Well I'm just on the first lesson of each class still so I'm introducing myself and showing them photos and tying to figure out what they actually know! By the end of tomorrow I will have done this lesson 18 times lol. I'm nearly falling asleep in class I'm so bored repeating myself! Think I'll ring Peter or Solaro this evening to say if I can have someone with me (if possible). I get the impression though that my school wouldn't want anyone extra. Come to my school! We can be teaching buddies - I'm definitely starting to crave some kind of 'normal' interaction lol.

It took about 2 hours. Yeah, wont be sorry to leave the bare dorm behind. The teachers and students were real nice though! Well, Im twiddling my thumbs, waiting for a placement to be sorted out for me again. Better be right second time round or ill go insane. Think i to i have told us a load of lies. So, hows the teaching going anyway??

Oh my god - he drove you the whole way back to Mayor's Hotel? How long did that take?! Atleast you got out of the dorm with no desk or shower and a squat toilet lol. My dorm isn't very bad - squat toilet of course, shower that is in the toilet and I just shower on the tiles (there's a plug hole on the floor of the toilet). I also have a water machine thing which also heats up water. But it's freezing! I really hope my air con doesn't die on me because that's my heat gone lol. So what next for you then??

Hi Gemma,

Totally agree, this is not what i to i advertised. I was sent to my placement yesterday in hebei, to discover Id be on my own, in a dorm room with only a bunk bed, no hot water, no shower, and a squat toilet, no desk no nothing. Sharing a dorm with students. I was also the only westerner there with only 3 days of teaching in the middle of no where.

But, this morning I was told I couldnt teach because the local government did not give the school permission to employ a foreign. So, the headmaster drove me all the way back to the Mayors Hotel and was really sorry so he bought me proper dinner.

Anyway, I just rambled there

Hope things improve

Hi Gemma,

Sorry to hear you're on your own on the internship and not having the best time yet. I've passed your issues onto Rachel, who works in our jobs team here and liases with TTC - she'll be in touch to work out what your options are - the benefit of the China internship is that if you are unhappy i-to-i and TTC can try to move you to a different placement. Always also if you're not happy (even if it feels like something minor) get in touch with someone either from TTC or i-to-i and we'll do our absolute best to help.

And thanks for the tips about food!

Yeah I have a few that quite blatantly don't give a toss about the class. I'm coming to realise though that I don't think these classes are important lol They don't get graded and each class only has 40 mins of English a week (some classes have 40 mins every two weeks). They learn English grammar in other classes so I might just make my class a conversation class. It's not like I've got any guidance about what to teach lol. I guess it's up to me to teach whatever I want.

The thing about meeting up is that we are all so far apart that it would be really difficult. Do you have the names of others in your area/province? Some of us here Zhejiang haven't even got a school or apartment yet! I think some people are in a hotel in Zhejiang still.

Also someone else mentioned this......but I have to hand wash all my clothes (inconvenient, but not really a problem) BUT I can't dry them in this weather. I wish it was sunny - I reckon we'd all be in a much better mood too if it was warm :(

Hang in there Gemma!

Im in Beijing (kind of) in a private school so some kids can be a nightmare, I had my first discipling session yesterday that wasnt much fun, but I'm gonna nip all of that bad behaviour in the bud as I dont feel like looking like a fool, but then another class i cant wait to teach everyday, they are great. I feel like im rubbing it now, sorry.

You should not be by yourself, even though it wasnt really a contract condition, it was a promise of sorts so if they have not made good on that promise then you have the opportunity to be moved like other people have (or are in the process of) check david parkes and gazsha for more info on that.

I would like for us all to meet up for a day or two just to make the people who are by themselves feel less isolated and that people are not too far away, but my organisation skills are terrible, so ill just suggest it and hope someone sorts it out. Hope things work out, keep us all posted.

Yea...America and China are probably some of the worst when it comes to food quality. I don't understand how two of the richest nations have the highest percentages of sick people. When possible, try buying organic products and/or eat at organic restaurants. If there are none in the area, then look for non-GMO food products and food products with the "Green Food" label. The China's "Green Food" label means that the food was produced with restricted amounts of agricultural chemicals. I won't overload you with info but feel free to contact me if want to know more.

Remember...taste is secondary to the ingredients in your food!