I would describe myself as someone that at first glance, wouldn’t seem like a person to move to the other side of the world for a job that I had no experience in doing.  I’m an introverted picky eater, and the only thing I knew about China was that the Great Wall was there along with a TON of people.  However, I thought to myself that living in another country would be an adventure.  Besides, I could do anything for just 10 months!

Two and a half years later, I’m extremely happy I took the risk to teach here.  I have absolutely loved learning the culture and language every day.  There have been plenty of challenges.  Teaching 60 kids with different English levels can be tough.  It once took me two hours just to find and buy shoelaces!  However, the relationship I’ve built here with my Chinese students, co-workers, friends, and Zhong teammates have been incredible.  I’ve grown in almost every facet of life and made countless memories.

Every year I teach in China, I tell myself this is the last year.  Instead, I’ve loved it so much that I keep returning!

If you want to have an amazing adventure and a positive impact on people’s lives, I would strongly recommend you look into Zhong Relations.  I know you would love it.  Besides, even if you don’t, you can do anything for 10 months!

Perhaps you are curious about what life is like on the other side of the world, perhaps you are seeking change, or to be changed. If you are reading this, you have a desire in your heart for greatness and I will do my best to shed some light to help you make a more enlightened decision as to whether teaching in China is the journey for you. I personally came here because ever since I was young I had wanderlust deep inside my heart. Never content with just knowing life in my house, I would journey to my backyard, then to the woods, then into the world. I have seen a great many things, but the most engaging experience of my entire life has been moving to China. It changes you; right down to the core. You explore the very roots of self-consciousness to decide what it is that drives us as human beings. With language, culture, and emotional barriers each of us is tested in our strengths and our weaknesses to help redefine who we are as human beings. This, for me, is my life in China. If it sounds intense, thats because it is, but it is so rewarding.

The greatest difficulty I had to overcome was exposing and diffusing the fog of my own ignorance. When someone visits a country for a term of days or weeks they are a tourist – the profound differences in all aspects of life are not truly revealed. Then there are those of us who commit more: our time, our lives and then we grow. I will not sugar coat it, at times it is painful and at times there are tears of grief and fits of anger. But what growth has ever come without pain? If you are intimidated, good, you should be.

If you are still reading and I have not scared you away, then its time to share the treasure I found in my journey here. It is a greatness that awaits each traveler and teacher to China. If your mind and heart are set properly and you are prepared you will meet the people here and be changed forever. Every trial that I have faced in my life here was washed away and rationalized when one student waited to take her exam and told me how I changed her life. She said, “Teacher Jay, when I was very young my father was killed in an accident. Because of this, all of my life I was angry and sad at others for having a dad and I did not know why I could not. Then I took your class, you taught me to live, for myself, for his memory. I cannot thank you enough for giving me this feeling I have never had before.” Then she left, that was it. These are the everyday stories of my students. Each one is a friend, each one has a story unlike anything I have ever dreamed and with that I became hooked, this is my China. Each one I meet changes my life and I will never be the same because of them, and for that I will be truly grateful unto the end of my days. If you are ready for the adventure, side by side we will be here with you, and together we will see a new side to the world.

I am a teacher at Huangshi No. 1 High School

Living in China is certainly an adventure! It is fun and exciting, but it has its challenges as well. There are the expected challenges such as the language barrier and adjusting to a new culture, but then there are also those unexpected difficulties that can really throw you for a loop.  For example, coming home after a long day of teaching to find your kitchen flooded with no ideas of how to fix the problem or knowing who to call, can be quite a struggle. Basically, our home became a construction zone for the next two weeks. Your home is supposed to be your safe-haven, especially here in China. Without this comfort, and without access to a kitchen for meals, life was rough. This was one of those things in life that cannot be controlled and you just have to step back and realize how many other areas of your life you are blessed. Because of this, I ended up spending extra time at school with students, building relationships outside of the classroom. I have found that forming these relationships and knowing more about the individual students has drastically improved student participation and behavior within the classroom setting! There was my blessing-in-disguise!

The decision to join was reached with a unanimous vote by our Board of Administration. We believe as a US based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, that Zhong Relations has a responsibility to invest our resources in affecting the local work and educational environment of Central China. We will do this by interfacing with Chinese and foreign business and governmental leaders.

Click to learn more about Am-Cham’s Central China Chapter.

So, why live and teach in China? If you’ve gotten to the point of actually researching teaching organizations, then you’re probably already familiar with the tour-book answers – thousands of years of history, rising global economic power, great food, etc.

Those things are all good, but to be honest, I think one of the best reasons to come here is because living in China can fundamentally change you – if you let it. Be forewarned, though: China has a long and proud tradition of frustrating and confounding foreigners.

I think all of us laowai (myself included) have thrown at least one ethnocentric tizzy fit after arriving in this corner of the Middle Kingdom, but the wise among us soon realize that China is not America, and precious few people here see that as being a problem. So, if you want to change China, I strongly suggest you reconsider your goals. Yet if you want to both teach and learn with an open heart, you’ll see that there’s much more to China than what you thought you knew.

Personally, I have been learning to meet my students where they are at in life. It is so tempting to only view China and her people from the outside, yet as I talk with my students and slowly learn how they see China, this nation is taking on a depth and personality that continues to surprise and intrigue me. Are you willing to be surprised? If so, I know just the place for you.

If I could encourage you to consider China it would be because the experience has grown me more than any other experience I have had. I have been stretched and I have grown in ways that I never would have in the States. In just 3 short months, I have witnessed many healings (including my own generalized anxiety disorder) and as a result, I have felt God’s presence more than ever before! I can’t wait to see what more wil happen in the remaining 7 months of our teaching contract.

