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You’d think moving to a foreign country across the world, where English is not widely spoken, the culture is different, the people are different, the food is different and even the smallest daily essentials are somewhat different, that it would take a while to get used to, or settle, or feel any way comfortable what so ever. In my case, I have never felt more comfortable, the only time I felt otherwise was getting off the plane in Beijing Airport wondering if I filled the China entry form out properly.
Part of it may have been my nature, I’ve always had itchy feet at home, and always felt unsettled and maybe it was being in a foreign country that made me comfortable. But to be honest most of it was due to the program, due to the advisors helping me and to the friends I’ve met. Everyone on the program was in the same situation that I was. Every person on this program be it intern or official, were all the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Between making the lifelong friends I have now and the support and organisation of the advisors, coordinators and the company, I found myself every day, thanking the past me for making the decision to do it.
The teaching, for me, was the tougher part. I found standing up in front of 40 young children in each class very daunting. I had no confidence in my teaching skills. Every evening I worked hard to create the perfect lesson plan but it was the words of some of the coordinators that echoed in my head. “You’ll do great”, “I was in the same position as you were before, don’t worry”, “it is a very rewarding experience”, “Have confidence, you will get more used to it”, “If you need advice, we are here” and their presence during the period was a huge help. Eventually, even though I didn’t believe them at first, their words became reality. The teaching got easier, the lesson plans got easier, it became very rewarding, and even though there were bad days, where students didn’t cooperate or just didn’t listen, I still found myself loving it.
I have had no bad experience with my placement, I love this school, this place, the people, well, maybe I’d prefer less mice and cockroaches, but I don’t think anyone can help me with that. Overall, joining this program is probably the best decision I’ve ever made.
Daily life in the school is great, the routine is easy to get used to. Get up, greet students, teach some classes, ( I have 12 classes in total, 2 times a week, so i teach around 12 hours a week), nap during lunch teach classes, hang out in the office in between and finish up. Our evenings are our own, where we usually go shopping, eat sushi or hit the gym. We eat food in the canteen, I like it but some teachers don't like the food. The highlight of my teaching life is getting to know the students, they call my name in the hallway and try speak to me when they can, the only difficulty i found was a lack of curriculum, I wasn't and sometimes still not sure what I should be teaching them. It would have been a lot easier if I was given a set curriculum but I'm happy out none the less and I've had no complaints about what I'm teaching with even some compliments.