Yes, you read right! I have accepted a teaching position in China for September 2013. I am a bit stunned myself. The contract looks very good and I am working for a Canadian company, but working at a Chinese middle school. I couldn't pass up teaching only 20 hours a week and only having to be there for 20 hours and not 40 hours, which I am currently doing in Korea. I have so many holidays including a four to six week break between semesters and then I get two months off in the summer.
I plan to do some major travelling around China which I've been wanting to do for many years. It seems surreal that I have had such an interest in the history and culture of China since university. I am super excited to be going, even though I have been warned that China isn't Korea. In the sense that China isn't as clean as Korea. I have heard stories about the horrid air pollution and babies not wearing diapers who poop on the street. I've heard about the huge rift between the poor and the middle class, and the disgusting hacking where people spit on the streets. The medical system isn't as advanced as in Korea, and people don't speak as much English where I'm going. I have to learn some Mandarin and fast.
I'm sure my Korean experience will help me in a lot of ways, but it is a different country altogether. I am ready for anything. I just hope I don't get sick as my stomach is super sensitive. I have so much preparing to do in the next two and a half months. I don't even know if I can get a visa. It is quite a process trying to get a work visa here in Korea. I have to get a full medical test and wait for papers from China before I can go to the specified travel agents to get the Z-Visa.
I was going to go to Canada after this contract, but time-wise it just would not be worth it. I have less than two weeks before I have to be in China. I'd just be starting to enjoy myself, and then I'd have to come back. As much as I miss my family and friends, I'll just have to wait for winter or next summer.
I have so many good friends here in Korea, that I will find it very hard to leave. I know that I am not far away and can come for a visit during the year. I feel like I've seen Korea and have experienced it all in a sense. It is time for a change. I may not like where I'm going, but it is worth a try. As I've learned over the years, there is no guarantee in any risk that you take. Often you gain, more than you lose by taking a chance.
