Read as much book as you can and watch as many movies as you want on china but nothing and I mean nothing prepares you for the middle kingdom. Trekking nearly 5,000 miles across the world to teach English sounded crazy at first but I decided to do it. So off I went to china in the middle of august. 

As soon as I got off the plane the smell and heat hit me as well as the lack of English speakers or signs anywhere, but it was really fun trying to find a taxi to get to my hotel.

I have now been in China for over six months and I can honestly say that I have adjusted to the vastly different culture. When I first got here I found myself comparing everything to back home in England. This resulted in me always being disappointed.

Everything is so different; from the way of life, eating habits, social etiquette and many other things, sometimes it even felts like a whole different world completely. My main hang up was personal space. This took a while to get used to as well as the staring. I sometimes joked that it is like being famous without money.

I really do love china. It is truly a great country with an amazing culture and traditions. The people are friendly and helpful and many will go to extraordinary lengths to make your stay in china as easy as possible. My school personally went above and beyond in helping me with any problems or any difficult situation I was in.

One of my favorite things about being in China is that I never know what's going to happen next. To say that it is the land of randomness would be an understatement. My motto for being here is Expect the unexpected.  The way things work one day could easily change the next. It’s all part of the china experience and adventure.

Teaching has been great as well. The students will love you. They really do appreciate foreign teachers. I remember being very nervous before my first class and as soon as I walked into the classroom the students started clapping and cheering like I was a rock star or a famous person.

From then on I never worried about any classes. Sure you will come across difficult classes but I found that as long as the lessons were interesting then those students will give you their attention. Another tip that helped was dividing the class in half and getting the student to compete against each other. This meant they spend their energy try to win whatever game you set and not causing trouble. Winning is everything here.

All in all it has been a fantastic experience. There have been ups and downs but that’s china for you. I wouldn’t want it any other way. To come to china I think you need to have an open mind, be very flexible and patience. These things will make life easier and help overcome any lonely or frustrating situation. 

Gabriel Adedipe

I would like to thank Lany for all the help she has given me before I came to china and while I have been here. I am also thankful for amazing school she placed me in. It’s nice to know that if I have any problem she is just one phone call or Skype message away.

Xie xie ni

N.B Lany is the Project Coordinator for the Lanhu Cultural Exchange Centre i.e. the person on the ground taking care of teachers that apply through SojournEast

Huaihua (Chinese: 怀化) seated in the western part of Hunan Province, is adjacent to Shaoyang to the east, Guangxi Province to the south, Guizhou to the southwest, Xiangxi to the north.

The city is a railway transportation hub in Hunan Province. The Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway, the Xiangqian Railway (which leads from Hunan to Guizhou) and the Chongqing-Huaihua Railway connects the city with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and other major cities throughout China.

Huaihua hosts diverse activities, such as cultural festivals, to boost the city's tourism industry. In 2010, nearly 10.98 million tourists visited Huaihua, which brought over RMB 7.03 billion in tourism income to the city, up 49.9% year on year.

Dong Culture is well-preserved in Huaihua. The Dong, an ethnic minority group in China, have their own customs, folk arts and dishes, which are quite different from those of the Han Culture.

Huaihua also has many delicious local dishes. Zhijiang Braised Duck, Xinhuang Braised Beef and Fried Dumplings are the favorite local dishes in Huaihua.

Hongjiang Ancient Commercial Town is located in Hongjiang District of Huaihua City. It was first constructed during the Tang Dynasty and was booming during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the only well-preserved commercial town of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China. It comprises 10 mansions, 18 newspaper offices, 23 financial institutions and nearly 48 platforms for Chinese traditional opera.

Xiangtan (Chinese: 湘潭) is a city in China's Hunan Province that is located on the lower reaches of Xiang river.

The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Peng Dehuai are in the Xiangtan Municipal District, as well as the hometowns of Qing Dynasty painter Qi Baishi and scholar-general Zeng Guofan.

It has 2,748,552 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,779,960 live in the built up area' (2 urban districts plus Xiangtan county).

Xiangtan is famous for its production of Lotus seed and Soy sauce. People in Xiangtan like to chew areca nut (Chinese: 槟榔; pinyin: Bīnláng), though the area itself doesn't grow them.

