Weekends are for Exploring

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Georgina Griffiths


We are now a little over halfway through the program, and loving every minute of it! As the weather is warming up, all the blossoms are coming out making the school and local area more and more colourful. Each week at school is different, filled with surprising little comments and questions from the children. Their excitement every class makes everyday enjoyable, even if they are a bit naughty as all the Chinese teachers have told me. Teaching 50 children in a has taken a bit of getting used to, trying to get all their attention and making sure they are quiet whilst keeping them busy and engaged in an activity has taken time to master. Most of us have around 700 students we see every week!

Teaching Grade 1 and 2 has been a lot of fun. Lessons are filled with vocabulary games, songs and little drawings, covering topics like the weather, clothing, likes and dislikes, sports, days of the week and many more. Outside the classroom they will run up to you and try make sentences out of what you have just taught them! Having been in Suzhou for a little over 2 months now, we have begun to make local friends and explore the area, as well as trying the huge array of food there is on offer. Visiting and exploring all the historical gardens here has been a highlight as they are all very different and have their own unique story.

Long weekends are perfect opportunities to travel. The first was the Qing Ming Festival where people visit to their ancestors’ graves. We had three days off school so I travelled on an 11-hour train to Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain with a friend from the program in Beijing. As I had booked my train so late, there were only standing tickets left! Our first morning of hiking was gorgeous; we were able to see up the cliff faces. Then the rain hit, meaning for the rest of the afternoon we could only see 20 metres ahead. On the way up to the summit, we met of group of Chinese friends who were also staying at the hostel we were. So the afternoon was then spent learning different card games and chatting. The next morning we got up early for sunrise and whilst we didn’t quite see the sun, we had spectacular views of the mountains around us which were covered in the dense fog the day before! Then a storm came in and the lightning lit the sky up pink - weather on the mountain is so confusing! A few hours later as we were exploring the various peaks we were rewarded with amazing views of the sea of clouds. Having booked the train home for the wrong day (I will have to work on my planning), I had an extra day in the town of Huangshan so I took an hours bus to one of the nearby traditional villages, Hongcun.

The most recent holiday, May Day, saw a group of 15 of us meet up in Shanghai! We had such beautiful weather; it is starting to feel like summer. We visited the YuYuan Gardens which were quite like the gardens in Suzhou, the Jade Green Temple and the Bund. A highlight included going up the Shanghai tower – 632 metres tall, and it took less than a minute to go up in the lift. The view was incredible - we could see the entire city lit up.

Xi’an, the ancient capital of China, was another great city I’ve explored while I’ve been over here. Xi’an is very different from Suzhou as the whole city wall is still in tact and isn’t very built up. We were able to hire bikes on top of the wall to see the entire city. The Muslim Quarter was an interesting part of the city where there is a working Mosque and an abundance of street food unique to the area. One evening, we decided to try some of the local food, bread and mutton soup. It was an interesting experience as when we ordered the food we were handed a bowl with the bread and shown back to our table. Around us people were tearing the bread into tiny pieces so we followed. Then checking what others were up to we took the bowl to the front of the restaurant where we were given a number and about 10 minutes later a delicious hot soup appeared in front of us! Another favourite part of the Xi’an trip was the day trip to the mountain Huashan, one of China’s many sacred mountains. We had the perfect weather, blue skies which allowed us to see right down the steep cliff faces into the valleys and along the horizon. We managed to climb each of the four peaks, each giving a different and more stunning view.

Settling Into Suzhou – The Venice of the East

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Georgina Griffiths


The week of Chinese New Year was filled with the constant bang of fireworks and firecrackers being let off. They were a shock at first, but became a part of the craze of the city very quickly. On New Years Eve, we ventured back out to Houhai Lake where we enjoyed dinner in a family restaurant and then walked around the lake the streets, dodging the fireworks going off in all directions. Up on the rooftop bars, we were able to see the fireworks and crackers exploding over the lake and in the sky. Never have I heard so many firecrackers at once and seen so many colourful fireworks (that may even be more spectacular than the fireworks on the Harbour Bridge)! After New Years, lessons got busier and busier with the ever-looming teacher practice (TP) where our groups would meet up regularly to decide on lesson plans and various activities. Each day we would sleepily hop onto the bus at 7am. My group had a class of 15 8 year olds with limited English. We taught a range of topics during the week including animals, sports, clothing, countries and a variety of songs. It was a great experience and got us excited to get to our placements and teaching!

The final days in Beijing were spent crossing off the last of the things on our ‘must see’ lists. Highlights included the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, watching the sun set on the Forbidden City from Jiangshan Park, the 798 Art District and Beihai Park. We tried to travel and visit somewhere each day to make the most of our time in Beijing, and by the end of the month, I think we did pretty well having ventured across most of Beijing, and mastering the subway system! On our last night, the ImmerQi team organised a graduation dinner at one of the local restaurants. It was a communist themed restaurant where the staff were dressed in uniforms and we ate and drank out of metal bowls and cups. We were handed our certificates from the TEFL course and a few speeches were made. The next day was departure day which was very emotional, as I had never thought I would become so close to the group in just a month!

Before arriving in Suzhou, we took a 16-hour overnight train to Hangzhou. The train had triple bunk bed compartments which were quite small but a lot more comfortable than they looked. It was a lot of fun and a great chance to meet the new people I was placed with, as well as trying to speak with the Chinese families sharing our compartments. Once we arrived in Hangzhou, we had another orientation where we met the other interns and were taken to the local hospital for a medical check. It was such a strange experience being taken around a Chinese hospital into various rooms with many people peering in to see what was happening! Our in country partner then took us out to West Lake for the afternoon, a famous area of Hangzhou. West Lake is 6.5 kilometres squared and takes 4 hours to walk around.

