My Day-to-Day Life

I've been told several times that I need to be writing down the unique things that happen to me while living in Beijing, but I'm not one for keeping a diary or journal... so you get my spastic posts here!

​Here is a little taste of my life teaching at an international boarding school (it kinda feels like Hogwarts sometimes... we even have four houses that compete for points!). 

The first thing you need to accept if you move to Beijing is that the hallways of the apartments are all sketchy looking... all of them. 

That doesn't mean they are sketchy, they just aren't as well maintained as the inside of the apartments!

This is the staircase of my apartment with a Paw Patrol (I think) balloon ominously sitting there. 

​I just don't ask questions about it, to be honest. 

The one thing I always get asked is "how's the food?"

The answer: either amazing or awful... in my experience, there is no in between here. 

Once a week, I play Dungeons & Dragons with an eccentric group of foreigners and this picture shows our usual order: Jiaozi (we call them dumplings), some shredded potato dish that is the closest to hash browns that I've found in China, a sticky version of the sweet-and-sour pork (WAY sweeter than in America!), and assorted drinks... I always get a latte because I can actually say it in Chinese (Ná tiě).

This group is pretty diverse: we have an Englishman, a Frenchman, an Australian, a Kivi and me... the American. We had a Canadian in the group before he moved and almost had a Mexican join but he couldn't make the timeframe. 

However, most of my time is spent working and teaching at the school. I teach art to all levels (grades 7-12), digital art and multimedia. I'm usually very tired after my work week but that doesn't make me enjoy it any less. The students at an international school are generally more mature than my experience in America just because of the cultural differences. 

Not to say American students are immature, it is just that I've found that the Chinese and Korean cultures (which make up the bulk of my students demographics) press for a high level of respect of teachers. 

Many of my students bow to me in greeting and in saying goodbye. If there is a crowd, they generally make space for teachers to pass and even the students I don't know greet me when passing in the hallway. 

That isn't to say that my students can't be silly or joke around with me! Just last week, several students who study in my classroom took sneaky selfies with my phone and when  I found out... they asked for a group selfie!

​Just in this group selfie, we have China, Thailand, Mongolia, Brazil, Nigeria and America represented! 

Overall, my students in all my classes are really fantastic are uniquely their own individual! These teenagers are going to do some absolutely incredible things in the world and it is really an honor to have made an impact on their lives.