Oh, yea! So you ended up in Xingtai?

Awesome. Defo have to catch up!! :)

I had a compartment with six people. The four people ones are first class I think and a lot more expensive. The train I took was a T70. You can drink on it! Beijing to Hainan I think. I got off in Guangzhou then took another train to Shenzhen/HK border. There is window seats with little tables. And then six bunks. It was fairly clean as Chinese trains go. First class is better but a lot more expensive. Nearly double the price.

I did the second journey after staying 5 days in HK and one night in Guangzhou. Book a few days early as they run out of beds.. and seats. On the way back I had to stand!!

Hey,

I took the train. You can get a sleeper. Beijing to Guangzhou was about £60 and took about 25 hours. Then take a train Guangzhou to Shanzhen. Takes about 2 hours. Then cross the border into HK. :)

VIP China welcomes you!

Hello, FilterAngel:

We need oral English teacher in China. We require neither degree, nor a tesl certificate , nor even experience in teaching. What we need is that you are a fluent English speacker. Interest?Pls contact me by my e-mail add: helengan2006@hotmail.com. We are looking forward to meeting you soon.
 
B/Regards,
 
Helen

That's good to know.  I recently read a book called Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows.  She  travelled there on two separate occasions for a few years at a time.  It had some valuable information about the country, and a little explanation of the language.  She also said that even the Chinese have a tough time remembering all the Hanzi, so I won't feel so bad about that inability.  I just started doing the Rosetta Stone, and it seems like I am retaining the information pretty well.  A lot of it is context learning, which can be tough at times. Pinyin is so confusing to  me right now-I have studied Japanese on and off over the last few years, and their sounds are so straightforward.  It will definitely take some getting used to.

I'll make sure to add a visit to Hong Kong to my bucket list, with it being so highly recommended. :)

I hail from the land of cheese and brats-Wisconsin, in the US.  We actually have places called The Cheese Castle and The Brat Stop.  Really original...

China seems to be so vast that it's hard to really learn much about the geography of the country.  I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the country, the people, and the culture, just so I can fit in a bit better.  Have you been studying Chinese then, too?  The coast will definitely be a nice place to be. 

Hong Kong seems like it'd be awesome!  Experience teaching will definitely look great on a resume. I'm doing online courses to work toward my degree, and I hope it goes well while I'm abroad.

I'll definitely keep in touch. :)  Are you on facebook?  Chalkboard is good, but unfortunately I forget to check it on a regular basis since I don't get the updates that people leave messages.  I'll still check this, though, just because talking to other teachers is going to be really helpful.  If interested, I'm at www.facebook.com/lorelei.harp

Where are you living right now?

After I signed up, I found out that friends of friends were doing the same thing.  Had I known that I might've gone without the internship, but the thing I lack is a degree.  Any idea where you are going?

Hey,

Sounds good. :)

Did you go with Victor or someone else?

That's pretty sweet-you've got some courage to go it alone.  Is it going to be the first time you teach? It'll be my first time, so I figured an internship was the way to go.

I think I'm going to show up early in Beijing so I'm there for the New Year.  I've got nothing better to do at that time!

Hey,

You know where you're going yet?