Once we arrived in Suzhou, we were all taken to a school for a welcome ceremony where all the principals and head English teachers of our schools met us. We were introduced to the education bureau and asked to introduce ourselves through an impromptu speech! Afterwards, we were whisked away to our schools where we were given a brief tour and shown our offices. My school is called the Su Yuan Experimental Primary School and has 2600 students. It still amazes me how big the schools in China are and how many of them there are! We have been told that there are to be 50-55 students in each class, which is double the size of any class I have ever been a part of. I have been placed with an English girl named Amy, who I am also living with. Our apartment is a quick 10-minute walk from the school, and is also very close to the subway station and bus stop, making it very easy to go out and explore the area. The teachers at our school speak very good English and have been very helpful in showing us around the area and lending us a hand in organising ourselves. Amy and I are very lucky in that there is a fresh fruit and vegetable market in the street of our school making it easy to pick up ingredients for dinner and very cheap!

As we were given the first week of school off teaching, we were able to explore the area a bit. Afternoon adventures included strolling down the traditional streets of Shan Tang Street and Ping Jiang Road which were lined by beautiful canals, making the area live up to its name, ‘Venice of the East’. We were also able to visit gardens such as the Lingering Gardens and immerse ourselves in the history of the area in the Suzhou Museum.

The first week of teaching has been a lot of fun! With many timetable changes, its been tricky to know what I am teaching and when! I have been assigned to teach Grades 1 and 2, and have 15 classes per week. It was at first a shock to see 50 tiny faces staring up at me, but as the days have gone on, I have become more used to such large class sizes. I have figured out that the students love to sing songs, so each lesson I’ve taught and practiced songs with them. It’s so rewarding to see them so excited and eager to learn. We have settled into our school and area rather quickly, getting used to the routine of the city and all the crazy ‘Classic China’ moments!

Exciting First Weeks in China!

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Georgina Griffiths

What a way to start the trip, hopping on the plane in 40 degree heat, and arriving in sub zero temperatures with snow! Walking out onto the tarmac wrapped up in 4 layers of clothing, we knew we were in for a change as we were told it was going to be the coldest week in Beijing in 10 years! 

Driving through the morning Beijing traffic we could already notice the remarkable differences between here and Sydney; driving on the other side of the road, no sign of indicators on cars and tiny little rickshaw type vehicles which look like they will tip over at any minute!

Settling into Beijing has been very easy as everyone is so friendly. People in the program come from all over the world; the UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, America and Brazil. It is so easy to find anyone to talk to and head out for an adventure with. The in-country partners are also very helpful, giving advice on travel locations and restaurant recommendations. We have found that the language barrier isn’t too bad so far; basic phrases and gestures get you by just fine.

Our daily classes have proved to be very interesting and entertaining. In the morning they range from pronunciation to language awareness to speaking and listening. Mandarin classes have been a highlight, struggling through the pronunciation and learning basic phrases which we have tried to use when we’re out and about. Calligraphy and Tai Chi have also been great experiences. The old Chinese teacher always lent a smile and nod of encouragement as we drew various characters or tried different Tai Chi poses.

Quick trips to the shops, or subway rides into the city have immersed us into life in Beijing. Both on the subway and into the supermarket you can get an idea of just how many people there are in Beijing. On one particular trip to Carrefour, the supermarket where you can find absolutely everything, we found ourselves waiting in line for almost an hour! The food here is insanely cheap, you can pick up a delicious dinner for around 25 yuan ($5.40) each. Each subway ride is an adventure, seeing more and more people each time. Rush hour is absolutely crazy.

We decided that we would make a game out of it and run in as soon as the doors open to grab a seat. Little did we know that the Chinese have this down to an art. As soon as the doors open, they fly in, some sliding along the seats and pushing each other out of the way. One particular night, we had taken a trip into Sanlitun and on the way home had forgotten to check the subway stations. We ended up missing our stop going one too far. For the next hour we walked back and forth up the same street until we decided on the right way home using the tiny maps on our key chains. Also on the subway, you can see many people taking sneaky photos of us. Some are also not so subtle, pretending to be talking on their phones when they are really taking a snap of us. We’ve also had a woman drag her 90-year-old mother up a flight of stairs to have a photo with us at the Forbidden City!

Tour days have been great opportunities to see Beijing. Our first tour destination was to the Juyangguan section of the Great Wall of China. The trail of the wall through the mountains was an incredible sight, like nothing we had ever seen before. We were lucky to have a fairly clear day with little fog hovering over the mountains giving the place a mysterious look about it. The wall itself is unbelievable; the steps vary so much in size making it tricky to climb up. Once we reached the top of the section we had to climb over a gate to get on top of the guard tower. The views on top were spectacular, you could follow the line of the wall far into the distance. This was followed by a walk around the Olympic Park seeing the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. The Houhai hutongs were also a great visit, some taking to the frozen lake to ice skate and other browsed the shops surrounding it. Another highlight so far has been the Summer Palace. The intricate paintings on each of the roof panels and buildings amazed us all.