Xiangtan is well connected by roads, river and rail. There is shuttle bus connecting Changsha Huanghua International Airport.

Many people continue to visit Shaoshan, Xiangtan to visit the birthplace of Mao Zedong, the former chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949-1971.

Minbo Wang
Country Representative

The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Chinese: 湖南张家界国家森林公园) is a unique national forest park located in Zhangjiajie City.

In 1982 it was recognized as China's first national forest park and is part of the much larger Wulingyuan Scenic Area. In 1992, Wulingyuan was officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in 2004 it was listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

The most notable geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen throughout the park. Much of the erosion which forms these pillars are the result of expanding ice in the winter and the plants which grow on them. These formations are a distinct hallmark of Chinese landscape, and can be found in many ancient Chinese paintings.

Zhuzhou (Chinese: 株洲;) is a city in Hunan Province.

It is approximately 1-hour drive southeast of the provincial capital of Changsha and only 30 minutes to drive to the airport by the Changsha-Zhuzhou Highway.

It is the second largest city in Hunan Province, and it's an industrial city with four key industries are metallurgy, machine manufacture, chemicals and building materials.

Zhuzhou is also a very important transportation junction in South China. The Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway and the Hunan-Guizhou Railway meet here.

It has an approximate urban population of 800,000, which makes it similar in size, in terms of population, to San Francisco (USA), Newcastle (Australia), and Glasgow (UK).

Here there are lots of challenges we have to face every day as well; the biggest one would be the size of each class. On average there are 50 students in each class at an ordinary middle school in China, so sometimes the order and discipline can be a big issue. But it really depends on the class, if you let the kids bug you then they will keep giving you a hard time and be loud and naughty.

In that case you need to get in touch with their class tutor or invent an effective form of punishment yourself. On the whole, however, as long as you keep your class interesting and engaging, they will adore you, enjoy your class, and appreciate your effort, all of which will make it the most rewarding job ever. At the university it’s a little similar; you teach smaller groups (30-40 students per class), students are much more engaging and always eager to participate in a discussion and always interested in any topic you would bring up in the class.

 If you’re worried about the lack of freedom and internet restrictions you can relax now. Even though Facebook is blocked, you can always access it through a VPN (you need to pay though), or through a special Proxy program that is entirely free of charge but functions only while browsing in China. Before you come here, make sure you’ll download the newest Freegate. I’m currently using FreeU 2.3 Edition A that connects me through California and I have unlimited access to Facebook, YouTube, BBC, CNN and any other service which is normally blocked for ordinary Chinese citizens.

And if you’re thinking about stacking up in DVDs you don’t have to bother. They have a massive high-definition network TV called PPTV that is absolutely free, and if you don’t mind Chinese subtitles at the bottom of your screen, then you can watch any season of just about any American TV series you can think of! Skype also works generally fine, the connection is generally strong enough to have a video conference with your family in Britain.

Just to give you a rough idea about how much you can spend every month on food: when you’re cooking by yourself then an average meat eater would spend not more than £200-250 a month, if you’re vegetarian then the costs will drop to £100-150. If you eat out then I guess it depends on where and what you want to eat. 

The local version of McDonalds sells chicken burgers that are so big you won’t eat more than 3 at a time and pay £0.50 for each, a big bowl of tortellini (big dumplings with only meat inside) will cost you £0.35 and a huge bowl only £0.55 (but it’s big enough for two!). There are always some nice, modern and clean restaurants as well in the area, which would generally charge £1 for a 3 or 4 course meal.

When you travel then your expenditure obviously changes significantly depending on what kind of transport and accommodation you choose. Generally it’s easy to find Couch Surfing friends with nice, clean and safe apartments all over China. They are very enthusiastic and happy to invite and host English speakers from all over the world, nowadays it’s even common to stay for free at private English language schools where in exchange for their hospitality, bed/private room, free dinner and beer you’d be expected to hang out 2 hours in the evening with the students. 

We did that as well and it was fantastic! Couch Surfing is actually the best way to discover the real China because you always get the first hand experience and an honest answer to just about any question you can possibly ask. Chinese are always frank and very straightforward, like to complain about this and that but on the whole they love their country more than anything in the world and like to show you around and tell how proud they are about the beauty of the countryside, the progress, booming economy and the bright future that awaits them.

