Opening a School in China

　　在中国办学校

　　By David Cotter

　　大卫•考特尔

　　David Cotter grew up in Northern Ireland and Canada. He studied for his bachelor degree at the University of Calgary and went on to study for a master degree and a PHD in Trinity College, University of Dublin. He spent the next few years teaching in

a variety of schools in Ireland and later giving lectures in Tsinghua University. He has also published a book on Irish writer, James Joyce. About three years ago David came to Beijing to set up a school. In the following article he describes this experience.

　　大卫•考特尔在北爱尔兰和加拿大长大。他在卡尔加里大学取得学士学位以后，前往都柏林大学圣三一学院求学，先后获得了硕士和博士学位。此后几年，他先后在爱尔兰的许多学校从事教学工作，随后又前往清华大学举办讲座。他还出版过一本关于爱尔兰作家詹姆斯•乔伊斯的著作。大约在三年前，大卫来到北京，成立了一所学校。在下面这篇文章中，他讲述了自己的这一经历。

　　I have been in Beijing for almost three years. During this time, I have worked together with a very trusted and talented Chinese partner on establishing and managing Ai-Hua English. We have overcome many difficulties, and I am so proud of the product of our labour.

　　我来北京已经差不多三年了。在这段时间里，我和一位非常值得信赖的、能干的中国伙伴建立起爱华英语学校，并一起从事着管理工作。我们克服了重重困难，对于我们的劳动成果，我感到了无比自豪。

　　After arriving in China with this project in mind, we spent six months ascertaining the best way to set ourselves up legally. This was a time of long meetings at long elliptical tables, at which I could understand nothing of what was being said, followed by strange dinners with gallons of baijiu, at which I still understood nothing of what was being said, but nonetheless had opportunity to laugh and roar. I often felt very helpless at this time.

　　我们是怀着从事这个项目的想法来到中国的，之后，我们花了六个月的时间来确定如何才能最好地使我们的事业规范地建立起来。这段时间里，我们总是聚在椭圆型长桌旁开着冗长的会议，开完会后就是吃着备感生疏的饭菜不停地喝白酒，在长桌旁别人都说了什么我也是一点也听不懂，吃喝时别人都说了什么我也是一点也听不懂，不过，即使是这样，有时还是会开怀大笑一番的。这段时间，我经常会产生无助感。

　　Eventually we succeeded in attaining a license from the ShiJingShan Department of Education, and opened our school in 5 office rooms in ZhongChuDaSha, right beside Bajiao subway stop. A little later, there was a great hullabaloo over a separate license to hire foreign teachers, but we had impressed and befriended some of the local government leaders by this time, so that after a series of negotiations, we were issued this license.

　　最后，我们还是顺利地获得了石景山教育局颁发的执照，在地铁八角站旁中础大厦的五间办公室里开办了我们的学校。之后不久，又开始为办理招聘外籍教师的专项执照问题而忙得不可开交，但此时，我们已经给当地的一些政府官员留下了深刻的印象并成为了朋友，所以在进行了一系列沟通之后，我们获得了这个执照。

　　SARS was a great blow to us. We had just gotten up and running when we were told that we had to cancel all classes and all of our teachers packed their bags. I have to say, though, that despite my worries about the survival of Ai Hua I enjoyed the SARS period very much. I was alone in Beijing at this time, and I had nothing but time on my hands. This gave me an opportunity to get to know the city more intimately.

　　“非典”对我们是一个巨大的打击。当我们被告知要取消所有课程，而我们的所有老师也都在打点行囊之际，我们才刚刚开始运作。即使这样，我得说，虽然我担心着爱华学校的存亡，但我还是非常喜欢“非典”的那段时期。这段时间里，我独自呆在北京，有的是时间。而这就给了我一次更深入了解这个城市的机会。

　　We bounced back very quickly after SARS, because we have good relations with the local education community. We have worked closely with a number of the local public schools, and have learned a great deal from the leaders, teachers and students of these schools.