We had a chance to wander round the entire area exploring the lakes, bridges, caves and temples. The view from Longevity Hill enabled us to see the entire area with the back drop of the frozen lake and mountains. The afternoon was filled with a visit to the Pearl Markets where many tested our their bargaining skills. The day was topped off with an acrobatic show, with each act getting more and more dangerous as it went on. The final act consisted of 8 motorbikes riding in an enclosed mesh ball. KTV, the Chinese equivalent of a karaoke bar, always prove to be a great night. You can spot about 3 in every street! The visit to the Wangfujing night markets was a great night spent tasting an array of Chinese delicacies. Many crunched on scorpions and centipedes, and some even dared to try starfish and sea horses!

We will shortly be finding out our placements which is both exciting and nerve racking as we can be place all over the country. Teacher practice is also coming up, a chance for us to put what we have learnt in class to the test. As it is leading up to Chinese New Year, more and more fireworks are being let off each night. Our time in Beijing is flying by, with so much happening each day. So far China has been fantastic, and we can’t wait to see what else we get up to!

100 Days in China

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Robert Meek

The most notable change since my last update has been the weather. The average temperature has risen from about -20°C to 25°C. As predicted, Shenyang has become considerably more lively. Zhong Shan Park - opposite my home - is filled with people of all ages at all times; stretching, jogging, working out, roller-blading, dancing or singing. Bars have finally started to get busy, kick-starting my involvement in the expat community. The countless themed parties, picnics, day trips and pub crawls are very welcome interruptions to the teach-sleep-repeat cycle which would otherwise drive me up the wall.
Today marks 100 days since leaving Australia.

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A few weekends ago was the May-Day public holiday, which I took full advantage of to visit Inner Mongolia. I flew into Hohhot and was delighted to meet up with friends from the month in Beijing. We spent a night in the Mongolian grasslands, riding dune buggies, eating strange Mongolian milk sweets and sleeping in surprisingly luxurious yurts. The day after was spent visiting a finger of the Gobi desert and enjoying the company of what few foreigners we could find in the city. The scenery, food, activities and people to share it with made it an absolutely fantastic weekend. I would recommend a cheap, rough tour of the Inner Mongolian countryside to anyone.

I recently started a little hobby project to keep busy (like I need to) when I bought two baby Red Eared Slider Terrapins (cross between a turtle and a tortoise). I've only needed to invest about 150 kuai into them and have learned plenty about the little reptiles in the process. They are having a hard time getting comfortable enough in their new environment to start feeding, but I'm confident they'll get hungry soon. Mao and Pittyboo have a decent sized tank with a filter, plenty of space to swim and dry off and a balanced diet. Unfortunately the Chinese approach to pets is a more heartless matter. The stall that I bought the terrapins from was a dismal sight. Filthy kittens shared tiny cages with distraught looking puppies, and a good 2 thirds of everything in the water was dead. The worst was a small box with two mice. Hopefully I can show these two a better life than they'd have otherwise.

Just today, I arrived back from a wonderfully refreshing hike up and over the Qian Shan Mountains. I and a dozen other expats from Shenyang hired a bus to take us about 2 hours out of the city to a rainforest covered mountain range where the air was fresh and the peaks loomed ominously through the mist. After visiting the surrounding temples, we began the grueling but gorgeous four hour hike up to the very summit. There was a constant drizzle and the air was chilly, making the walk so much more comfortable than if we had attempted it in the hot sun. At the top sits five stone Buddhas, giving it the name "Five Buddha Peak". We ate our packed lunches and drank beer, enjoying the view which was barely visible through the fog. Eventually we descended by cable car. My weekend-less weeks helped me appreciate today's outing so much more than I normally would, and I hope to sleep well tonight.

One perk of being such a blatant minority in China is that making friends is a walk in the park. Literally. My neighbour and I decided to explore the enormous Zhong Shan park a little more thoroughly and to our delight stumbled across an American pub, right smack in the middle. The owner was American and there were plenty of English speaking customers; my WeChat contact list has grown considerably since. Foreigners in China are brought together by our mutual struggle against for survival among the Chinese people.


As my routines improve and become more efficient, I'm finding myself with more time and more money. Realising this, I hosted a small barbecue for the other interns in my room, and used the leftovers the next day for a stir fry. However, there is always room to improve (hint: bed times). This trip is not always fun and rarely easy, but I'm so thankful that I did it. The experience of working, budgeting and managing time is going to make life so much easier in the future, and I will always have fond memories of the people I met and the things I did in 中国.

Six weeks of teaching left, then traveling through July to arrive home just before August.

From Mao, Pittyboo and Rob

A Laowai's life in Liaoning

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching Placement
WRITTEN BY: Robert Meek

It's been two and a half weeks since my placement at the North Yucai Bilingual School in Shenyang, Liaoning. My spacious dorm room is on the 3rd floor of a residential building on the campus of a sister school right in the centre of the city. My window looks out over an enormous park which facilitates early morning Tai-Chi, social dancing, community exercise sessions and plenty of space for sitting, reading, singing, playing and jogging. I have my own room and bathroom and share the hallway with 4 other teachers, a sweet old Japanese lady and the maintenance husband/wife duo. My food table holds a big bag of oats and some instant coffee; my fridge contains ice-tea, milk, beer and baiju.

Much of the furniture and many of the appliances were stolen over the holidays by workers (microwaves, shelves, sheets, lamps) and so my room is home to two brand new flat-pack clothes stands bought from the local WalMart, as well as an inflatable mattress bought off TaoBao (effectively Chinese Amazon). The mattress was not replacing a stolen one, it was simply a necessary addition to the piece of plywood that served as my original mattress. My colleagues are all very jealous of this.

