Accomodation

Chinese accommodation belonging to me and my colleagues. A look at a typical Chinese apartment in a typical Chinese city.

TEFL teacher Harry in Changzhou

My experience teaching English at First Leap Changzhou

Accomodation, Daily Life, Teaching English in China, TEFL Schools and Reviews Leave a comment

Before China I was 20 when I decided to teach English abroad. I wanted to see the world, save some money, and do something fresh and exciting, hopefully in a continent I had never visited. I assumed for three years that I would go to Japan, being the first country I learned you could teach English in, but upon learning of Japan’s expensiveness and China’s cheapness, let alone the salary, cost of living, and potential savings of China, I decided to switch countries, and I wound up living in the Jiangsu province, famously containing Nanjing and Shanghai, in the small…

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Standing on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin

Big city, big company, big dreams. Living and working at EF Chengdu.

Accomodation, Application Process, Beijing, Chengdu, Food, Learning Chinese, Nightlife, Preparation, Teaching English in China, TEFL Schools and Reviews, Things to do Leave a comment

I found myself in a situation where a lot of people find themselves. In the early summer of 2017 and I had just graduated. I was feeling very proud of myself, let out a sigh of relief then asked myself, “So now what?”.  Whilst looking for jobs I saw a job ad for teaching English in China and I thought I’d at least apply. Within a week of applying I had completed the interview process and received my job offer from English First (EF). I was going to live in China. Prior to starting my job, I had absolutely no…

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Nick: China – Round 3

Accomodation, Chinese Places, Daily Life, Food, Teaching English in China, Things to do Leave a comment

My arrival in China this year was very different from my previous experience. I had been to Beijing for a month in 2007, and Dalian for a year in 2010; this time I was headed for Hangzhou. The purpose for my visits was also becoming progressively more serious. Beijing was just one big bar and club crawl combined with a big fake shopping adventure. Haggling was so much fun. I bought so many fake clothes, trainers, Zippos, and replica fighter pilot helmets that I ended up having to pay $300 USD in excess baggage charges on the flight back, which…

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Daniel – My first week as a foreign teacher

Accomodation, Daily Life, Food, Teaching English in China, Things to do Leave a comment

It feels like a long time ago now, the lengthy flight from London Heathrow to Hangzhou, that included a two hour bus journey  from my place to the airport and a four hour stop-off in Hong Kong. By the time I arrived at the hotel Echo English had arranged for me, I’d pushed through the tiredness barrier and barely felt anything anymore. My first impressions of Hangzhou were reasonably positive; I’d been told many horror stories about China’s pollution and it’s chain-smoking population, but Hangzhou was far cleaner than that. There were a lot of trees lining the streets, no…

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