Thanks everyone for all your best wishes!
Set off from Darlo after a very stressful week, culminating in Rachel having a root filling and Craig finally finishing his jobs list to find that the house insurance needed renewing at 3pm the day before leaving!?! But by 7pm it was done!
Travelled to Brussels via St Pancras where we lunched with our mate Josie and then spent Friday around a very wet and windy Brussels in gale force winds. Highlight of Brussels-a cold beer in the musical instrument museum. You may laugh! Low-been directed in the opposite direction of our hotel by a taxi driver.
Caught the sleeper train to Berlin at 11.41 to find in the words of the conductor "your carriage is capput." But an hour later we had a bed to sleep on.
Spending tommorow in Berlin before leaving on Monday 3rd at midday for a 6 hour journey to
Warsaw.
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Thanks to all my friends at Corus for a great send off.
Cheers Lads - pride of place - my gold watch !
Here is a brief about the China Teaching Placement:
By the way I have still got a hang over from Thursday! and the Chromed Valve is fantastic.
Cheers Lads.
By the way I have still got a hang over from Thursday! and the Chromed Valve is fantastic.
Cheers Lads.
China – Teach English as a Volunteer
This rewarding programme is a great way for you to discover China, its culture, customs and people. You will be teaching in schools in the province of Hainan, an Island off the South Coast of China. As a participant, you will be working as an English teacher teaching mainly conversational English but there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved with other classes too such as sport, music and art.
China China is a rapidly up and coming nation and few doubt that it will be among the world’s top nations by the middle of the century. This programme is designed to give you an introduction to the Chinese culture, learn a little of the language and the opportunity to teach English to students who are keen to learn - especially from a native English speaker. Your main role will be to teach conversational English.
Programme Location
The programme is on the island of Hainan, in the South China Sea. The island is about 160 miles across. This is a great location for the following reasons:
1. The subtropical / tropical climate. 2. Close to the beach! 3. Friendly locals make visitors very welcome.
Many different aspects of the Chinese culture are present, including the dominant Han culture and that of the ancient hill tribes.
The Teaching Programme
4 week Training and Orientation Programme To help you become a committed and confident teacher, we provide you with a 4-week orientation and training in Hainan. This will involve some teacher training but additionally the chance to learn about the culture, customs, the Chinese language and some excursions.
During the training programme you will be staying at the Haikou University. The programme is broken down into 4 main sections.
Week 1 - The General Introduction
Week 2 - Chinese Culture
Week 3 - Learning How to Teach
Week 4 - The Teaching Practice
The Teaching Placement
Once you have done your training you will be placed at a school. We work with schools all over Hainan. Some of these schools are in the cities and towns and some are based in more rural areas. Your main role is to teach conversational English, so you can be fairly creative and have fun doing this. Current volunteers often use songs and games to aid them in their teaching, which is great fun for you and your students! The students are very keen to learn and enjoy having foreign teachers at the school.
Typical day at school
Below is a typical day at a school for the students:
6:00-6:30 morning exercises
6:30-7:00 breakfast
7:05-7:35 individual reading/class preparation
7:45-8:30 1st period
8:40-9:25 2nd period
9:45-10:30 3rd period
10:40-11:25 4th period
11:25-12:30 lunch break
12:30-14:30 midday rest
14:30-15:15 5th period
15:25-16:10 6th period
16:20-17:05 7th period; usually activities/sports
17:15 - 18:00 Dinner
19:40-20:40 night class 1 (self-study)
21:00-22:00 night class 2 (self study)
You will be expected to teach at least 15 hours per week.
All participants will have at least 2 full days off each week. This will usually be the weekend, but there maybe occasions that this changes due to special activities that may run.
Accommodation & Meals Accommodation during your training During the first 4 weeks you will mainly be at Haikou University. Your food and accommodation is provided for you and your accommodation will either be on the university site or close by. Your accommodation is of a good Chinese standard, although basic by western standards and you will be sharing your accommodation with fellow volunteers. Accommodation during your teaching placement
Your accommodation is provided for you on the school site. You will be staying in the teacher accommodation at the school. You will share a room with another volunteer or volunteers. These are of a good Chinese standard and have all been checked by our staff. All accommodation has plug sockets for you to use. Please note that the accommodation does vary from school to school.
Please note that not all the schools in the area have hot water. However, due to the climate this is not a problem!
Food
All your food is included; you will have this at the school restaurant. Most schools have additional cooking facilities at the accommodation if you wish to use these.
Local Information
Currency: Chinese currency is Renminbi (RMB), this is also called Yuan. At the time of writing the exchange rate is approx 14 yuan to £1.
Internet Access: There is Internet access available at most of the schools. There are also several large internet cafés in the town. For one hour it will cost you approximately two yuan.
Mobile Phones: Your own mobile handset should work in China – however you should check this with your provider. It is cheaper to buy a SIM card when you are there though. Alternatively you
can buy pre-paid cards to phone home. You can buy telephone cards for international phoning; there are often special discounts on offer.
