Learning English from a native English speaker is a magnet in China

In my first full year in Wenzhou, 2014, my new Chinese friends started to invite me to tea house evening events where the attendees were so excited to have a native English speaker to help them practice a little conversational English. At the same time, they would help me with my Chinese language pronuciation. A variety of different venues were offered by businesses or organizations. I began to become a little more organized and would bring simple qon-sheet handouts that could be used to practice both English pronunciation and writing. By 2015 and up until late 2018, I deliberately planned my life around offering free (no cost to attendees) Friday night English corner. the locations generally lasted about six months until the circumstance for the host changed. The final and reletively permant location starting in 2017 was a vegetaran restaurant about a 10 minute bicycyle ride from my home. The resautant owner had a clean second floor seating area with three large round tables. After eating dinner downstairs at the vegetarian buffet (15 yuan for all you can eat, later increased to 20), I would move with my spouse to the second floor, choosing any of the three big round tables that was open. On a Friday night during a school vacation week, parents would bring their children, like you see in the picture. Most of the time there were 4-7 regular adult attendees, sometimes college students. I developed a group of friends and colleagues, some of whom I still have contact with through WeChat.