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Showing posts from September, 2015

Over the Great Wall

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Recently I left the UK to begin a kindergarten teaching job in China, a place I have never been to before. Since I will be there for the next 10 months, I hope it turns out to be a good decision! A good omen from Heathrow? In one day I took both the longest flight (12 hours - London Heathrow-Hong Kong) and shortest (35mins - Hong Kong to Guangzhou) that I have ever been on. The journey was over before I knew it, and then I found myself in China. What now?  On the car ride for the airport I began taking in the area I was going to make my new home. Firstly I was surprisedbto see a man riding a motorbike with no helmet. What!  As it transpired, I peaked too early on the shock factor. Shortly after, I saw three people on one motorbike, cutting in and out of traffic. Then I saw another motorbike with three adults- and a baby sandwiched in the mix- none of whom wore headgear. Quite an interesting sight for the first few minutes in the country. And traffic laws seem to be

Preparing For the 9,000km Voyage to China

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As we shook hands and said goodbye, my new friend said, "See you around" I replied with, "Maybe not though- I'll be in China soon won't I?"  "Yeah of course," he said, "Well, good luck!" And he was off. I can tell you that when I saw this particular gentleman two weeks later, at a party in west London, I was slightly sheepish that I was, in fact, still in the UK. After all- I had been so convinced that I'd be leaving speedily.  By the third time we met, the embarrassment had worn off. I realised that I'd be here in England for a while and so I'd made peace with that fact. East. Far East Seven weeks ago today, my girlfriend Holly and I were offered fantastic jobs teaching in a kindergarten school in Southern China. It was the first job offer we received since we began looking for TEFL jobs in Asia. However, it seemed perfect: sensible working hours, weekends off, a nice location, flights and