JJ D.
When I decided to move to China to teach English, I had no idea what to expect. I had no experience, no prior training, and didn't know a single person in the entire country. I spent my first year and a half teaching at a DD Dragon in a small town near Wenzhou called Lingxi. When I first got there, there was only about 4 other non-Chinese people in the whole town, so there was definitely a bit of adjusting to do at first. Walking around town you often felt like a celebrity from all the people saying hello and wanting to take pictures with you. At first this is a lot of fun, but after a while it can get a little annoying, just wanting to sit and eat your food without being bothered. The experience in Lingxi was definitely an amazing one though, that taught me a lot.
After teaching in Lingxi for a year and a half I decided to go and learn martial arts at a martial arts school down in Fujian province. This was probably one of the best experiences of my life, living up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere learning Shaolin Kung Fu. Unfortunately after 3 months I had an injury and was forced to cut my stay short. After that I moved to Hangzhou and taught at my second DD Dragon school. After spending most of my time in China living in smaller towns Hangzhou was a breath of fresh air. While it is definitely still a very Chinese experience, it has a lot of western amenities to make the stay much more comfortable. There are some products that are difficult to find, the city has several "foreign" supermarkets that are great for finding what you need. One of the definite improvements over the other small towns I lived in was the expat community. There is a large community of foreigners from all over the world that is welcoming and very friendly. Teaching at the DD Dragon was a great experience. I didn't have any experience teaching before going to China, but the teaching style of DD Dragon is great and easy to learn. At first it is a little nerve wracking being put in front of a class full of kids, but once you get to know your classes and your students get to know you it becomes a lot of fun. The other teachers at Hangzhou DD Dragon are also always willing to help and trade game ideas, so getting started you always have good experienced people to ask for help. The teaching style is made to be fun and engaging for the kids, with lots of games and playing around. All in all I greatly recommend Hangzhou DD Dragon as a place to teach. Whether you are new to China and want to learn how to become a great teacher, or you already have experience in China, Hangzhou DD Dragon is a great place to live and work. |