|
Whats up Bri I mean Mr. Danforth, senior Jeffrey Lee quickly checked himself as he passed his dragon boat coach in the halls.
New Chinese teacher Brian Danforth has to constantly remind his dragon boat team members that because he is now a teacher at the school, it is improper to use his first name basis like they do during dragon boat practices. After teaching Chinese 2 and 8 as a student teacher for a year, Danforth now teaches three first-year Chinese classes.
Danforths students are often shocked that he is a Caucasian man speaking impeccable Mandarin with a twinge of a Beijing accent. The students say Oh my God, where did you learn to speak Chinese like that? Danforth said. I get that reaction from people regularly.¬¬ I think its flattering. Its generally shocking to see a non-Chinese person speaking Chinese fluently.
Danforth first took Chinese at San Francisco State University because he was bored with his other classes. What started out as a filler course turned into an integral part of his life. In 1986, after taking a semester of Mandarin, Danforth visited China for the first time as part of a program of study at Beijing Language Institute. I was 19 years old and had never traveled outside the country before, Danforth said. Learning a new language and a new culture really opened up new opportunities for me. At that time China was just opening up to the world for the first time and it had a newness to it that was just fascinating.
Since his first visit Danforth has traveled to China and Taiwan frequently, visiting cities all over both the mainland and the island, even Confuciuss hometown Qufu in Shangdong, China. In 1989 Danforth attended the National Taiwan Normal University for a while then worked at UB office systems. While he was in Asia, Danforth tried to assimilate with the culture by doing things the way the natives did. I rode the subways when I wanted to get around and for meals I usually chose the small restaurant in the corner.
Despite his familiarity with the culture, Danforth found that as a 6-foot-2 Caucasian man, he could not blend in as he did in other countries. When I was in Israel, somebody walked up and asked for directions in Hebrew, and suddenly I thought, could you ask in Mandarin? Danforth said. Nobody in China asks me for directions because they assume I dont know the language, but I will always be asked in French, German or Spanish because I look like I speak the language.
During his time in Taiwan Danforth was introduced to the sport of dragon boating. It is just the best team sport you will ever find, Danforth said. I wanted to introduce this sport to the Western world. In 1997, Danforth and a few colleagues founded the California Dragon Boat association. A year later, Danforth and Lincolns current dragon boat coach Bob Leung suggested forming high school teams. Danforth contacted May Choi, director of Lowells Chinese Cultural club and introduced dragon boating as an activity for the club.
The program really took off in 2001 when Lake Merced allowed paddle boating. Before this, the team commuted to Foster City to practice, an inconvenience that limited the teams practices. Now interest in dragon boating has multiplied. I never imagined it would get this big, Danforth said.
To Danforth, teaching and coaching give him opportunities to put on a performance every day. I played a few songs at Kermesse last year and I just like performing in general. Teaching gives me the opportunity to make my students enthusiastic about learning a language. |
