Work, childhood, and everything in between!

[ESLteacher]

I was asked to right this thread by a visitor to my page. I am a 29 year old caucasian American male that is living in China and this is the story of how that came to be. After enduring my family and my younger years and realizing that blood is certainly not thicker than water, I began to rely on myself and only myself. I knew that if I wanted things in this life that I had to make them happen alone. I began to train as a CNA and worked on the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital on the overnight shift. Eventually I got bored with processing expired PT's and I wanted more out of life, so I became a flight attendant. I travelled the world and didn't even spend a dollar to do it! Eventually that got old and I needed a new thrill so here I was faced with a new question "What do I do now?". The thrill of jet setting was gone and it had become to feel more and more like a burden, but I still needed a new rush. I had recalled hearing about teaching English overseas when I was 20 years old and I began to look further into this opportunity. Before I knew it I was on a plane to China for my teaching diploma and now here I am! In two weeks I move on to my second employer in China and I am looking forward to the new chapter in this brief game that we call life.

[mihai]

congratz you go for it!
nice story

[ChadCoxRox]

fascinating! So I take it your move to China for that work has turned out successful?
How can you teach English without knowing Mandarin...or whatever native language?
Do you mean when you went there "they" met you, led you to the training and off it went?
What was the living provision like? The culture shock?
Sorry to bombard you but I find it interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[ESLteacher]

You can teach English without speaking a second language fluently in any country given the right techniques of teaching and the correct tools. I had secured the training/job over the internet and then flew over and trained here and then started my first job, which is ending in two weeks. The living was a completely new experience! I mean how often do you see fried beetles and sheeps penis at your dinner table? LOL!

[TryingNewThing]

LOL! wow you really are a risk taker huh...

I was always wondering how's teaching English in China like? I bet there must a lot of funny anecdotes you can share:tongue: China is booming and I would definitely like to see it myself one day.
Anyhow, it's always nice to see someone from the other side of the Great Firewall of China :biggrin:

[ChadCoxRox]

Alllllllrightyyyyyy theeeeeeeennnnnnn! OMG

[ChadCoxRox]

have you been taken advantage of in any way? like you're the ONLY one at the table with penis on your plate and everyone does an excellent job of hiding their snickers????

[chillythoughts]

excellent story and congrats on the teaching job!

[Rainbowmum]

Awesome story , thanks for sharing.

[ESLteacher]

Since I am caucasian it is assumed that I am wealthy automatically. That is just what everyone thinks of white people over here. They also assume that you are a naive tourist. The combination of the two makes for very interesting market trips. You should see their faces when I speak in Chinese back to them and I tell them "you are overcharging me, I am not a tourist" and then I name my own price and we begin to bargain on a final price.