I know there are a few good blogs out there done by expatriate Americans (or other westerners) living in China, but there are not enough to read them all and never run out of material. I feel that in my preparations, I have scoured the Internet for all the first-hand information on this subject I could find, and yet, there appears to be a finite amount of it. That's not bad, because most of it is good material. My hope in doing all this, is that others will be able to benefit from my experience, and (my attempt at) an objective report of it. My hope is to post at least one blog a week reporting my experience, and progress.
So before I start, let me fill you in on a little back story. When I was nearing completion of my bachelors degree (in psychology), I was feeling anxious about finding work, particularly relevant to my degree, and at the very least, relevant to my having a degree at all. I have had a few friends who had taken jobs at some point teaching ESL in other countries, and one thing that I knew was that it was a job relevant to the having of a collage degree. And with the state that the American economy at the time, all signs pointed to teaching ESL (English as a second language). I asked my friends where they got their jobs, and both my friend Abby, who taught in Japan, and my friend Stephan, who taught in the Ukraine, recommended Dave's ESL Cafe. I went to check it out and began applying for jobs in various countries, and researching the idea of teaching ESL. My research led me to believe that my odds of finding work in China would be higher than most other countries because of the higher demand, due to in part by the high population, but also due to the fact that they are required to learn English in school. I applied for jobs in Thailand, South Korea, and China. My hunch turned out to be accurate, because, of the three companies I applied with in China, two asked me for an interview, while none of the companies in the other two countries did. I was offered a job with Expertise Education (the other prospective company was Edcomasia), and took it.
This was about three or four months ago, and I was still in school. In the mean time, I have graduated, gotten my tickets, visa, luggage, stockpile of tampons for a year (I was told they are hard to find, and if there's one thing I won't compromise on...) and other necessities, meanwhile continuing to work for the same company I worked for for about the last year or so that I was in college (part time). They could not afford to hire me on full time for the summer, but I am okay with that, knowing what lies ahead for me. Now with less than three weeks until I leave, my anxiety, and apprehension, fear, and excitement are through the roof. I'm busy packing, moving my stuff to my parents house for storage, and trying to figure out what to take and what to leave behind. This is probably one of the most anxiety provoking experiences of all because it's so hard to decide.
As far as this blog is concerned, I really hope to just tell it like it is to the best of my ability. I want to write what I would have liked to have known before hand as much as possible. I want to give you an honest look at my life and my interests, and various endeavors. I feel like I am about to embark on the most difficult thing I have ever chosen to do.
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