International man of mystery
Article & photos by Jen Foster

Robert出生在印度的华人家庭, 他可以流利地说客家话, 广东话, 印地语和英语. 他一生中当过大学老师, 开过餐馆, 当过演员, 出演了007电影《黄金眼》和其他多部影视剧. 而今, 他回到福建寻根, 在福州任教.



Borders are no barrier to Robert Tse. His life has taken him all across the globe. Now choosing to return to his Chinese roots, Robert arrived in Fujian Province three months ago. He teaches in the Huanan Women's College and the E-Fly Institute in Fuzhou.

East-west Fusion

Though born in India to Chinese parents, Robert Tse considers himself British. Educated in a British school in Calcutta, Robert has spoken English all his life. Fluent in four languages - his mother's native Haka language, the Cantonese spoken in his family home, the Hindi spoken in Calcutta and his favourite tongue, English - by the age of five, Robert was the embodiment of multiculturalism. He takes this vast experience of different ways of life both into the classroom and beyond. He told me:

"Travel allows us to learn about those worlds that are completely unlike our own. I have spent many years of my life in England. From this experience, I am able to seek out the best of both worlds. I can combine what I like about the west with what I like about the east." This combination of western travel and eastern roots means that Robert is able to explain the intricacies of Chinese festivals at the same time as craving roast beef and Yorkshire puddings.

A human touch

His Chinese background and obvious gift for languages allow him to use Mandarin in the classroom. However, he reveals that his real secret lies in making his students smile:

"I need them to see that I'm a human - not just a teacher," he muses. "When they don't understand me, I try to make them laugh. I even burst into song."

Laughing, he likens himself to 1950s cool guy, Kookie - the well-groomed icon of the American TV show, 77 Sunset Strip. He frequently pulls out a pocket comb and smoothes back his hair. His flamboyant dress sense is another thing that makes him stand out from the crowd. This cheery, outgoing demeanour makes him a hit in the classroom; students frequently phone him to thank him for his help and motivation.

"I didn't come to China to make money. I came looking for a challenge and my reward is the satisfaction of seeing my students develop and increase in their confidence."



Ever-changing China

"Living in China is not always that easy," he tells me. In fact, one blip in his love of the Chinese way of life is what he calls the 'study, study, study' phenomenon: "Students know they have to study but they are not always told how best to study, or what they are really trying to achieve. Things are getting better but I would like to see more emphasis on communication, not just exams."

Talking more about China today, he expresses faith in Chinese students and their increasing curiosity in the world around them. He sees the west as taking more and more interest in China and its way of life. Comparing China to a "big, juicy apple", he sees China as developing so fast that "the whole world is looking for a slice of the action."

Life is for living

I asked him where he learnt this positive, "can-do" attitude:

"My father worked hard all his life and he died young, at the age of 55. He never took my mother on a honeymoon, he never took time out to go on a family holiday. I was so afraid of following in his footsteps that at 55 I decided that I had to see more of the world."　

With experience of teaching both at Bournemouth University, England and in Hong Kong, Robert is no stranger to education. However, his colourful working career reveals his willingness to try anything, as well as go anywhere. In England when working as the manager of the family restaurant, Robert was approached by an agent from the BBC:

"This man was having dinner in the restaurant and he asked me if I'd like to be in a programme he was making. Funnily enough, he thought I was Japanese and asked me to play a Japanese soldier in the series 'Tenko'. I recruited another fifteen Chinese friends and we all took part."

Robert's television debut led him to take on roles in top shows including "The Two Ronnies" and "Howard's End". He even worked as a bad guy in the James Bond thriller, Golden Eye. Truly a man with a golden touch, Robert leaves me with these words: "See as much of the world as you can" - a piece of advice that I am more than happy to follow.

My Xiamen


Gary Ying, from the US, is now teaching on the Zhangzhou Campus of Xiamen University.

1. How long have you been in Xiamen?
I arrived here on August 12, 2005.

2. What do you like best about life here?
"Best" is a very limiting word. I like the area near the sea, the beauty of the city, the wonderful coffee shops and international restaurants, the two campuses, the nifty little neighborhoods reminiscent of villages in the countryside, the friendliness of the citizens and my students.

3. What's your job here? How do you like it?
I teach English to students who are not English majors.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
I ride my bicycle a lot by the beach and noodle around the neighborhoods. I also try new restaurants. English Corners, of which I attend several, take much of my available time.

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
I would change ME, not Xiamen. My understanding and use of the Chinese language will increase my enjoyment of the area and China generally.

6. What's your favorite restaurant?
Unfair question. I've only been to a few so far and feel that I have yet to find my "favorite". I like many both Chinese and those of other ethnicities.

7. What do you think are the differences between Xiamen and other big cities in China?
The cleanliness of the environment: air, streets, etc.

8. What's the last great book you read?
"My Country and My People" by Lin Yutang. From this I discovered "The Dream of the Red Chamber" which I am presently reading along with Joseph Campbell's "Myths of the East" from his trilogy, "The Masks of God".

9. What's your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
I teach my students, and have for years, "Every day, in every way, my English gets better and better. I can do it, because I am a winner." And when times get tough, as they tend to do in life as well as in a new country, I recall the words of a dear friend who says, "I can see peace instead of this."

Vocabulary
intricacy 细节
crave 渴望
muse 沉思
demeanor 态度
blip 偏差
flamboyant 耀眼的