon and strained conversation, figuring t his would be purely an act of goodwill. Little did I know I’d be thrown into a room bustling with people, who would begin furiously clapping and cheering upon my entrance.

I stuttered out a brief introduction before I was permitted to sit down, my cheeks blazing. I joined a table of four sweet-faced women, who all leapt up as I approached and insisted that I take one of their seats. The main organizer, Galley Lee, handed me a “quiz” that the class was reviewing. Aghast, I stared at the questions, which ranged from “What part of the US government has the power to declare war?” to the definitions of “business profit” and “progressive tax.”

It appears that I had sorely underestimated this group of seniors. When Galley called on me for an answer and I hesitated, my table giggled sympathetically and whispered their guesses to me under their breaths.

The range in language ability was broader than I’d initially realized – some could hardly string more than a few sentences together, others could claim near fluency. And yet the mood was light, and conversation was sprinkled with laughter.

I was thunderstruck. Charmed. But most of all, impressed. In the past, I had taught unenthused children once or twice; this was different in every way. Here was a room full of people eager to learn, who came of their own accord simply because they enjoyed it. And guess what? I found I liked teaching them.

Join the Retirees English Club at Chaoyang Library from 2-4pm every Sunday.

Click here to see the October issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Tiffany Wang