How to get a start teaching in China? Part 5

[Hypiereon]

Getting your foot in the GREAT WALL
PART FIVE

Some last pieces of advice. Come prepared to camp out in your own apartment should everything break down. Come prepared to do your own lesson plans without a Chinese translator because this will almost certainly happen at some point. Come prepared to eat things and see things you know you’d never get away with back in your own country. In short, come prepared for the worst, but always look for the best.

After your first year, things begin to repeat themselves and instead of being surprised by it all, you begin to find ways to actually get in and start enjoying it all. By the end of your second year here, you can be declared a “veteran” and say, rather proudly in fact, that you know something of the real China.

I’ve been in China nearly four complete years now, and I’ve loved it. I’ve heard many stories of heartache, and I’ve had my own bumps along the way. There’s no substitute for first-hand knowledge though, and knowledge breeds confidence, and confidence, as they say, is the key element of leadership. Be prepared to be the leader of your own path.