My school is an hour's bus ride away from my dorm which demands a 5:45 wake up for a 6:50 coach to school. My getting ready routine inevitably involves buying an extremely delicious breakfast wrap from a stall conveniently placed between the gate and the bus. 5 kuai (AUD 1$) for a big doughy eggy wrap filled with lettuce, mystery meat and some kind of mouth-watering sauce. I have to admit that at least once this wrap has been the highlight of my day.

I arrive at school just before 8am every morning and check into the office. At this time the students are up, dressed and jog-marching in perfect squares around the grounds to patriotic marching-band music blasted out of low quality speakers. Classes at every age practice marching frequently; it is not uncommon to walk past lines of 6-year-olds marching behind a whistle-blowing teacher.

I have 18 classes a week. 8 are grade four and 10 are grade one or two depending on the week. This means I only have to plan two lessons a week and get to practice them and improve them with each new class, a very good set-up for a teacher-in-training. My grade fours are able to hold a conversation with lots of thinking time, but grade one and two often rely on my assistant to have my instructions translated. They all have their own local English teachers; it is my role to activate the vocabulary and get them speaking.

The school is a fine establishment, despite being in the middle of nowhere. North Yucai Bilingual boasts a huge gymnasium, a football field and grandstand, an enormous lecture hall that doubles as a performance hall. There is a music/arts department, but those subjects aren't taken seriously compared to languages and mathematics.

Classes are difficult at first, but get easier as I modify my lessons. My first week of lessons consisted mostly of introducing myself and Australia and having the students create name-tags, a source of endless amusement. Chinese names always double as actual words in the language, so left to their own devices Chinese kids will name themselves "Dragon" or "Spider" for the boys and "Flower" or "Princess" for the girls to give a few examples. I was delighted to meet a "Major Tom" in grade two.

I always have lots of free time at school, sometimes up to 4 hours at a time. I used this free time over the last two weeks to watch TV shows on the net, but plan to use this time in the future to practice Chinese, read books and play basketball.The length of the work day leaves me with very little time to pursue any kind of afternoon activity as I get home at 6 (on a good day) and am usually exhausted. This usually warrants a trip to the food court of the local shopping centre for dinner and a bed-time of 8:30pm. The weekend is of course a different story. After some exploration and trial-and-error with address pronunciation at the expense of frustrated taxi drivers, we've come across plenty of expat bars and local nightclubs hidden away between the countless Karaoke bars and restaurants. A typical Saturday night will end at 3am with us arriving home by taxi reeking of second-hand smoke and our wallets mysteriously empty. A typical Sunday is spent recuperating, doing laundry and planning the next week of teaching.

Living conditions are very similar to Beijing. Tap water is still a no-go, pollution levels rise and fall daily, alcohol is still cheap and there is still no end to the relentless staring, pointing, and giggling at my slightly different facial features. As a non-Asian, I and all my colleagues are considered "Laowais" (foreigners). Laowai literally translates to "old person" and is appropriate due to our hair colour, as native hair is only ever anything other than jet black when it starts to go grey with age. The "Laowai Treatment" as coined by expats before me is a two sided coin.

On one hand, Laowais are often respected and revered for our heritage and use of English. Making friends is easy as everyone wants to practice their English with you. Bar owners have given us free drinks before (possibly trying to get us to bring more laowais). Random people on the street will shamelessly ask to take a photo with you; the red carpet treatment has often put a spring in my step. Everyone is nice and polite and usually do their best to overcome the language barrier that looms despite our best efforts to learn the language.

On the other hand, being the subject of amusement of an entire society can quickly get under your skin. The more sensitive expats call these incidents "microaggressions" which includes the pointing and giggling, the "ha-lou"ing and (rarely) being refused a taxi ride. We have often been used as a marketing tool to draw in more local customers (another reason for the free drinks I suppose) and some vendors will quite openly mock us while we purchase. Of course a lot of this is probably due to the language barrier which is our own fault. In the history of mankind, this rates insignificantly low on the racism spectrum, but it's part of the culture shock and while it gets on my nerves now, I'm sure I'll learn to appreciate the attention and get used to it.

At the moment weekdays are bland and uncomfortable and the respite of the weekend is short-lived, probably due to the struggle of settling in and adapting to such a wildly new routine. However I sense a change approaching with the impending Summer season. Shenyang has been referred to as a city in hibernation and I'm certain that some heat will breathe new life into this place. I can feel the settling-in struggle period coming to an end and a routine forming. I'm focusing on using my time to learn as much Mandarin as possible and utilise the free gym across the road. One day I will conquer the art of surviving this crazy country!

Settling Into Shenyang

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Robert Meek

It's been two and a half weeks since my placement at the North Yucai Bilingual School in Shenyang, Liaoning. My spacious dorm room is on the 3rd floor of a residential building on the campus of a sister school right in the centre of the city.

My window looks out over an enormous park which facilitates early morning Tai-Chi, social dancing, community exercise sessions and plenty of space for sitting, reading, singing, playing and jogging. I have my own room and bathroom and share the hallway with 4 other teachers, a sweet old Japanese lady and the maintenance husband/wife duo. My food table holds a big bag of oats and some instant coffee; my fridge contains ice-tea, milk, beer and baiju.

