Two Months in China

Red Maple Tree

So, I’ve finally decided to write about my teaching and travelling experience in China. I’ll begin by stating that travelling for me is not only a way to get from one place to another, it can also be an experience in itself, a voyage of self-discovery. In this regard, I completed my 140-hour TEFL qualification in June and got on a plane halfway around the world in September to go and teach English in China.

Having lived in different regions of my native Italy as well as the UK, my upbringing has been multicultural. Nevertheless, my first five to six weeks in China have been extremely hard. Few memories of my initial impressions are that I didn’t know how to order any food or taxis. Within 4 hours of arriving in Yangzhou, China I moved into my flat, had lunch with the foreign teachers and understood the geographical locations of my school, the bus stop and the supermarket. Also the weeks that followed were very busy. I had to buy my Chinese SIM card for my phone, undergo general medical checks, obtain my resident permit and open a new bank account. I literally cried every night before going to bed. Travelling has been the only cure for most of my issues.

As I am a full-time English kindergarten teacher, you may wonder how I am able to travel. Well, not working in the weekends allows me two consecutive days off per week, which enables me to make short well-planned trips that usually begin Friday afternoon straight after work. Thus, every two weeks I visit a new city and develop my curiosity for areas such as China that has kept local traditions related to food, music and clothing that interests me. So far I have travelled to Beijing, Suzhou and Shatou. As I climbed the Great Wall of China in Beijing, wandered around the grand canals of “The Venice of the East” in Suzhou and picked oranges in Shatou, I noticed how every city has its own values and beliefs, as well as the ways they maintain continuity with the past. In 2 weeks from now, I will be visiting Nanjing, major centre of culture, education, research and tourism that served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949.

In my responsibilities as an English kindergarten teacher, I teach children aged 2-7. My working day starts at 8am and, as I teach young learners, my classes require me to be as playful as possible. In fact, I play fun games and sing yet repetitive songs. We started off with an easy song: “head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes” but we now already have moved on to a harder song: “ Five little monkeys jumping on the bed”. I’ve found that Chinese students are very well behaved compared to UK and Italian children and thus all lessons are really enjoyable. However, one of my favourite parts of the day is lunchtime. I eat lunch at 11:15 AM in the school dining hall and then I’m off until 2:15 PM, as Chinese children nap from 12:00 AM till 2:00 PM. So far, I have tried tons of new foods such as lotus stems and roots, bamboo shoots and traditional chinese dishes such as: “Yeung Chow”, Yangzhou fried rice.

My journey through China, encountering different people and cultures, it’s the essential framework within which I’m forming my political conscience. For instance, I have realized how the performance of body language can have a great impact on communication. On several occasions, as I don’t speak Chinese, I have used hand gestures with people to catch their attention. I am interested to learn more about why the performance of body language, as well as language itself, is so significant when it comes to understanding any form of culture.

By sharing my experience I hope to inspire women from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to be travel girls like me. Let the world be your oyster. Don’t be afraid to dream big and remember to always make every journey count.