Something great about being a teacher is the multitude of students you get to know. I teach all 15 senior-1 level classes at #3 High School – that’s 930 students! It’s a blessing to get to know them and see their different personalities. In America, I worked as a high school art teacher, so it’s a very different setting to be teaching in China, however, the kids are my greatest blessing. Even on difficult days, I always find joy in the many random shout outs, “Hi, Mrs. K!” that I get on the way to or from class. They love their foreign teachers because we love them.

On Thanksgiving Day, one of my students said “I am thankful for you, Mrs. K. You are my best friend!”  I nearly cried. They are just the greatest group of kids.  As a teacher you will be stretched, but the love reciprocated from your students more than makes up for it.

Being away from home is difficult, but we are filled with so many blessings from unexpected places. China is a great place with a unique culture and wonderful people. I truly believe that coming to China is one of the greatest decisions I have made.

Originally, teaching was a mere excuse for me to return to China to visit the orphanage, which I had previously worked at. It was a way to stay in China longer than six months, while also visiting the children. I had planned to look for a job in Changsha, where I previously lived, but through a series of random events I found Zhong Relations.

Now I have realized that teaching in China is really unlike anything else. The experience as a whole is too vast to explain in a few short paragraphs, but it has become one of the greatest times of my life. Everyday brings something new and insane to deal with. But with all that being said, teaching in China will give you (or me, in this case) many unique ways to grow (which would otherwise not be possible if were did not to come here). Bottom line is, this opportunity is beyond value to one who wants to be challenged and grow in many different areas.

For me, my favourite thing about living here, besides the crazy and awesome culture, is the people. The people and students make the experience. The students of course are great (most of the time) and I often get hugged so hard I can’t walk or hear ‘I luff you!’ being yelled from a distance. The other teachers are also super kind and love to speak English with us. As it is, it’s a good chance to practice Mandarin with them as well.

If I were to put forth my best reason for convincing you to come it is this: fun. I mean I work a mere 8 hours a week (12 classes per week), which leaves much free time. Moreover, the school pays the bills, and you make decent money. It’s the ideal job for someone who loves an adventure and likes to nap often. But seriously, it’s an epic adventure.

As I have said there are challenges, but good ones. Figuring out how to love the kids while keeping them in order and disciplining them is tricky, but even after 3 months I’m getting the hang of it. It’s loud and crazy and insane, and finding balance in the madness is the best part. You will learn patience, but you will learn a new love, and that’s the best part of the whole thing.

So that’s all. Honestly the day I got the job I almost declined and I was super nervous just imagining coming. But, I did come and I don’t regret a thing (except not bringing another suitcase). If you read this and think ‘maybe’, think about this: “get paid to have fun by working and living in China. It’s invaluable!

Kev

The decision to come to China for me was simple as my trigger word is generally “Go.” However my motive for coming can likely be found in a realm much different than others. Adventure is the faint whisper that coats my veins and to go anywhere far surpasses the arbitrary “here.” Chaos has always been more comforting for me than the deafening sound of silence. At the decision point my Father was not in the forefront of my mind but somewhere in left field caught between the phrases “Eastern toilets should be fun” and “Asia, really?” … He’s funny like that. I’ve always considered myself a person of passion and I had hoped that if I was earnest in following the passion instilled within that one glorious day He would pin a purpose to that passion.  For me that moment is fashioning itself in a place lacking the truth my Father taught me – in a place I never thought I would come to love. While getting to know the children I am finding a naivety that’s refreshing combined with an untapped creativity that only a Father could pin a purpose to.

Teaching in China was never part of my plan.  I wanted to teach abroad after graduation, but intended it to be in Europe.  When Europe didn’t work out and China did, I was extremely nervous and skeptical about moving here.  When my friends and family found out one of their first questions was, “Do you even know how to speak Chinese?” Well I didn’t and I am still working on that aspect of living here, but overall moving here has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Every day is a mini-adventure in and of itself.  Some days are very challenging, but most of them are incredibly rewarding.  One of my favorite aspects of living here is teaching and building relationships with my students.  Being a foreign teacher automatically makes you one of the “cool” teachers, so most of my students are very enthusiastic about getting to know me and learning about America.  The language barrier is sometimes difficult, but overall teaching is still a positive experience.  Finally, one of the best parts about coming to China with Zhong Relations is our team.  Moving to China can seem intimidating, but having people there to support you and lift you up during the tough days makes it much easier.  I can’t imagine coming here without having people with the same set of values and beliefs surrounding me.

I personally knew nothing about China before our Zhong Relations training; I walked into this totally blind just knowing it was where I was supposed to be. I was nervous and excited all at the same time.

Since I have been here I have learned so much about a people group and culture that was always foreign to me. My heart has been challenged in ways I never saw coming and I’m so grateful now. In my classroom my goal is to be able to provide light and life to these children through laughter and learning. For example my lesson may be on “grace” and my students are the only ones laughing. I aim to create an environment that is graceful and encouraging while still maintaining control.

My students have become the light of my time here. Seeing their faces and their joy when I walk into the classroom and the small victories I’ve had in communicating truth to them has changed me. If I could encourage you to consider China it would be because it’s worth it. It’s worth leaving home, leaving all you know to encounter a new land and people, to share light and hope in a place that can be dark or hard at times.

All students are searching for something great. Something greater than what they have and what they know. It’s worth the hard days and the challenges you go through because in this place you will have encounters that can change your life – if you let them.