Hi there, this is Janny. I am the initiator of this English Corner. Very nice to meet you!

I was born and raised here in Fuzhou. After seven years’ studying and working in Cambridge, England, I returned home in September 2018. In order to maintain my English fluency, I had been to a few English Corners during the first two weeks after my return. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy myself and had some interesting conversations in those meetings. Nevertheless, as an English teacher and educational researcher, I found existing English Corners a bit too casual. I said to myself 'hmm…there has to be a better way. Maybe I should start my own, a more organized and educational one'.

Well, as the cliché goes, it's always easier said than done. The eureka moment for this social enterprise came much later on a Sunday afternoon. I stopped by my cousin's Jasmine Tea Shop to check if my order's ready for collection. There and then, I witnessed an amazingly lively conversation. What's happening there was a tea talk session, which used to be one of the Top Three of Fuzhou locals' favorite leisure activities (the other two are 'taking a hot spring bath' and 'watching a story-telling talk show'). In the old days, people got together after work or meals. They would be chatting over a cup of jasmine tea, telling stories, exchanging information and gossiping about everything. It struck me that if we replaced the Fuzhou dialect by English, it would fit the definition of English Corner perfectly!

Straight away, I called on a meeting with a few friends at my cousin's tea store, sharing my vision and design of this project. Thanks to their constructive feedback and loving support, the inaugural programme is finalised and launched officially on 25 November 2018. Although this English Corner is primarily self-serving (I am not gonna lie), I do want to make it equally beneficial to the local community. I hope to establish a platform that enables knowledge sharing, collective learning and a rejuvenation on the traditional Fuzhou teahouse culture.

I am sure our encounter would be great fun. Looking forward to seeing you!

Cheers.

你好啊，我是「茶隅FUN逅」的发起人Janny，很高兴认识你。

我是个土生土长的福州人，在英国学习生活了7年，2018年9月回国定居。在刚回国的两周里，我走访了几个福州的英语角，认识了不少爱好英语的同道中人。虽然每次的交流都很开心，但仅是简单的自我介绍，有一搭没一搭地聊聊八卦，这样的英语角对我来说着实不够有营养啊。于是，我萌生了自己创设英语角的念头。

俗话说的好“说起来容易做起来难”，创办英语角一度停留在“想法阶段”，直到一个周日的下午，我去表哥开的茉莉花茶店里取茶，恰好遇到老福州茶摊的活动（“茶摊”与“泡温泉”、“听书”并称成为福州的“休闲三宝”），一群福州的姨伯爷姆正在用乡音聊有关鼓山的传说。嘿，我的脑子里灵光一闪，如果把福州话转换成英文，不就是最有福州特色的英语角了嘛。

说干就干，我和表哥提了办英语角的想法，又约了几个朋友来店里商量活动组织的细节。在他们无私的帮助和支持下，2018年11月25日第一期活动正式上线了！虽然「茶隅FUN逅」有些许“自给自足”的意味，但我仍然真诚地希望能将它办成一个分享知识、合作学习的平台，能为福州老茶摊文化的传承做些许贡献。

我坚信在「茶隅」的相遇，一定是一种「FUN逅」。

期待相见！