Gaokao Losers

ABSTRACT: In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler explored the novelty of being a foreign teacher in Fuling, China, in the mid-nineties. Most of his students were among the first generation in their family to attend college, and they hadn't met an American before. They were enthusiastic about foreign culture and the Chicago Bulls, but also keen to educate Hessler (or He Wei, as he is known in Chinese) about their country's customs. They offered him their friendship, in many cases corresponding with him for decades after he returned to the United States and became a journalist. He encouraged them to talk about the farming roots of their families, their ideas about free speech, and their hopes and dreams, sometimes by introducing the topics in disguise.