Annoyance...

I just finished my International Business course, and on a bit of a sour note. The class itself was uneventful - sometimes interesting, usually dull. However, the class vote we had at the end of the class made my caffenated blood boil...

We were to vote on the place our class was going to travel for a field trip, and the class leader proceeded to stand up and speak entirely in chinese... when the teacher told him he should speak in english (since this is an english MBA class, and 50% of the students are foreign), he said in chinese that another girl (ABC) can translate for us and proceeded.

I have two problems with this:

1 - This is an english MBA class... if you can't speak english or don't want to, the solution is simple, drop the class. Speaking chinese to english-speaking students even after the professor asked you to do otherwise is a slap in the face.

2 - Class had already ended, and several minutes late. While your method may be easier for you, I really don't have the time or the desire to sit and wait for the translation from your announcement - what kind of class leader are you not to consider needs/wants of the students!?!

3 - The translation is never going to be as descriptive as the original statement when everyone is trying to leave a three hour class... if for no other reason than because the translator has to speak before people start moving around and making noise.

I'm really annoyed by it all - maybe I'll get used to this sort of thing - I'm certainly used to people speaking chinese around me (and therefore ignoring me) for 5 - 30 minutes at a time. However, this was something I hadn't been expecting... I would think that in an English MBA class, the class leader would speak english when addressing the class!

I didn't wait around long after the vote, I was the first to leave, and I tried to convey my annoyance... the leader was still talking when I left, but obviously not to me, so I don't consider leaving early rude at all.