Do I like being the center of attention…?

I had an interesting experience last night. One of my students invited me to English Corner, where Chinese students can get together to practice their English. Being that English so happens to be my native tongue, I decided to take a stroll by. There were a few other foreigners there so I was not the only one, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I had a crowd around me that did not subside for two hours. Not that I normally try to be the center of attention, but I found myself edging toward the edges of the circle when I could feel others at my back. Several students asked for my email and mobile number and I had to laugh every time I needed a light to write 5 mobile phones would appear over my notebook. The students I was talking to had a better command of the language than my students. This made sense because some were English majors and others were older than my freshmen. I could tell because some of my dry humor actually got a few laughs. I was asked many questions and my favorite was “What do you think is the biggest difference between China and America?” I couldn’t help but give my first answer as “Well, the language for starters,” and then did give an actual answer. I was enthusiastically invited by one of the organizers of English Corner and now that the novelty has worn off a bit, maybe I can hear them talk more than I do.