Where have you gone Loren? :) How is everything going? Would love to hear from you when you get time as I'm sure you're busy with everything!

Katie

Yeah there's quite a few people in Beijing now. It's a good place to live - the public transport's good and really cheap so it's easy to get around, and there are loads of restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, supermarkets etc. The other interns at my school have 3 classes each, so I'm actually not doing as many teaching ours as them. I have 2 or 3 lessons a day and we finish at lunch time most days. We don't have to stay in the office when we're not teaching, so we tend to do our lesson planning and stuff at home. I'd definitely recommend coming out a week early. It's nice to just be able to do your own thing for a while and it's a great way of getting to know people.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy a few beers after a long session of lesson planning (it really is a bitch!). If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask and I'll let you know as much as I can.

Hey! Thanks for getting back to me :)

Yeah I was suprised you got placed in Beijing! I didn't think they placed any of the interns there but it seems a lot of interns got Beijing? Have are you adjusting to the Beijing way of life?

How many hours do you teach a week? Do most interns get two classes to teach? 

I wouldn't consider myself outgoing! I'm rather shy actually :/ Probably not the best virtue for a teacher! I'm easy going and get on well with everybody so I think that may count for something! Reading your post made me think about going out there earlier. I mentioned it to the other interns so we are considering going out a week earlier and staying in the candy inn, like you mentioned. We'll definitely go to Propaganda! It sounds like you had an amazing time! I'm getting more excited by the day! 

Hey Alannah!

I think I waited about 3 weeks before hearing back from TTC. They might take a while, but they'll be busy at the minute, so be patient and they'll get back to you :) I didn't actually have a preference for location, but they had already placed me in Shenyang and then had to change it because the school had taken on more people than they needed. Worked out well though because the school I'm at now is really nice.

I chose primary school as my preferred age, which I have now. Well, it's an international school so the ages in each grade vary. The kids in my beginner class are aged from about 6 - 9 and my sixth grade class are about 9 - 12. Some in my sixth grade are actually native english speakers, whereas some are much weaker, so it's hard to plan lessons around their different abilities really.

If you're open-minded and outgoing, you'll love the internship. The orientation is a lot of fun, mostly because of the nights out in between the course and Mandarin lessons etc. You'll meet a lot of crazy people! All I'll say is when you get out here, make sure you all go to Propaganda one night (preferably Wednesday as it's 30RMB for ladies and then open bar from 8pm - 4.30am, and the drinks are STRONG!).

Hiya Loren! 

I just read your post about settling in to Beijing and your experience of the internship so far. I've applied for the August internship and I'd love to hear about your experience of the internship so far! How long did you have to wait before hearing back from TTC? A lot of us are still waiting to hear back after submitting our applications. Do they generally stick to the 28 days for call backs ? I know that you didn't get your first preference for your school location but I was wondering if you got your first preference for student age group?  I have so many questions but I won't bombard you with them all at once!! I hope you're having a fantastic time. I look forward to reading more of your blogs :D 

One of the best inspiring profile !

Hello Loren!

How's it going? I wanted to check in about your Essential TEFL book as I saw on the wall that it hadn't arrived yet? Do you have an update at all? I'm going to look in to this urgently but I need to ask my colleague about it tomorrow as she only works part time if you don't mind waiting?

So sorry about this, how annoying! We'll make sure it gets sorted out if you haven't already received it :)

Katie

Hey,

I think I'm going to fly out on the 21st. I was going to go from Heathrow though with British Airways as it seems to be cheaper. I'm going to ring them up and look into getting an open return ticket, depending on the price. As soon as I've had my invitation letter I want to get something booked!

Loren.

Hi NerolFuzz, (not your real name I presume!)

I will hopefully get signed up by Next Monday. I live in North Yorkshire and work in Leeds. I've  been looking at flights from Manchester. Not sure yet if I want to fly out a bit earlier than 28th Jan. or when to return. Will look into it once I'm definitely accepted on the course. Do you have yout flight plans organised yet? Hope to hear back from you, Lynne

Hey Loren,

Just seen the message you sent to the i-to-i profile. We got your email and I'll post your book for you now. You should receive that in the next few days.

Congratulations by the way!

Hope you enjoy your Essential TEFL book!

Laura