Much of the furniture and many of the appliances were stolen over the holidays by workers (microwaves, shelves, sheets, lamps) and so my room is home to two brand new flat-pack clothes stands bought from the local WalMart, as well as an inflatable mattress bought off TaoBao (effectively Chinese Amazon). The mattress was not replacing a stolen one, it was simply a necessary addition to the piece of plywood that served as my original mattress. My colleagues are all very jealous of this.

My school is an hour's bus ride away from my dorm which demands a 5:45 wake up for a 6:50 coach to school. My getting ready routine inevitably involves buying an extremely delicious breakfast wrap from a stall conveniently placed between the gate and the bus. 5 kuai (AUD 1$) for a big doughy eggy wrap filled with lettuce, mystery meat and some kind of mouth-watering sauce. I have to admit that at least once this wrap has been the highlight of my day.

I arrive at school just before 8am every morning and check into the office. At this time the students are up, dressed and jog-marching in perfect squares around the grounds to patriotic marching-band music blasted out of low quality speakers. Classes at every age practice marching frequently; it is not uncommon to walk past lines of 6-year-olds marching behind a whistle-blowing teacher.

I have 18 classes a week. 8 are grade four and 10 are grade one or two depending on the week. This means I only have to plan two lessons a week and get to practice them and improve them with each new class, a very good set-up for a teacher-in-training. My grade fours are able to hold a conversation with lots of thinking time, but grade one and two often rely on my assistant to have my instructions translated. They all have their own local English teachers; it is my role to activate the vocabulary and get them speaking.

The school is a fine establishment, despite being in the middle of nowhere. North Yucai Bilingual boasts a huge gymnasium, a football field and grandstand, an enormous lecture hall that doubles as a performance hall. There is a music/arts department, but those subjects aren't taken seriously compared to languages and mathematics.

Classes are difficult at first, but get easier as I modify my lessons. My first week of lessons consisted mostly of introducing myself and Australia and having the students create name-tags, a source of endless amusement. Chinese names always double as actual words in the language, so left to their own devices Chinese kids will name themselves "Dragon" or "Spider" for the boys and "Flower" or "Princess" for the girls to give a few examples. I was delighted to meet a "Major Tom" in grade two.

I always have lots of free time at school, sometimes up to 4 hours at a time. I used this free time over the last two weeks to watch TV shows on the net, but plan to use this time in the future to practice Chinese, read books and play basketball.
The length of the work day leaves me with very little time to pursue any kind of afternoon activity as I get home at 6 (on a good day) and am usually exhausted. This usually warrants a trip to the food court of the local shopping centre for dinner and a bed-time of 8:30pm. The weekend is of course a different story. After some exploration and trial-and-error with address pronunciation at the expense of frustrated taxi drivers, we've come across plenty of expat bars and local nightclubs hidden away between the countless Karaoke bars and restaurants. A typical Saturday night will end at 3am with us arriving home by taxi reeking of second-hand smoke and our wallets mysteriously empty. A typical Sunday is spent recuperating, doing laundry and planning the next week of teaching.

Living conditions are very similar to Beijing. Tap water is still a no-go, pollution levels rise and fall daily, alcohol is still cheap and there is still no end to the relentless staring, pointing, and giggling at my slightly different facial features. As a non-Asian, I and all my colleagues are considered "Laowais" (foreigners). Laowai literally translates to "old person" and is appropriate due to our hair colour, as native hair is only ever anything other than jet black when it starts to go grey with age. The "Laowai Treatment" as coined by expats before me is a two sided coin.

On one hand, Laowais are often respected and revered for our heritage and use of English. Making friends is easy as everyone wants to practice their English with you. Bar owners have given us free drinks before (possibly trying to get us to bring more laowais). Random people on the street will shamelessly ask to take a photo with you; the red carpet treatment has often put a spring in my step. Everyone is nice and polite and usually do their best to overcome the language barrier that looms despite our best efforts to learn the language.

On the other hand, being the subject of amusement of an entire society can quickly get under your skin. The more sensitive expats call these incidents "microaggressions" which includes the pointing and giggling, the "ha-lou"ing and (rarely) being refused a taxi ride. We have often been used as a marketing tool to draw in more local customers (another reason for the free drinks I suppose) and some vendors will quite openly mock us while we purchase. Of course a lot of this is probably due to the language barrier which is our own fault. In the history of mankind, this rates insignificantly low on the racism spectrum, but it's part of the culture shock and while it gets on my nerves now, I'm sure I'll learn to appreciate the attention and get used to it.

At the moment weekdays are bland and uncomfortable and the respite of the weekend is short-lived, probably due to the struggle of settling in and adapting to such a wildly new routine. However I sense a change approaching with the impending Summer season. Shenyang has been referred to as a city in hibernation and I'm certain that some heat will breathe new life into this place. I can feel the settling-in struggle period coming to an end and a routine forming. I'm focusing on using my time to learn as much Mandarin as possible and utilise the free gym across the road. One day I will conquer the art of surviving this crazy country!

Challenges and Celebrations in China

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Robert Meek
 

I'm writing on Monday, the 23rd of February, 16 days after the program started. Fireworks are going off relentlessly outside my window on what is hopefully the last day of New Year's celebrations; there are only so many fireworks you can take before it's just noise and light, like a week-long hangover.

