It's all a bit mad

"that's the one thing anytime you're telling somebody, if they want to come out here. It's like look, you're going to have 2 days off, but it's not Saturday and Sunday." In this episode, I talk to Alex (American), Juanette (South African), Charles (American) and Tim (British) about the experiences of teaching in a training school, compared to public schools or kindergartens. We also talk about what it's like being a teacher in China and parent's having easy access to you through WeChat (messaging and social media app). *The term 'training schools' refers to private companies that offer education for students typically aged 3-12 and normally operate in the evenings and weekends.

"In China, there's the old thing that... travelling 1000 miles is better than reading 1000 books." In this episode, I have a discussion with Chinese English teacher Sophia about the boom of learning English in China. We talk about when she first experienced learning English in School, what drove her to become an English teacher and the differences between "Native" English teachers and Chinese English teachers. We also discuss the time she spent teaching English students in a primary school in Doncaster (South Yorkshire), what differences or similarities children in China and children in England have and more...

"I've been accused of kissing my friend's ex... that just didn't end well." In this episode, I speak to Alex and Tim about what dating is like in Dalian, as an expat. From using Tinder and Tantan (a Chinese dating app), to advice on how to navigate the dating scene in a tight-knit expat community.

"Once I went to go buy some soap to wash my dishes. And I ended up at somebody's house. And we were singing happy birthday to their child." - Ricardo A quick but insightful conversation with Lillian Miyoko and Ricardo Sanches about what brought them to China. Ricardo tells us how he went from working in the film industry in South Africa to now being a regional manager for an International Kindergarten in China. Lillian left Detroit, Michigan to do her Masters in China and ended up meeting people of different cultures. This ignited her love of different cultures and travelling. She has been in China for 6 years and is now a Talent and Organisational manager for an International Kindergarten.

Learn a Chinese tongue twister with Alice. Alice has been a teaching Chinese for 5 years. Brooke is an American who has been learning Chinese for a year and a half. Alice talks about her experience teaching Mandarin, her tips for beginners and why it's important to spend time with native speakers and learn Chinese history when learning Mandarin.

Lily teaches us another way to greet someone in Mandarin. Lily is a director of a language development school in Dalian. She has been teaching Chinese to foreigners for 8 years. We discussed her experiences of teaching Chinese and some tips she has for beginners. We'll also find out what she thinks about using apps and Netflix to learn Chinese.

A conversation with two friends about how we realised COVID 19 was no joke and wasn’t just a Wuhan issue. We also talked about our quarantine experience in Dalian, China. Tracey & Jenna discussed what it was like returning to China from abroad (Myanmar and Vietnam respectively) whilst the virus continued to spread outside of China.

In March 2019, I sat down with 5 friends to chat about how we ended up in China and our experiences living in various parts of China. I understand with the current global Pandemic, the things discussed may not be relevant to some. But it's worth a listen whether or not you plan to move to China or abroad once we overcome the Pandemic. Stay safe, stay at home, save lives. And I hope this podcast gives you the enjoyable distraction you wanted.  Our length of time in China varied from 6 months to 7 years at the time of recording. We also gave some advice to anyone who has previously thought about living in China or abroad (before the Pandemic). We are speaking from our experiences and we do not expect everyone who listens to have the same view. These are OUR views! Enjoy