　　“非典”过后，我们很快地就恢复起来，因为我们与当地教育圈有着良好的关系。我们与当地许多公立学校进行了紧密的协作，并从这些学校的领导、老师和学生那里学到了很多东西。

　　At the beginning of last summer, I realized that we had succeeded in becoming more than simply a welcome guest in ShiJingShan, that we were now a respected member of the community. At this time, we moved from the five offices in ZhongChuDaSha to an independent school house owned by the local Education Department. The new site of our school is three stories tall, with a courtyard, and 18 classrooms. Moving into this building and assimilating ourselves to this new environment has been the most difficult thing that we have done in China. Only recently have I become convinced that we made the right decision in moving. Now we have twenty Chinese members of staff and nine foreign teachers, and they are all working together very well. With all the space of the new school, we have so many opportunities for development. This is what is most important to me. Of course we have to survive financially, but profits and losses are always abstractions to me, up there toward the big words that make us so unhappy. My primary concern is in creating a learning community, and with this end in mind I choose to work in the trenches.

　　去年夏初，我意识到，我们已经成功地进行了转型，不再只是一个受到石景山地区欢迎的客人，我们现在已经是这个社区中受人尊敬的一员了。这时，我们从中础大厦的五间办公室里搬了出来，驻进了当地教育局所属的一所独立学校的大楼里。我们的新学校是一栋拥有一个庭院、18间教室的三层楼房。搬到这栋楼里并使自己融入到这个新环境中是我们来中国后遇到的最难办的事情。直到最近，我才肯定了搬家的决定是正确的。目前，我们拥有20名中国员工和9名外籍教师，他们在工作上全都得配合得十分融洽。拥有新学校的这些空间，我们迎来了众多发展机遇。对我来说，这正是最重要的。当然，我们必须在经营上维持下去，但盈利得失对我来说却总是些抽象的词语，都快赶上那些使我们感到异常不快的晦涩语汇了。我最关注的是创造一个学习氛围，心中有了这个目标，我便选择从事实际的工作。

　　I suppose this is why I am so lucky to work with the Chinese partner that I do: she enables me to apply my particular talents. More than anything else in the saga of this school, I have been impressed and amazed by the bullish power, the talent, the shrewdness and the charm of the tender Chinese girl who traveled together with me from Ireland to build Ai Hua up from nothing.

　　我想，这就是为什么我与共事的中国伙伴一起工作是如此幸运的原因：她能使我运用到我所特有的才能。在这个学校的发展史中，没有什么可以跟这个跟随我从爱尔兰游历至此、白手起家建立起爱华学校的柔弱中国女孩相比，她的闯劲、天赋、机灵和魅力给我留下了最深的印象，也使我最感吃惊。

　　Now that the school is again running smoothly, I am doing a lot of teaching. I have learned that I can never really be a businessman; that my character is best suited to being a teacher, and a student.

　　既然学校已再度顺畅地运作起来，所以我现在就从事着大量的教学工作。我已经明白，我永远不可能真正地成为一名商人；我的性格最适合做一个老师，当一名学生。

　　My life is blessed. The people I have worked with, the people I am working with, my students, my friends, and the people I have only met briefly, have all been sources of delight for me.

　　我的生活是幸福的。曾经和我共事过的人、正在和我共事的人、我的学生、我的朋友，以及和我仅有一面之缘的人都是我获得快乐的源泉。

　　Ai Hua English School provides a wide range of English language courses for all ages. For more information, they can be contacted at 010-68823303/68823304 Ext. 14/15.

　　爱华英语学校为各年龄层人士提供众多的英语课程。详情请接洽010-68823303/68823304 转14/15。

　　知识链接

　　up and running

　　这是一个经常使用的固定词组。它的意思相当于“正常运转”、“开始运作”和“走上正轨”。在商务中，经常使用到这个词组，当然，在描述项目的进展或软件的状态时，也可以用它来修饰。

　　in the trenches

　　“The trenches”是一个固定的搭配，有其特指的含义。它指的是第一次世界大战中战斗最为激烈的前线地带——战壕。当前面加了“in”之后，并不是指“在战壕里”，而是产生了一个引申的意思，即“从事实际的工作”。想想也是，都在战壕里了，怎么还能光动嘴地指挥别人，这时需要真刀真枪地进行战斗。