Electrical Current: Electrical current in China is 220-240v. You will need to take an adaptor with you to use electrical appliances. You can get these at the airport prior to departure.
Free Time
A popular option is to go to the beach. You could go to the nearby beach about 20 minutes away. This is approximately seven yuan on the bus. Haikou is the biggest city in Hainan., and so there is a lot to do in the area.
Coconut Village – an interesting place to visit with beautiful beaches.
Sanya – This is on the other side of Hainan and is a popular international destination with great beaches.
This rewarding programme is a great way for you to discover China, its culture, customs and people. You will be teaching in schools in the province of Hainan, an Island off the South Coast of China. As a participant, you will be working as an English teacher teaching mainly conversational English but there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved with other classes too such as sport, music and art.
China China is a rapidly up and coming nation and few doubt that it will be among the world’s top nations by the middle of the century. This programme is designed to give you an introduction to the Chinese culture, learn a little of the language and the opportunity to teach English to students who are keen to learn - especially from a native English speaker. Your main role will be to teach conversational English.
Programme Location
The programme is on the island of Hainan, in the South China Sea. The island is about 160 miles across. This is a great location for the following reasons:
1. The subtropical / tropical climate. 2. Close to the beach! 3. Friendly locals make visitors very welcome.
Many different aspects of the Chinese culture are present, including the dominant Han culture and that of the ancient hill tribes.
The Teaching Programme
4 week Training and Orientation Programme To help you become a committed and confident teacher, we provide you with a 4-week orientation and training in Hainan. This will involve some teacher training but additionally the chance to learn about the culture, customs, the Chinese language and some excursions.
During the training programme you will be staying at the Haikou University. The programme is broken down into 4 main sections.
Week 1 - The General Introduction
Week 2 - Chinese Culture
Week 3 - Learning How to Teach
Week 4 - The Teaching Practice
The Teaching Placement
Once you have done your training you will be placed at a school. We work with schools all over Hainan. Some of these schools are in the cities and towns and some are based in more rural areas. Your main role is to teach conversational English, so you can be fairly creative and have fun doing this. Current volunteers often use songs and games to aid them in their teaching, which is great fun for you and your students! The students are very keen to learn and enjoy having foreign teachers at the school.
Typical day at school
Below is a typical day at a school for the students:
6:00-6:30 morning exercises
6:30-7:00 breakfast
7:05-7:35 individual reading/class preparation
7:45-8:30 1st period
8:40-9:25 2nd period
9:45-10:30 3rd period
10:40-11:25 4th period
11:25-12:30 lunch break
12:30-14:30 midday rest
14:30-15:15 5th period
15:25-16:10 6th period
16:20-17:05 7th period; usually activities/sports
17:15 - 18:00 Dinner
19:40-20:40 night class 1 (self-study)
21:00-22:00 night class 2 (self study)
You will be expected to teach at least 15 hours per week.
All participants will have at least 2 full days off each week. This will usually be the weekend, but there maybe occasions that this changes due to special activities that may run.
Accommodation & Meals Accommodation during your training During the first 4 weeks you will mainly be at Haikou University. Your food and accommodation is provided for you and your accommodation will either be on the university site or close by. Your accommodation is of a good Chinese standard, although basic by western standards and you will be sharing your accommodation with fellow volunteers. Accommodation during your teaching placement
Your accommodation is provided for you on the school site. You will be staying in the teacher accommodation at the school. You will share a room with another volunteer or volunteers. These are of a good Chinese standard and have all been checked by our staff. All accommodation has plug sockets for you to use. Please note that the accommodation does vary from school to school.
Please note that not all the schools in the area have hot water. However, due to the climate this is not a problem!
Food
All your food is included; you will have this at the school restaurant. Most schools have additional cooking facilities at the accommodation if you wish to use these.
Local Information
Currency: Chinese currency is Renminbi (RMB), this is also called Yuan. At the time of writing the exchange rate is approx 14 yuan to £1.
Internet Access: There is Internet access available at most of the schools. There are also several large internet cafés in the town. For one hour it will cost you approximately two yuan.
Mobile Phones: Your own mobile handset should work in China – however you should check this with your provider. It is cheaper to buy a SIM card when you are there though. Alternatively you
can buy pre-paid cards to phone home. You can buy telephone cards for international phoning; there are often special discounts on offer.
Electrical Current: Electrical current in China is 220-240v. You will need to take an adaptor with you to use electrical appliances. You can get these at the airport prior to departure.
Free Time
A popular option is to go to the beach. You could go to the nearby beach about 20 minutes away. This is approximately seven yuan on the bus. Haikou is the biggest city in Hainan., and so there is a lot to do in the area.
Coconut Village – an interesting place to visit with beautiful beaches.
Sanya – This is on the other side of Hainan and is a popular international destination with great beaches.
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