Jetting Educated

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...

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...