China is full of surprises just like those I mentioned above. If you’re a brave backpacker, someone curious and eager to learn more about China then this may be your dream job and you can have the time of your life, just like us!

Martin Hubisz
A teacher from Poland that has studied in UK for many years

Of course, it’s not for everyone, but if you are the adventurous individualist, who is looking for a sudden 180degree turn in his or her life, a change in their everyday routine, someone who wants to sign up for an exciting discovery of a completely different world then China is the place you want to go to!

The beginnings are always hard and I won’t tell you that it’s easy for everyone to adjust quickly to the completely new environment. There’s no British food here, you won’t buy any normal ham or a sausage, milk is twice and cheese even 10 times more expensive than back at home, that’s true. But don’t forget that at the local marketplace you can buy vegetables and fruits that you have never seen before, eat dishes your palate has never tasted before and every day live your life to the fullest without being worried about how much it’s going to cost.

That’s I think one of the best things about teaching here, when you work in Hunan province, you’re paid around £450 every month which is almost three times more than what the local Chinese teachers earn. All this money is free of tax and the school provides you with totally free private apartment (no rent, gas or electricity bills), so you’ll really have more money here than you’ll be able to spend! Oh, and if that’s still not enough for you, there are plenty of other students you can teach as well. It’s generally quite easy to get another job at another school or university, or advertise that you want to give private classes in small groups. In this way you will keep yourself busy, make more friends and double your income!

The second greatest thing is the general flexibility and easygoingness about almost any aspect of living and working in China. Every case might me a little different, but generally you can expect to have a lot of freedom to prepare your class plan. Sometimes you should concentrate on revising and practising the material your students covered with their Chinese English teachers, and sometimes you’ll be free to design your classes the way you think is most suitable and best for your students. I and my girlfriend teach at middle school and I have 15 classes (each 45 minutes) every week and she has only 10. That means that we teach 2 or 3 hours every day and then we’re free to spend the rest of the day the way we like it most; hanging out with our Chinese friends!

And that would be the third best aspect about teaching here, the overwhelming friendliness, smiles, hellos, and the fact that everyone wants to be your friend. You go into a bar, they buy you a beer. You walk down the street when it’s rainy, they give you their own umbrella. You order one pizza and you get free wine. J Being a foreigner in China is one of the coolest things on Earth! You can make friends with the speed of light, they will always be eager to hang out with you, travel with you to other cities, and show you the best restaurants and most interesting sightseeing spots. They’ll bargain for you at the shops and assist you when buying more expensive gadgets online (yesterday I bought the newest original Kindle for £50!!!).

The best advice I could ever give you is to make as many friends with the locals as possible - China will keep surprising you with every day of your stay and then every day can bring a new series of unexpected events adventure and will make you fall in love with this country over and over again.

Another best thing in China is the weather. Today we 2 November and I go to school wearing sandals, shorts and my favourite T-shirt. It’s already November and outside it’s still 25 degrees and sunny. And another best thing are the holidays! No matter if you’re teaching at a middle school or university, you’ll get around 50-70 days of paid holidays. That means that when you have Thursday and Friday off, you can catch a high-speed train to Shanghai after your classes on Wednesday, pay £25 for the ticket for a train that goes 150 mph and will cover the 1200 miles in 8 hours, or get another train to Hong Kong for the train that goes 220 mph and be there in 3 hours (600 miles) for £30! And if you want the real Chinese experience then you can travel with the ordinary trains which go 75 mph and charge you £1 for every 70 miles.

China is almost as big as the whole Europe, full of breathtaking places worth visiting. We like it so much that we’re actually thinking about staying here a few more years to keep discovering this amazing country, its language and culture, and most of all, its beautiful people! Every time we travel, we use Couch Surfing, stay together with the locals and hang out together. Last week we were in Guilin and stayed with one of the most enthusiastic Chinese couch surfer we’ve met so far. J There’s more! At her place we made friends with a French couple who are cycling on a tandem bike throughout the entire globe!

Martin Hubisz
A teacher from Poland that has studied in UK for many years