Flashing Lights

Some of my students in my speech classes

Thursday was the end of ESL training for the freshmen and therefore my last day of teaching before the National Holiday.  As a joke, Jimmy decided to shave his head into a Mohawk which made quite a stir on campus.  I know this comes as a surprise but not my students here rock this type of hairstyle.  Even more, most have never seen a Mohawk in person, only in the movies or in the tabloids on David Beckham who sported a faux Mohawk a few years ago.  So on Thursday morning, the professors along with Jimmy and I said our goodbyes to our class of 150 students.  When we were finished, one of the Chinese teachers named Cindy ran up to the microphone and started speaking Chinese to the students, the only recognizable words being ‘Emily’ and ‘Jimmy.’  This seemed to cause an uproar because the class cheered with joy and excitement.  Then, before we knew what was going on a sea of students started running towards us!  Cindy ran over to us and said she had informed the students that now was the time to take pictures with Emily and Jimmy!  The students wasted no time, first grabbing Jimmy one on each arm pulling him this way and that way.  Screams and the flashing of cameras came next as I was bombarded by students asking to take pictures with me from every direction.  The paparazzi students were relentless! A whirlwind of camera flashes, peace signs, camera phones and a few hundred smiles later I was done.  The rush stopped as abruptly as it had started and my face felt like it was going to fall off.  For 5 minutes Jimmy and I got to experience what Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt experience every single day of their life!   It was exhausting but exhilarating all at the same time!  The Chinese never pass up a photo opportunity that’s for sure!