Don't get me wrong, China offers plenty of opportunities for hangovers, alongside many opportunities I'd never have experienced in the humble suburbs of Australia. To kick things off, here's a quick list of some of the more outlandish things I've done in only 2 weeks:
• Eaten three whole scorpions
• Had my outdoors Tai-Chi lesson interrupted by a McDonald's home delivery man
• Climbed to the top of a section of the Great Wall of China
• Set off fireworks in the middle of a road that was still being used by vehicles
• Mastered the art of crossing the road (the trick is confidence; Chinese drivers can smell fear)
• Had a beer with my schoolteacher
• Walked on a frozen river
I live in one room with my roommate Hugh, the only Kiwi on the trip. All 50 of us live in similar conditions. It's cramped and frustrating, but we don't spend much time there. I am a member of a vast minority of monolinguals (all from either Australia, England or Scotland). Everyone else is at least bilingual, and some can speak 4 languages (not including Mandarin). Most interns are from Denmark, but many are Swedish or Norwegian. After some deliberation with colleagues, we established the final list of the collective spoken languages among us:
• English
• Mandarin
• Dutch
• Danish
• Swedish
• Russian
• German
• French
• Norwegian
• Korean
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Albanian
Surprisingly, all 50 of us get along perfectly. After a week social groups formed based on either your native language or whether or not you smoke. The school schedule has been increasingly hectic with the arrival of Teacher Practice (TP) week, but generally sticks to a High-School-esque period schedule, with three 90-minute lessons a day plus Mandarin classes after school. So far we've handed in four big assignments with the due date for the fifth rapidly approaching.

Tap water is unsafe to drink, so drinking water is purchased at the local supermarket and/or liquor store for about 10 kuai (aka Yuan or Renminbi) for five litres. It has to be said that the hotel food has the potential to be atrocious (today's broth contained entire chicken feet and possibly its' Aorta/Femoral arteries) and so, with no communal kitchen, a trip to a local restaurant or vendor is sometimes necessary. Luckily food is cheap and everywhere. The local dumpling shop has saved many of us from starvation, and if you're really homesick the local McDonald's delivers straight to your door.

Beijing is a filthy place, but entirely devoid of litter. These kinds of compromises have become commonplace on our various expeditions into different avenues of the culture. There are no Chinese Bars/Pubs, but every restaurant, cafe, supermarket, corner store and lemonade stand sells alcohol. The roads appear to be a chaotic hell at first glance, but there is a method to the madness of the streets. While the Chinese cannot be called "good drivers", there is absolutely no doubt that they are "good at driving".

The process of learning Mandarin is excruciatingly slow, but can be attributed to the enormous workload and being always surrounded by English speakers. I expect my Chinese to improve when I get to my placement.

The responsibilities of schoolwork and the inevitable culture shock are balanced by the intelligent, interesting people that surround me every day. The freedom to explore China and its' weird and wonderful ways is secured by the support of the in-country partners and the Antipodeans staff. And the brain-melting early starts are combated by the knowledge that every day will present some wacky custom or ridiculous challenge or life lesson to wrap your head around.

Living in China is not easy, and I already feel better for it. I wouldn't pass up this trip for anything, and I still have 5 months left!

A GapBreak in China? Go for it!

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Amy Boyle

A good Chinese phrase to learn is 'Nǐ fēngle ma?' Translation: 'Are you crazy?'. This may have gone though my head a fair few times.

At 18 years old, having decided I'd had enough of going through the motions in Geelong, and knew I wasn't quite ready to for university, I decided it was time to get out and do something different. So I headed to Beijing with Antipodeans to undertake a month of teacher training with another 40 young people from all over the world. I had applied to my course at Charles Sturt University before I left and deferred. This gave me the comfort of knowing that when I came home I was coming back to something that was already waiting for me.

When I arrived in Beijing it was hot and sticky, I couldn't understand much, I had never learnt Mandarin in my life and only had 'Hello, my name is Amy, nice to meet you' as something to say. Luckily I soon leant this wasn't too much of a hurdle in Beijing. I was feeling pretty drained from traveling so far as well as emotionally tired after really contemplating for the first time what I had gotten myself into.

The month in Beijing consisted of class everyday, tours on the weekends to sites around Beijing such as the Birds Nest, the Great Wall of China, acrobatic displays and multiple food experiences that were beyond amazing. I also made close friendships with the people I met in Beijing. They were from all over the globe: Norway, America, Denmark, Germany, Poland etc. Living in China and experiencing it for the first time together allowed us to become closer must faster than under regular circumstances.

We would go out drinking and dancing on weekends and even had our own local place called 'Lakers'. The owners loved us and we could sit comfortably without being ogled by locals. The nightlife in Beijing was a fantastic experience, and all with no entry charge.

At the end of August I was given my placement. I was going to a town called Foshan in the Guangdong province. Foshan is a 3-hour bus ride west of Hong Kong. Just as it was in Beijing, the arrival in Foshan was hot and sticky and I was tired and emotionally drained.

I was assigned to the first and second grade as well as taking a few kindergarten classes with kids ranging from 2- 4 years old. I was given a desk and a room to board in and was to begin teaching the next week. As exciting and thrilling the entire venture was, I was nervous and scared. I had doubts about whether I could handle the workload. Was I even a good teacher? And what would I teach?

My 5 months at the International School involved incredibly fun times out with friends who taught at another school nearby. We would go shopping in the Mall, get our nails done, hit up the KTV (Karaoke TV) as well as head to the splendidly cheap bars. The teaching became easier and my Beijing training kicked in. I was given textbooks to teach from and made wonderful PowerPoint presentations and taught songs such as 'Hello, Goodbye 'by the Beatles. There were days where I did just play 'Magic School Bus' but the kids were happy just listening to the aural English. All this excitement was also met with some challenges and self-doubt. Naturally there were one or two ‘homesick days’. Two days stand out as particularly difficult but a simple Kath and Kim DVD and a family size tin of Milo gave me the ability to overcome them.

