Interview with a Teacher

For this month’s “Inspirer” we have decided to introduce you to one of the teachers most of the students don’t know very well. Miss Sophie, the Chinese Language teacher.

Hello Miss Sophie, you have been teaching at “Prima” for a couple of years now. How long have you been living in Serbia?

For almost, well actually 6 years.

That is quite a long time! How did you decide to live in Serbia?

I met my husband who is Serbian and then we got married and I moved here.

Do you like living here?

Yes. Now, I actually almost feel like Belgrade is my home. Over the break I went back to China to visit my parents and I stayed there for almost 20 days, but suddenly, I felt like I was a guest there. When I came back to Belgrade I thought “Oh I’m finally home”. And I like Belgrade, I like the way people live here. It’s special compared to Beijing.

Do you maybe speak Serbian?

Yes, actually, I’m learning now. The daily conversation is not a problem, and if I know the backstory I can understand what the people are talking about. Compared to English, I find Serbian very hard.

Have you always wanted to teach Chinese?

Well, actually no. But now I enjoy teaching Chinese.

What did you want to become when you were younger?

I wanted to become an architect. So, actually now I am still preparing for that. I like it, it’s my hobby now. I am going to a painting school every weekend. It’s my dream, so maybe in the future. It’s very hard to be an architect, but when I have free time I try to practice. It’s nice when you have a goal in life and you try to reach it.

Do you have any other hobbies?

I like reading books and I like to exercise, like go to the gym. Now I don’t go to the gym but I have APP. You can choose a programme according to your situation, and I do that every day. I also like walking. In my neighborhood

we have a šuma, a forest, Banjica. I like fresh air so I like to go there.

Do you have an interesting fact about yourself?

Well, I like cartoons. Every time I fly back from China I watch all of the “Ice Age” movies.

You said you like to read. Do you have a favorite book or an author?

When I was younger I liked “Gone with the wind” and those romantic stories. And now, I don’t have a specific one. Actually, I do. It is “My name is Red” by Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish writer.

Do you like movies and what is your favorite one?

Well, I like cartoons. I like to watch “Discovery”, “National Geographic” and “Animal Planet”.

What music do you listen to?

Well, when I was younger I liked rock. Now I’m getting older, maybe, now I like a little bit of classical music, for example Mozart. Maybe because my husband likes it and he always plays it at home and then you think “Oh it’s not bad”. But when I was younger “Metallica” was my favorite. Unfortunately, last time they had a concert in Belgrade I missed it. I like “Bijelo dugme” as well. I like some old time music. I think from 1960 to 1990 was the best music. At one point I really liked Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

Lastly, I have been told that you like clothes and fashion. Do you have a favorite shop in Belgrade?

Because of my size I usually go to “Zara” or “H&M” because they have XS. I like to look nice and feel comfortable not for others but for myself and self-confidence. The style is very different here. If you go to China you can see that everyone wears more bright colours, but here we like more basic colours. I like simpler designs.

Thank you for doing this interview for our school magazine!

Thank you for choosing me.