First week back at work with a resilient and positive attitude!

So, what a week it’s been! I last wrote on Saturday, exactly a week ago, and it’s been a whirlwind of a week! I’m now sat in bed in my amazing, new (yes new) apartment. I’ll start from the beginning and explain.

So… I must be honest and admit, as much as I loved my new apartment in Jing’an Temple, as the location was very central and the area very active, I didn’t feel completely at home there. Perhaps the area was too westernised, too central… not to mention so far away from my schools leaving me with a massive commute! I loved my room, however Sunaina and I quickly realised that the wall was in fact wooden. This meant that I could barely sleep each night (being a light-sleeper anyway) as I could hear every movement the guy made next door, his cough, his tapping on the keyboard and conversations of all my housemates!

At first, admittedly, I let myself get stressed out and upset over this situation. I just got myself settled, moved all in my stuff into the new place, paid the rent/deposit, etc and now I realised I may not be able stay in this apartment for the rest of the year! This really freaked me out and unsettled me. Nevertheless, Sunaina and I decided to get up last Sunday and take a day-trip to the wonderful Suzhou, the Venice of the East. We had such a lovely day exploring the markets, canals, Suzhou Museum and Pingjiang Road. We got back to Shanghai late Sunday evening, collapsed and I was up and ready the next morning for my first day at work!

Monday was my first day back at my old school in Qingpu, and it was so lovely to be back! What was different, was my increase in schedule, in that last year I just taught grade 1, but now I would be teaching grades 1,2,3,4 and 5. I must admit, my first day went well, but not as perfect as I wanted it to be! It’s always a learning process out here in Shanghai, that’s why I love it so much. Its physically, mentally and emotionally demanding to move to another country, thus it turns you into such a strong, resilient person. So, on that note, that evening I decided to edit my lessons and specifically explain the concept of TEAM/group work. What went wrong was that I presumed they could get into teams and do my activity easily, however this was not the case. I quickly remember that in China studying is quite individual-based, rather than team/group work.

Anyway, the next day I had the BEST DAY ever of teaching! My lessons flowed excellently, the teachers loved my classes and lot’s of photos were taken! I felt exhausted (from so many classes as my schedule has increased) but massively content. For example, in one lesson I pre-prepared on A3 pieces of card-paper the game BUS STOP (name/food/animal/random word) and put the class into four teams, they would race each other, as I made a point system as to who would complete it the fastest. It worked out amazingly!

By Tuesday evening my first two days of work were complete at my old Qingpu School. Wednesday, would be my first day at my new school, Chong Gu. As much as I was enjoying the teaching in Qingpu, I was noticing that my commute home back to Jing’an Temple was massively tiring me out. I bore this in mind, alongside the fact that I still wasn’t sleeping very well. This led to me falling ill. It’s the worst thing falling ill in another country, away from home, away from familiar things and the general tender loving care you’d receive back home.

Nevertheless, I tried to stay strong, optimistic and positive. Luckily enough, I have splendid friends in Shanghai who support and look out for me. My wonderful friend Furkan, who is fluent in Chinese, was proactive on my behalf and arranged various apartment viewings for Thursday morning (as I don’t start work until 1pm on Thursday). On the Wednesday, my coordinator Frank and I, trialled out the new bus route to work and it worked out to be around 45 minutes long from Beixinjing Bus Station. The bus dropped me right outside the school and it wasn’t too bad at all!

Anyway, emphasising how much moving to another country, alone can make you stronger is the fact that through my sickness and flu I woke up early on Thursday morning in order to join Furkan, and the housing agents he had arranged, to view various apartments and make the move! I decided to compromise my central location for a location more convenient for my commutes to work, as well as not too far from the centre of Shanghai. This led me towards Zhongshan Park, Weining Road, and Beixinjing. We met in Beixinjing, and due to my illness my coordinator encouraged me not to go to work that day, put my health first and go to the hospital for mediciation and a sicknote. Later on, after apartment hunting, I did just this.

The agents showed us apartments in true Chinese style, riding around on their scooters! We saw many, and finally the last one seemed to be the perfect one! It was just a five minute walk from the station, a beautiful Chinese compound, lovely area, huge room, my own shower and most crucially at this point – proper walls!! After much thought, especially considering the fact that I’d need to pay 3months rent plus deposit, I decided to go for it.

Whilst making the deal for this new apartment, I’d simultaneously managed to find a lovely French girl interested in taking my old apartment – so things couldn’t have turned out more perfect! The girl wanted to move in straight away, and so did I. All in a day I found a new apartment, sold my old one and moved out of it the same evening! It was crazy, hectic, tiring but awesome!

I managed to turn what seemed like a daunting situation into a problem that can be solved. One of the biggest skills I’ve gained from teaching English in China is problem-solving skills, not to mention confidence, resilience and optimism. 

Words cannot explain how amazing my new bedroom is, my new apartment, the area and ESPECIALLY my new housemates. I’m living with a bunch of LOVELY, amazing, full of kindness, Chinese girls. They could not have been more helpful and welcoming towards me. Thus far they have given me gifts of fruit, helped me with various things, cooked me dinner and breakfast. I can see the beginning of an amazing year here in China, in which I have already made some new, beautiful, lovely Chinese friends, therefore I know my Chinese will vastly improve, and I’ve booked my travels, with Sunaina, to Seoul, South Korea for the October holiday! I had planned to travel more before October, but due to my apartment issue (and needing to pay 3 months rent plus deposit upfront) I’ve compromised these plans to a later date, and will enjoy exploring Shanghai thoroughly, spending time with friends, learning Chinese the language, the food, and the exciting build-up towards South Korea in two weeks time!! I couldn't be happier right now! 

Sabrina xxx