I began to miss the simple things such a garden, a couch, a vacuum cleaner and a bathroom that was separate from the kitchen sink and laundry. Clean air was a luxury and blending in was something I could only dream of - even though I did buy panda face gloves, hipster glasses (which they adore) and got myself a front fringe, I was still considered a spectacle on the street.

When the time came to pack up my room, book a flight home and leave, I didn’t want to. I had become accustomed to this life of simplicity and everything being so cheap. It took me a good two months at home before I could stomach buying anything in Australia, knowing it was a third of the price back in Foshan.

Antipodeans Abroad's 6 months program in China really did have an effect on me. I'm not a wildly different person, but living and working in China has given me a real perspective on life and shown me how little one really needs to be happy. I would suggest this trip to anybody: shy, extroverted, wanting to be a teacher or not, I cannot stress enough how completely wonderful the experience was and encourage any young person to give it a go. You never know, you may love it- it could be your calling. Or, it could just be an exceptional 6 months of your life. You'll never know unless you try.

Taking a break from lessons to explore China

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Stephanie Chan

This week, besides the theory classes, we've had cultural classes such as calligraphy, tai-chi and a cooking class! The calligraphy class taught us how to hold a brush, and dip it into the ink to create strokes to write characters. I’ve had a little previous experience so it was easier for me to grasp the concept of. Tai-chi brought in another expert to teach us the basic rhythm of the art form, and I gained a new found respect for the soft but strong movements, and the meditative yet concentrated approach to tai-chi as a whole.

Cooking class was a ball of fun as we partnered up and learned to make 3 dishes of Chinese cuisine: tomato and fried eggs, kung pow chicken, and sweet and sour pork. With more experience than others, because both me and Oskar cook at home, I reckon our group’s dishes certainly gave our fellow competitors’ a run for their money!

Continuing with the thrill of this program, we were offered two group tours: the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. The Day of the Great Wall was full of excitement for me. Hopping off the bus that took us there, gentle snowflakes were starting to fall from the sky and I was so excited to see snow, as snow is a rare occurrence for me back in Sydney, Australia especially because I don’t even do snow sports like skiing or snowboarding.

The Great Wall was much harder to climb than expected, the steps would reach to almost half your body height and stepping on them was much effort. But I climbed it with a group of friends and in the end, instead of giving up and staying back like most in my group, I told myself I had to make it to the top (it’s part of my Chinese blood, there’s a saying that you aren’t a true Chinese unless you have climbed the Great Wall). So Matt – a German friend – and I, successfully climbed the Great Wall, to the top! (the top of this part of the Wall where we were at). After the Great Wall, we tuned in to watch a Chinese martial arts style performance which was pretty spectacular.

Stephanie Chan

A week at Beijing University

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Stephanie Chan

Wow! A month has already past and the teaching training in Beijing has ended. It has been probably the most exciting, wild and awesome experience so far. This adventure all began when I arrived in Beijing on January 15th, after an annoying delay and 3 hour plane ride from Guangzhou (as I came to China in early December to visit friends and family in the south). I exited through terminal 2 and waited at the meeting point for the IES global representative.

During this time I saw another person waiting with their luggage too, but being me, I was too afraid to go over and ask if he was part of the program. Our representative finally arrived and her name was Bella. Sure enough, I met Jason who turned out to be a fellow Aussie! We had to catch a shuttle bus to meet up with the others who were at international arrivals. First impression was: woah, so many European backpackers. It was followed by a bus ride to what was to be our living headquarters for the next month, UIBE: University of International Business and Economics.

After receiving our name tags and room keys, then lugging my luggage up 5 whole flights of stairs, I was surprised by my room - two beds, two desks and a bathroom. The bathroom especially, was a small but adequate contained space, though the showerhead was right next to the toilet.

I met my roommate, Gabriella (or later to be called Gabz by me) and she was Swedish. She invited me to dinner with the fellow Swedes she met, and I was glad I accepted. Our first night was a free night so we headed out the west gate in search of a local restaurant. We stumbled upon a Japanese restaurant and ate there. There was a problem in asking to split the bill and I was the only one knowing a reasonable amount of Chinese, so I was proud to put my forgotten Chinese skills to the test (my parents are both Chinese and I went to primary school in Guangzhou for 4 years but haven’t since learnt more). It was a fun night and I met so many new faces, some who are true close friends now :D

Orientation was the next day and it was followed by warm up games/icebreakers to meet others. That night we had an introduction dinner and the food was delicious, buffet style! – a mix of western and Chinese, for example French fries but also dumplings. We started classes the day after and it was great being introduced to our new teachers and classmates. Participants of the teach and travel china program (ttc) was split into 3 classes in random assortments- class A, class B and class C – and I was in class B, best class of course :P

The classes taught theory on how to become a good teacher; such as learning icebreakers and fun games to rouse or settle the mood of the class, learning how to teach vocabulary through flashcards etc, learning how to teach listening and speaking skills, and most importantly, how to write and create a lesson plan for teaching a whole period of class- based on age level, English level and class size. Then we were also offered 4 periods of mandarin class each week. I went to the first class and learnt the alphabet again, but decided the pace and content was not appropriate for me. Upstairs, there was a mandarin corner, where the ttc staff could separately teach you with the others who knew some of the language as well. This is where I met Theo, otherwise known by his Chinese name as Dongyu, a fellow Chinese from Denmark, as we were the only two full Chinese in the program.

