Hear from Our Teacher in Ningbo – Nadia

I chose China as a teaching destination because of the competitive salary offers and the possibility of living a comfortable lifestyle while teaching Chinese kids and teens a valuable skill – the ability to speak, read, write and understand English.

I had a very smooth experience with On the Mark Education Consulting. They regularly checked up with both me and the school and made sure everything was being done according to the correct procedures. They supplied me with good choices of schools and answered any questions I had at the time.

The visa process, including the notarization of documents took a bit longer than I would have liked, but the school in Ningbo did try their best to assist me and explain the whole process to me and to simplify the paperwork for me. All in all, it took me about 6 weeks to finalize my documents and have my visa in hand.

I used a local travel agency to book my ticket to China after researching on the web the best prices I could find and took them to the agency to see if they could match the same price.

I would say the fact that the language barrier is bigger than I thought it would be, but the locals always try to shout some random English phrases my way when they see me or take photos with me in the middle of the supermarket while I’m doing grocery shopping.

A Chinese friend and I went to go grab lunch in the food court below our offices. One member of the cleaning staff, an elderly Chinese man.

• The diverse staff – they all make you feel at home very quickly and help you adjust to expat life.
• The caring, fun-loving Director of Studies – having a DoS that understands your situation alleviates a lot of stress and worry.
• The Mentorship-program – a senior teacher mentoring you and training you is worth gold!

• More medicine (I did bring some, but it’s literally a MUST.) The Chinese folks believe hot water to be a cure for just about everything. Hot water sometimes just won’t make the cut.
• The origins of the various members of staff – I think I would have been better prepared and less ignorant if I knew of all the different nationalities that work at my current school.
• More black pants and good tennis shoes – I’ve never walked this much before and my feet really suffered the first while. Bring one pair of white pants for special occasions. Black pants will be your best friend!