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| One word couldn't quite sum it up | ||
| Coming to China to teach English is something you can't exactly be entirely prepared for. In my case, I wasn't prepared at all. The company I went through did little to help with anything at all, except making sure they had their behinds covered by means of a ludicrous contract in case I decided to bail. Once in China, culture shock sets in strong, and it took me over a month to overcome it. My school, at first, was very unhelpful to me as a foreigner in a new place; they did nothing to orient me to the city or show me anything in a place where I knew nothing and didn't speak the language. I lived in a sub-par apartment, where mildew began to creep up the walls as a few weeks passed. The first three weeks were quite unbearable, but after stating my complaints to the school, they did everything they could to try and make my stay more comfortable. They put me up in a hotel while they fixed a new apartment for me, and did their best to try and make me feel more at home. It was more than a month before I met any other foreigners in the city where I lived, but once I met another person with whom I could relate a little more, my experience took a turn for the better. It's nearing the end of my contract with my school, and after these months of working with them, I can say that they are made up of group of really great women and teachers who basically all acted as my stand-in mothers. When I was ill, they cooked for me and took care of me, and when the children were misbehaved, they took care of it for me (it is very hard to maintain any level of discipline with Chinese middle school children when you are a foreigner). At first I was unhappy with my placement at this school, but in the end it turned out to be an extremely beneficial experience. I had to go out and find more things on my own that I would have liked (they showed me where one supermarket was), but I learned a lot. The conceptions I had of China before I came have been totally changed, and I realize now that they were mostly MIS conceptions, especially when it comes to the nature of the majority of Chinese children and schools. I would recommend a short bout in China if you're looking for an experience that will make you turn your head every five minutes. The only thing that I would recommend is not going through a company that you found on the internet, as I did. It was a total scam and rip off, and most of the foreigners I have met while in China have had similar experiences with their companies (those from the United States, at least). The name of the company I used was Journey****.org and I don't think they are a very competent team. They aren't very helpful and you see nothing in return for the immense program fee they require. I don't recommend using them if you are going to teach in China. My experience, though rocky as the Oregon shore at first, turned out to be an exciting adventure of fun and discovery, but I have nothing to owe to the placement company. (They also made all participants purchase mobile phones to use in China before we left, which three times the price of buying a new phone in China, and couldn't process Chinese). I think China's a great place to go, but get ready to completely abandon most of the things you consider normal when you come here. Send Message to Author |