Adventures in Asia

Longing to travel the world? Interested in teaching? Looking for a different, new adventure? It may have crossed your mind: What about teaching English in Asia…? Rural area of Zhejiang province You aren’t the only one. It’s incredibly easy to get a teaching job in several Asian countries, including China. All you need to apply is… -Be a native English speaker -Have a bachelor’s degree (any field) -Be willing to commit for a year -Have an “aptitude” for teaching (literally the wording they used on my first application) You do not have to speak the local language. You do not have to find your own housing. Your flight will be reimbursed upon the completion of your contract. You can literally just go. It’s the wanderlust dream of my generation. On top of that, many teaching jobs pay very well. Even if the salary doesn’t look like much in US dollars, it can go a long way in a place like China that has much lower living costs. I’ve been able to...

Having lived abroad for about five years now, I’ve encountered a few (understatement) preconceived ideas about me/people from my country. Recently I came across a book called “Survival Kit for Overseas Living” that actually lists the stereotypes many people from around the world hold about Americans. Fascinating! I then shared a partial list of these stereotypes on my Chinese social media to see what my international friends thought. (I should mention that I have friends from all over the world on that app, and the responses / these stereotypes do not exclusively represent the Chinese perspective.) I have now come up with a slightly modified list based on their comments. So without further ado, I’ll end the suspense and share it here: Americans are usually… -Friendly, outgoing -Optimistic -Casual -Loud -Rude -Hardworking -Aggressive, confrontational -Wasteful, extravagant -Confident -Uninformed, ignorant -Privileged -Impatient -Ge...

If you can read this, you probably need a visa. After several friends and family members visited me this year, I thought I’d share some basic tips for those who are curious about life in China or plan to visit this amazing country someday soon! PART I: TIME & MONEY Although China is a huge country, the whole thing runs on Beijing time. There are no other time zones. Money in China is called RMB (which stands for renminbi), yuan, or kuai. You may be able to use your card at an ATM in China to withdraw cash, but it probably won’t work in restaurants and shops. It’s always best to exchange money in a bank (back home or in China), though the airport will do the job too. No need to tip. You can often haggle for a lower price in smaller shops and markets. Start really low and don’t feel bad if the seller acts insulted. Pretend to lose interest and leave the store if they won’t come down – they will once they realize they might lose the sa...