Since coming to China Kyle began calling me “Mr. Cory” almost immediately. It’s become the name that many of the kids use to talk to me. They either call me “Cory”, or “Mr. Cory”. Yesterday, I was given a new nickname. Yao Guai. Yao is roughly translated as “evil”, “ghost”, or “devil”. Guai simply means “weird”. Put together, Yao Guai is the Chinese equivalent of calling someone “the Boogey Man”.
I’m pretty proud of this nickname. And I’ll tell you how I got it. Every Sunday afternoon we have a class of 17 1st and 2nd graders-mostly boys-that raid and pillage our school for 2 hours. Almost all of these kids are a little naughty, and some are really naughty. In between two 45 minute classes they get a 30 minute break. We used to try and have organized games with the kids, but we soon found out that the favored game of 1st and 2nd game Chinese Boys is the get chased around in the attic by the scarey white guy.
I tried to avoid the kids yesterday. I got to school shortly before the break started, and attempted to hide in the computer room, checking my email and doing a little reading, until it was my turn to teach. I thought I’d be fine, but after 5 minutes of break time a little hand opened the door, poked his head inside, screamed, and began running up the stairs. When I turned to look, I realized it wasn’t just one little head, but about 10. They all screamed as they clambored up the stairs, and becuae of their tenacity I decided I was obliged to chase them.
I’m no stranger to chasing these kids. I’ve got it down to a science. The room we go to is a large rectangle with pillars spaced down the middle. It gives the kids just enough cover to run around so that they think I won’t catch them. But, although they can squeeze through the narrows where the two pillars are nearest to the walls, I always manage to meet them on the other side. At this point I spread my arms out wide, and slowly force them into the corners. Eventually they have no room to run, and often slide a bit on the tile, ending up on their haunches.
At this point the magic happens. I stare at them right in the eyes, and wait until they start to wonder what I’m doing. Then I roar and begin tickling them on their stomachs and backs. They squirm and giggle, and love it. And, maybe, I love it too. After all, I am the Yao Guai.
