Canadians going to China!

  Originally posted September 16th, 2009   So I find out that I’m going to be based in Shanghai for the next few months. Shanghai wasn’t my first choice as I didn’t really want to go to a city; I was up for seeing some of the more rural areas of China. To be honest though I wasn’t really bothered where I was placed as I didn’t know enough about China when filling in my...

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Originally posted October 9th, 2009   Firstly sorry for taking so long to get this post out, there has been a lot going on during the past few weeks. Steve and I have moved into a new apartment with another English teacher. His name is Eddy and he's from the States. The walk to work is longer but the place is much nicer and there is even some greenery in the form of a small...

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YIKES! Heading to China at the end of January 2010! What in the world am I thinking?! No, actually I'm anticipating an exciting life-changing adventure! A Once-in-a-Blue-Moon experience. (This New Years Eve was the last with a Blue Moon till 2028!) I graduated August 2009 from National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) with my Masters of Science degree in Acupuncture (MSAc). So I'm headed to the birthplace of Traditional Chinese Medicine...

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Hello everyone!  This is my first blog ever so please do bare with me. Have been busy over the past few months (New house, Christmas and New Year) so have only just manage to pay full attention to my TEFL online course and apply for placements. I have attended the 20 hours weekend course at Mayfair just before Christmas and enjoyed the course very much. Have met some really lovely people and Karen our trainer...

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So, you’re thinking of teaching English abroad, but where’s hot and where’s not for 2010? Here are our top destinations to think about heading to! 1. China Did you know that there are more people learning English in China than the entire population of the United States? That adds up to a massive demand for teachers, so certified TEFLers (that’ll be you soon!) are welcomed with open arms! Plus, with delicious food, fascinating culture and...

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Somewhere along the line, I seem to have become the unofficial style consultant for the China internship... forget what you're going to teach, what the hell are you going to wear! And what does 'smart-casual' actually mean? First up, don't panic... People in China are super keen on fashion (Shanghai is now up there with Paris, Milan, London and New York as one of the fashion capitals of the world don't cha know), and as...

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Hey peeps! For those of you out in China or will be heading out there in the next couple of weeks - it's Chinese New Year on 14th Feb and it will be the year of the Tiger.(Meow! Yes, even though it does clash with Valentine's Day, the Chinese do manage find a way to celebrate both at once. Just check out all the crazy marketing of kissy kissy cartoons all dressed up in traditional...

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This morning (I say morning... it's a weekend and I still relish not working at weekends so actually more like lunchtime) Chinese For Dummies was presented to me by my Dad as I crunched through my Special K. "Thank you Dad" I said "You're welcome Clare" he replied, "I thought you'd like some reading material, and look, there's a CD in the back that you're brother never touched..." (Some background information for you: my older brother went with...

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Quite exciting! This Sunday the 14th of February through to the Thursday I will be heading from my home in Hong Kong over to Beijing for Chinese New Year 2010. I will be going to with my wife (she is HK Chinese) and her family. I have a book about Beijing, it's all in Chinese, I can see the pictures, read very little, but my wife can tell me more and choose places - so...

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It's the year of the TIGER....rwarrr! So, are you a tiger yourself? Or would you like to be? Here's what you'll need to be: Courageous: No, 'I'll do it next month, year, lifetime'... take a leap and do whatever it is you want to do (be it travel, TEFL, getting a new job) NOW! Independent: Want to know who the fiercest cat of all is? That's right, it's Beyonce. And what did the wisdom of...

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