A Prologue

Hello all of my fellow readers (mom, dad, sisters, brothers, former students, and friends). Welcome to my blog where I will keep you all updated on my adventures in China as an English teacher in Tianjin.

I expect this journey will be a challenging and educational journey indeed, thus I chose the title "An Immense Journey." For those of you not already familiar with Tianjin and its whereabouts, Tianjin is approximately 120 miles Southeast of Beijing and is the third largest city in China. Tianjin boasts a population of 11,500,000 people. Tianjin also boasts a strong economy given that it is a port city in Northern China that ships many goods to many different parts of the world. That being said, Tianjin has a lot of money flowing through it and therefore has a high demand for native English speakers qualified to teach English - the international language for business.

This is where I will come in. I am a native English speaking individual who also carries a teacher certificate and a bachelors degree from an accredited university. I plan on going there to teach English as a foreign language and also to learn Chinese. I am also keeping my options open for possible romantic opportunities, but that is not the only reason I chose to travel there.

While in China, I expect to see a modern city with most of the luxuries we are familiar with in the States. I believe there is currently a misconception among many of my friends as to China's status economically. I believe this because when I tell some people that I am going to teach in China, they think of poverty and starving children like we see on those commercials for donating money to African missionary groups. China's situation is different. While China's rural areas are poorer and do face many challenges that would compare with what missionaries deal with in Africa, China's urban sectors are very rich! If you look at pictures of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Nanjing, or Tianjin, you would think you were looking at a picture of New York.

In a way, you are looking at a picture of New York, since many of our same architects that designed the buildings in New York, Chicago, and LA also designed the buildings in China. In a nutshell: the world is becoming more interdependent and China gets to benefit from our experience with building skyscrapers and other miscellaneous public works. China may be developing, but in some respects, they are already developed - especially in Tianjin, where they just finished a state of the art subway system. Believe me when I say I can't wait to ride on that subway.

I am also eager to develop positive relationships with the people I will meet in China. I am already capable of speaking some Chinese and am confident I will be able to order meals and purchase all of the necessities for daily life, but I can't say whether or not I will fit in or like the local culture. I know that I like big cities and history and Tianjin has a lot of both of these things to offer, so I am sure I will find things to do. Overall, I think the biggest challenge will be to develop meaningful relationships with my students and some locals so that I can feel a part of their community and satisfy my needs as a human being to communicate and be loved.

Last but not least, I should describe the job that I accepted. I got a job working with Foreign Compass Languages (http://www.compass-ielts.com/english/Introduction.html). Foreign Compass Languages is a private school for adults 17 and up. The student population is about 700 and the school has four semesters offering up to 9 different levels of English. The goal of the school is to help the students reach proficiency in English in both reading, writing, and oral skills. Once a student feels he or she is ready, they take a proficiency test known as the IELTS and if they pass, they are officially certified English speakers. Then the student can take their certificate and get a raise or promotion at their local firm or maybe get that job they always wanted working overseas. Whatever the scenario might be, it is my job to help them get there.

I also would like to thank you for reading thus far. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to write them. This blog is designed to be interactive.