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Published: August 6th 2007
I'm sitting in Portland teeming with excitement because of my upcoming relocation to China. It's pretty much all that I can think/talk about these days. Almost every day, I tell people about it and every day I usually end up answering a standard set of questions. So, I figure that it would be a good idea to answer these once and for all. So here you go, the top 10 answers to the top 10 questions that I get asked about my trip:
1. Where are you going?
I'm going to Nanjing, China. It's a small city of about 6 or 7 million people located at the mouth of the Yangtze in the Jiangsu province. For anyone who's interested, here's a link to
Wikipedia's Nanjing entry.
It should also be noted that on my way to Nanjing I'll be stopping by Mexico City for 10 days with my bestest buddy Chris to celebrate his 23rd birthday. We'll be staying with my friend Chico.
2. When are you going?
I'll be leaving the good ole' U S of A on August 17th. Chris and I will be in Mexico City until August 26th. From there I'll be flying to Shanghai, but I won't arrive until August 28th. I'll be spending three days in Shanghai for an orientation seminar before I finally head off to my new home in Nanjing, China.
3. How long will you be gone?
Well, I signed a 10 month contract. I get some really nice perks if I renew my contract, so that's a pretty big possibility. My standard answer to this question is until I'm fluent in Mandarin. So, probably 2 or 3 years, but I really don't know.
4. Do you speak any Chinese?
I studied Mandarin for a year at the University of Washington and I used to think that I could kinda speak it. But right now it kinda sucks...actually, I'd say that it really sucks. However, I'm a quick learner so I'm not too worried. Besides, no pain no gain, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself.
5. What are you gonna be doing there?
Teaching English as a Second Language...what else would an American be doing in China?
6. Who are you gonna be teaching?
I'll be teaching 10th graders at Nanjing no. 4 High School. From what I understand it's a top-rated school and the students are supposed to be quite good.
7. Are you going with a program or what?
I'm going through an organization called Beijing WITT. Essentially, they contract out about 80 teachers to schools around China. It's a New Zealand based company. They give me round-trip airfare, health insurance, and pretty much make sure that the school that I'm working for doesn't jerk me around too much.
8. Where are you going to stay? Do you have to get an apartment or what?
The school that I'll be teaching for provides me with a private furnished apartment across the street from the school. I'm hoping that it's not too small and run down.
9. How much are they paying you?
Not much by American standards, but quite a bit by Chinese standards.
10. Why are you doing this
A few years ago I made the decision to go and live in China. I'm not sure exactly when it was or what made me decide that, but I do remember making the decision and I'm quite proud of myself with following through with it. For as long as I can remember, people have been telling me that China is going to be an important world power and that learning Chinese would be an excellent career move. At this point in time, I'm not really sure what kind of a career that I want to have, but I do know that I want travel and languages to be a prerequisite to it. So for those reasons along with the standard "I want to travel and experience the world" song and dance, I'm going to China.
If you have any other questions or if you just want to say hi, feel free to send me a message/shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from y'all.
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Amanda Owens
non-member comment
Excuse Me!
Will you be gracing Seattle with your presence once more??? If not, I guess I'll just have to meet up with you in China.... :)