For anyone interested in coming from abroad to teach ESL in Shanghai it’s important to keep in mind that things are often going to be extremely overwhelming at times…especially at the beginning. For this reason I cannot stress the importance enough of making friends with locals at your school: not only because it will make your experience more enriching and provide you with more of an insider’s perspective but also because you need help sometimes. If you’re anything like me(meaning that sometimes ridiculous situations just pop up out of nowhere and you have to navigate through them as best you can like an unsuspecting character in a video game) then there will be times when you find yourself running around the city wiping tears from eyes and asking “why!??” Sophie’s blog,http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/blogs/blog/category/aaaahhhhchinamoments/  is also a great resource for such moments. In the beginning of your time in Shanghai as an ESL teacher be prepared to buy your local friends tons of chocolate and don’t hesitate to implode expat help hotlines such as the Shanghai Helpline(24 hrs):962288. I would also highly suggest sitting down with someone who speaks Chinese and practicing how to say addresses that you often need(home, work) until you’ve perfected them.

A few days after arriving in Shanghai I had one of the most traumatizing experiences that I’ve had since I’ve been in Shanghai. I was covering a sick teacher’s class in the late morning so I set out two hours early to get a decent start to my day. It takes about 25 minutes to get to my school from my apartment by taxi. I figured that I would allow myself  to have a good, leisurely morning: I was looking cute that day, I was going to stroll in with a cup of coffee and a pastry and do some lesson planning. I gave the taxi driver the directions to my school in Chinese and he also had a GPS. We’re all set. Let’s roll. 30 minutes later it was quite apparent that this guy was not familiar with the area. He was going these crazy ways that I wasn’t familiar with. After being in the taxi for 1 hour he pulled the taxi over into a bus lane and asked pedestrians for directions.  I started to freak out and called every Chinese person I knew but I couldn’t get through to anyone. He proceeded to get out of the taxi two other times to flag people down and ask for directions. At one point he stopped a guy on a bicycle. I finally got through to my best local friend;  my ‘go-to friend’ whenever I’m having problems with people who don’t speak English…but she couldn’t even communicate with him. He had absolutely no idea where he was. At this point I needed to be at work in 20 minutes( I’d been in the taxi for nearly 1 1/2 hours) and I was in the middle of nowhere.  I knocked on the taxi driver’s window and directed him to pull over. I got out of the taxi crying and he chased after me saying something in Chinese but I continued walking. I finally flagged down another taxi and pulled up to work with 5 minutes to spare. It was an epic morning, but I figure that it had to happen at some point.

I would ideally like to spend my time before work maybe exercising or catching up on podcasts while enjoying a good cup of joe. Spending two hours in a taxi and running into work crying is usually not how I like to begin my day. No one is especially to blame in such situations, but it’s important to remember that you’re not alone. You are not the first expat  that this has ever happened to and you won’t be the last. There is no point in forming generalized negative statements after traumatizing situations; you must simply add it to a reservoir of memorable situations and learn from your mistakes. I’m a firm believer that a positive outlook and a willingess to accept that things won’t always be ideal is the best way to leave an experience a stronger and wiser individual.

Getting children to eat healthy can sometimes be a challenge; it’s difficult explaining to a four-year-old the importance of eating proper nutrients at such a critical time in their development. As an ESL teacher it’s helpful to include healthy foods vocabulary to reinforce the usage of English in real life. A creative way to do that is to incorporate healthy food into another unit that is being taught. For example, bugs! Now, as a vegetarian I want to make it clear that I do not condone the mastication of these little critters, but if you’re able to make a replica of a bug using vegetables and bread, I see no harm. There are many variations to creating a butterfly sandwich, but my favorite one involves celery, bread and bananas. Yum! I suggest reviewing animal vocabulary(specifically bugs) prior to creating the sandwich.

For one butterfly you will need:

1. 4 slices of bread

2. celery

3. half of an apple

4. half of a banana

5. sliced carrots

6. knife

7. plate

What you need to do:

Slice the apples and bananas into small slices. Begin the lesson by suggesting the importance of eating fruits and vegetables because it will keep you healthy and happy. Review different foods and ask students what foods they think are healthy or unhealthy. Ask students what they like to eat after school and explain to them that they’re going to make a healthy snack to eat after school. Teach the word ‘butterfly’ to students and discuss other vocabulary on body parts such as body, wings, head and antennas. Cut each slice of bread into the shape of a wing. Cut a piece of celery in half and put it into the center of the wings as a body. Place one small slice of apple and banana on each wing to add color to the butterfly. Place two of the thin sliced carrots at the head of the celery as antennas. Take a picture of your masterpiece and then enjoy!

(variation on the butterfly sandwich I described above)