I taught English in Xi’an, China and I had no idea what I was doing. I walked into the university in China with almost nothing prepared. I just learned as I went along and got better at teaching as time went on.
It’s been two years now and I miss Xi’an, China like crazy. It was an incredible experience and I think sometimes I forget just awesome it was.
I hear it all the time in Argentina by the locals, “isn’t chinese food bugs and fish?” Do they really think 1.4 billion people are eating bugs? With thousands of years of history, that bugs are the only thing they can think of? Did they forget who brought the pasta to Italy that they are so much a fan of?
This is to make future teachers searching on Google or anywhere else aware of what to expect from Siyuan University(西安思源学院). Some of what I tell you might even hold true for other Universities but not all. Some of what I say could be my personal views, cultural differences of how I feel compared to what is expected in the US, and other things. Your experience could be different from mine but I still think some of what I say still holds true. I apologize to the regular readers as they might not interest you unless you’re going to teach at this school or want to learn a little bit about Chinese education.Here’s a combination of my review and guide for future teachers coming to Siyuan University in Xi’an, China (西安思源学院). Sorry for the long article but there’s a lot to say after a year here. 西安思源学院审查
I flew to Xi’an, China in August 2010 to teach English part-time at Siyuan University for about 10 months. I had been to China before for one month but it was just for travel. I’m now at the end of my stay in China and about to continue my journey elsewhere. I’m going to really miss China.
As I was walking back to my apartment, I noticed a Chinese girl staring at me with her mouth wide open. China does provide for some really high ego and admittedly she was attractive. So I waved. She continued to stare at me and walk but then she walked directly into a tree. Forehead straight onto the tree with both arms between the tree. She fell straight to the ground but got up quickly to keep walking. She was embarrassed and didn’t want to look at me again. I felt bad but it was really hilarious.
