The College

Posted 3:03pm on Sunday June 7th 2009

The college where I work is a private professional education institute situated about 30 minutes drive from the centre of Beijing, really in the countryside. It prepares students for jobs in the service industry. For example, students may want to work as air attendants or manage hotels. Speaking English is an important part of the course and many students are highly motivated to learn. However, many are not!

It's a little weird to go from living in Beijing to a village, but living here part of the week allows me to experience a different side of China, and be a part of school life. Although living in a dormitory is a bit like going back to school. Good point: cheap food, fruit and vegetables. Bad point: mosquitoes!

A Typical Day

  • 07:00 - wake up in my dormitory. Have a breakfast of hot water, yoghurt and bread while catching the news on CCTV9, the English-language TV channel
  • 08:15 - meet a couple of teacher friends and walk over to the teaching building
  • 08:30 - first class of the day! Teaching 40-50 students, from 18-21 years old. Each lesson lasts 1.5 hours, so this one finishes at 10:00, with a 10 minute break
  • 10:10 - second class of the day
  • 11:40 - lunchtime. Head over to the school canteen to get a meal of rice and 2 vegetable/meat selections. Cost: around 6 kwai (60p). Afterwards go back to the dorm for a rest, maybe a quick nap. 2 hour lunchbreaks are great!
  • 14:00 - the last class
  • 15:30 - work is finished, so go back to the dorm for a rest. I particularly like this time of day
  • 17:30 - meet some friends and go for dinner in one of the restaurants outside the school, either noodles or rice. The food is always good and always cheap

In the evening I often chat with other teachers and students and we make plans for the weekend. As a foreign teacher, I find I'm never lonely or stuck for company. On Tuesdays I have English Corner, or I may go to watch a school basketball match. I have also started a yoga class in the next town, which is an experience (it's all in Chinese). Come Thursday afternoon, it's time to go back to Beijing! Have a look at some photos of school life here.