Each day we could head over to the canteen/cafeteria for breakfast lunch and dinner (it was pretty big, to accommodate all the students at the uni of course), although people soon got a bit tired of eating the same style of foods over and over again haha, not me though! I really liked the food there, and there were always long queues for the fried rice station.

Until next time!
Stephanie Chan

China, You've Changed Me - 100 Days in Shenyang

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Sam

I have been at my placement school now for 100 days and every day just keeps getting better and better. I arrived to my placement school in Shenyang with people who I barely knew, just 200 km from the North Korean border, being told that temperatures would quickly drop to -20.

I teach high school students in my provinces capital of Liaoning but it rarely feels like work. Every day I enter the room and am greeted by an excited class of students who are eager to learn English, especially from someone that comes from a different country and a different world that they are often very protected from. I am able to teach them of a world and ideas that they have never considered or questioned before.

Being 19 myself, it is hard to act like a teacher in the traditional sense that I was used to at my high school in Melbourne. But my class and I seem to have an understanding that I am the teacher even if other teachers do not believe that I dress like one.

I have had more than enough time in between classes to learn mandarin, customs of different religions, taste incredible food, purchase cheap goods, meet new friends and of course explore all the tourist attractions in China including ones that you won't find mentioned in any guide book.

My fellow teachers are from South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Sweden and the UK. I only have one more month in China and I know that I will struggle to say goodbye.

This experience continues to challenge and change my views of the world. Although I still plan on returning home after these 6 months teaching English abroad in China, I will never be the same. I hope that I have made a positive impact on the lives of a few.

Thirty more exiting days still lie ahead and are waiting to be lived.

Sam.

2 months in China!

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Lane Breshears

It is crazy to realise that I have already been in China for nearly 2 months. Then again, it is also crazy to accept that I have only been in China for 2 months. Before participating in this program I was warned that it would be life changing and full of new and exciting experiences. And they were 100% correct!

Our month training course in Beijing finished with a well-earned TEFL theory certificate, and many teary farewells as our group of 75 was split up and shipped off to schools in need around China. Myself and a few others were some of the few to stay in Beijing. 3 weeks into our new placements and I am loving every single moment. I am a teacher's assistant to 2 classes of adorably cute 1st graders. Their English levels range from practically native to barely recognising their English name. Already I have realised that 1st graders are literally wacko - it is not a rare occurrence to catch tongues being stuck up friends' noses. However, every time I see their eyes light up at understanding a new word, or hear their ever enthusiastic "Hello Miss Lane!" in the morning - it makes me smile so wide in the knowledge that the next 4 months will be wonderful.


Aside from teaching, I am having a fabulous time learning and loving to live in China. My roommate and I - a girl from England - have had buckets of fun domesticating our new home/apartment. After comparing to some of our friends (e.g. the ones placed down South) I am thankful to have a Western toilet! To decorate we have bought some fish, a turtle, a cactus, and decorated our walls with local magazine clippings. This is the first time I have been completely responsible for my own home, and I must say I quite like it! Across the street we have become embarrassingly frequent visitors to Mama Zhang's, the best place for dumplings and mysterious meat kebabs.

As I am teaching at an International school I get more holidays than some of my other friends, and so last weekend my roomie and I took a trip up to Harbin to see the tigers. And next week (Golden Week) a good 50+ of us from the 1st month in Beijing have planned a big reunion in Shanghai!

While of course my family back home is always in my heart, each day I find China winning a place there too. While I am still young and have an excitingly large part of the world to visit and explore, I truly believe China has something special. From the young children with their bum-flap pants, to the old couples walking hand-in-hand while singing, and yes, even the entire population that believes it perfectly polite to spit on the pavement constantly, China is a unique place and I am so glad I have the privilege to experience living here for 6 months.

Learning to teach in Beijing Union University

COUNTRY: China
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Maile Taimana

So it has only been two weeks yet it feels like months! We are living in Beijing Union University. Our days have been filled with classes to tours around Beijing. Our first day we got to know everyone in the program. It is amazing to get to know people from such different cultures and places. It is also such a unique circumstance to meet such people! From Danish to German, English to Norwegian and many more....there are many nationalities and names to remember but we're getting there!

Our week works from Friday to Tuesday filled with classes with trainers that are teaching us how to become the best English teachers as possible! We attend mandarin and culture classes to help us out. Wednesdays are our 'Tour days' in which we take trips to visit the sites. Last week we went to Wungfujing (or as we like to call it the 'bug market). It is full of western food, book and clothing shops but with a particular section where you can buy live scorpions on a stick, octopus, starfish, snake and other creepy crawls to eat! (Needless to say some limits were tested). We have witnessed amazing Chinese acrobatics, visited various markets (where barging for a price becomes a sport - always good fun!).

We have seen the worlds longest corridor at the summer palace (once a place where the royal family would stay in the summer, which is now a major tourist attraction.) Many of us have gone off and have done our own exploring! We are learning to use the subway and finding paths and shortcuts to various places.

China has many quirks. We as westerners have reached 'celebrity status'. Many Chinese people have never seen foreigner and would either sneakily take photos of us or outright stand next to us and take photos. Many stare and like to practice their English. It does take some getting used to but that's just what comes with the experience. It is a vastly different culture and is and interesting change for most of us.

There has been so much going on that it would be impossible to recall it and write it all down! This truly is an amazing experience to learn from.