A foreign city, dear you

"Rise up - people who don't want to be slaves..."

Under the morning sun, the majestic national anthem played, so exciting and loud;

The five-star red flag is rising slowly, so bright and solemn;

The students lined up in rows and rows, facing the national flag with solemn expressions...

In the new semester, at the opening ceremony of American and British Schools, the flag-raising ceremony is underway. Ye Lian was filled with emotions and emotions.

She has experienced countless such scenes in her life.

Whether it was when she was a student or when she was teaching at Pingcheng Middle School, every flag-raising ceremony would make her blood boil and excited. That kind of love for the motherland and respect for the national flag always arise from the bottom of my heart.

But today, Ye Lian had another feeling.

This familiar scene was like an old friend who was about to be separated and perhaps never seen again, suddenly and enthusiastically appearing in front of her, and being able to see each other every week as always in the days to come made her feel even more excited. Kind and touching.

Looking back on the days when she was looking for a job, Ye Lian once thought pessimistically that she might never be able to attend the flag-raising ceremony again.

So, how lucky she is that she can still work on campus as before, continue her beloved teaching career, raise the flag with the children, do exercises, study, and lead the children to grow...

Everything will be the same as before.

To say it is different, it used to be in Pingcheng, but now it is in Yancheng.

It used to be public, but now it's private.

The previous environment and colleagues are familiar, but everything here is brand new.

This "newness" not only made her feel novel and longing, but also made her feel uneasy and uneasy.

Although this is the first day of school, Ye Lian has been at work for more than ten days.

She felt visibly darker. The face felt a bit rough to the touch.

This was a souvenir left to her by her overly enthusiastic father-in-law Sun, who went out to recruit students every day for ten days before the start of school.

American and British schools are privately run, and the source of students is not guaranteed, so enrollment before the start of school is crucial.

Ye Lian reported that on her first day at work, she followed the teachers at the school to enroll students.

A few days ago, she went out to set up a stall with a few colleagues.

At the entrance of a wet market or supermarket with a lot of traffic, choose two or three spots at about the same distance to set up stalls. When there are few people, work in groups of one; when there are many people, work in groups of two.

In the beginning, Ye Lian had no experience and was mechanical.

When someone comes, she either answers questions in a scripted manner or registers in a formal manner.

No one came, so she just sat there numbly, silently watching the people coming and going in front of her.

This kind of "willing to take the bait" type of waiting often makes the stalls empty and has little effect.

On the other hand, for colleagues, the situation is much better.

Ye Lian realized that this would not work. She observed, pondered, and felt that something had to change.

She looked at the "Admissions Counseling Office" sign on the stall.

Is the brand not eye-catching enough?

But this brand is uniformly produced by the school, so there won't be much difference.

Is my attitude not enthusiastic enough?

Ye Lian thought about it, and when someone passed by, she wanted to say hello to attract their attention.

But Ye Lian is introverted and tends to be shy in front of strange people.

She only felt that her throat was tight and her voice was dry. It took a lot of effort to timidly say: "The Admissions Consultation Office of American and British Schools, welcome to come for consultation."

The voice was so low that only she could hear it.

But slowly she realized it was no big deal. His throat was still there, his voice was fine, and the people around him didn't show anything strange.

Gradually, I became more courageous, and my voice became louder and louder each time.

If anyone casts an inquiring look, she will immediately be encouraged and smile towards the visitor...

Intermittently, people came to consult. When the flow of people is at its peak, more people come for consultation.

There are all kinds of people who come for consultation, but most of them are wearing work clothes and brand names.

Ye Lian found that most of the people who came for consultation were people working in the city far away from home, so that their children could go to school nearby, and they were looking for a school they thought was suitable in their limited free time;

They will have a little understanding of the teaching staff, teaching quality, etc., but what they know most and in detail about are the various fees charged by the school.

Ye Lian can understand the mood of these parents very well. Isn't she careful about all kinds of expenses?

In front of these parents, Ye Lian tried her best to know what she could in a short period of time and patiently answered their various questions...

In the next few days, Ye Lian went out with several colleagues to distribute leaflets.

This is much harder work than setting up a stall.

Although it’s uncomfortable to sit for a long time while setting up a stall, at least I can choose a shady place. There is no fixed location for handing out leaflets. You have to go from one place with a lot of people to another place with a lot of people under the scorching sun.

On the first day, Ye Lian looked at the stack of flyers in her hand and felt worried again.

She had never done this on the streets and didn't know how to complete the task.

Sometimes I aim at a target and muster up the courage to walk towards it, but in the end I still don’t have the courage to hand out the flyers.

After finally making some progress, I was given a leaflet. Before I could feel happy, I saw the leaflet being thrown into the trash can with disdain.

Sometimes the hand holding the flyer is stretched out halfway, and people wave it away. Ye Lian felt her face burning and felt very depressed.

In the end, thanks to the help of my colleagues, I managed to finish distributing the flyers in my hand.

The second day, the third day...

Ye Lian asked herself to relax and not be so nervous.

When you see someone who looks like your father or mother, first say "hello" with a smile, then hand over a flyer, and then say "Admissions to American and British schools..." If the other person can be kind and ask a few questions, it will be like I met a close friend and quickly exchanged a few words about home affairs.

Her favorites are people with children: she starts talking to the innocent and cute children, and then naturally talks to the adults while handing out the flyers in her hands, without having to worry about the flyers being rejected...

……

All gone, those ten days of enrollment experience.

Nervousness, worry, grievance, hard work, enrichment... Every morning and dusk contributed to Ye Lian's growth.

And now, school has finally started. Ye Lian was finally able to return to school from the streets, and her work focus shifted from enrollment to teaching.

Ye Lian was a little relieved that work was on track, but new worries followed.

American and British schools have a primary school and a junior high school. The primary school has five classes for each grade, and the junior high school has four classes for each grade.

According to the school's arrangements, Ye Lian is responsible for teaching English to a second grade (2) class and a sixth grade (1) class, and also serves as the head teacher of the sixth grade (1) class.

Ye Lian has never seen this kind of class arrangement before.

There is also a graduating class across grades and stages, which makes it very difficult for her who has never crossed grades and has never led a graduating class.

The old burden of enrolling students has just been lifted, and the new burden of teaching and leading classes will soon be shouldered, and it is still heavier than ever.

Perhaps, life is like this process of constantly taking off baggage and then picking up baggage again.

Who is not like this?

The flag-raising ceremony is over, and the principal is delivering a speech on the flag-raising platform.

Ye Lian glanced at the classmates in Class 1 ([-]). They were all quiet, well-behaved, and serious.

She hopes that this class spirit is not a flash in the pan on the first day of school, but can be maintained forever, and she must let it be maintained.

Each of these children was sent to school by their parents who worked hard and with the money they earned from working.

Those work clothes badges during the admissions process, those rough hands, and those murmuring lips when repeatedly confirming school fees, appeared in front of Ye Lian again.

Yes, working hard in a foreign land is not easy for anyone.

No matter whether it is uneasy, uneasy, or the task is difficult, she must be worthy of these children and their parents.

Also, for herself, this job is not easy to come by. She must grasp it well and not let others look down upon her.

Ye Lian looked at the children's faces, then at the red flag waving in the wind, her eyes eager and firm, and her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

Red flag hunting, youth flying! Time waits for no one, let us live up to our time!

Ye Lian was so excited and emotional that she silently made an oath in her heart.

The golden light of the morning sun shone on her smug face...