Moving On

I have written TEFL a few e-mails asking them to respond, but guess what? They haven't. I am not surprised.

That aside, the rest of my stay here has been pleasant. I am staying in a lovely hostel that is situated in a historic hutong area. One of my favorite parts of the hostel is the courtyard where I can sit outside and just read or knit or make jewlery. I haven't been able to do this before in China because taking all that stuff anywhere is such a hastle. I am meeting people from all around the world and hearing all different languages.

I have made the plan to come back in September and work and take Mandarin classes. Right now, it is just a plan, but that is what I need. I still have a lot of things to work out, but as of today, I am coming back to China in September. It is one of the best places to continue teaching English. But who knows, I might find something I really like in the States too. I have direction and I am walking, but the road ahead is foggy and unclear. I am ready for my next adventure wherever it takes me.

The Program

TEFL is not a good program! On the website it says that you will get reimbursed up to $750 depending on how much your flight costs. There is no mention of having to teach 180 hours to begin with nor that working these 180 hours is a stipulation of how much you are reimbursed. Oh, and you do not find the 180 hours to work, but they find it for you. So, if they don't find you enough hours you don't get the money. The jobs that they do find you, you don't necessarily keep because the school has to like you and your teaching methods. They have to like your teaching methods even though you are not supposed to have any teaching experience, according to the website. They "prepared" us for teaching by giving us five days of teaching methods and having us prepare short lessons. So after having no previous teaching experience, we are expected to go into a classroom full of students and know exactly how to make them like us and how to get the material across in an easily understood fashion. I guess some people are just natural teachers, and I am not one of them.

The underlying message: If you ever consider going with TEFL, don't! DO NOT trust ANYTHING on the TEFL website!

End Of the Program

The TEFL program is coming to an end. I am sad to be parting with all the firends I have made in the program but I am not sad the program has ended. Let me just say that it is not the most organized. We encountered many problems throughout the program and it was not all it was hyped up to be on the internet. I don't know if it was the program itself or just the management, but there were some questions that we had that went unanswered by the program. It was a good way to travel, but I would not whole heartedly recommend the program.

In other news, I have about 7 weeks left here. I am going to be staying in a hostel for the first time. Online the place looks nice, but I haven't seen it in person. I am excited about staying and a little anxious. I will be totally on my own. It is going to be a new adventure inside this adventure.