Volunteer Stories  |  Mark

Being a teacher in China - a rewarding job, in a great country with a tremendous culture. This was like a dream becoming true for me. It was really exciting and challenging. I chose the Yangtze High School, because I thought it was important to teach students who were already able to speak English, in comparison to for instance the Kindergarten children. This facilitates the way of teaching and increases the enjoyment for me. During the week I stayed on Chong Min Island, in a well-accommodated house, and then I lived in Shanghai during the weekends.

During the English corner I had many personal conversations with the students. This was a unique experience for me to get more insight into the Chinese culture and mentality of these people. I love the Chinese students, they are extremely motivated to achieve good results. Moreover, at the Yangtze school they treat you like a superstar! They really appreciate your help, it is exciting for them that a foreigner has visited their school, and they will do the utmost to help you in order to have a great time! I would definitely recommend this school.

In addition, next to the life as a volunteer I also had the opportunity of just being a tourist and doing some interesting sightseeing. I had a great time with the other volunteers, in particular during the weekends. It’s a lot of fun to meet so many new people with so many different nationalities. And of course, living in a metropolitan city as Shanghai is also fantastic! I also visited Beijing to get a better overview of the Chinese cultural highlights.

At last, Travel to Teach and their partner organization XuBo organized everything perfectly! For example the accommodation, the introduction courses, city-tour and even Mandarin lessons. I really appreciate their help and the fact that they enabled me to have this incredibly nice experience!!