When I was seventeen years old, I was exhausted. Exhausted from what, you ask? I had just started my first year of university and was constantly being called in to work my casual retail job. Catching a bus to university every day and dealing with stubborn customers doesn’t sound too hard. But when you take into account my laziness and inability to juggle responsibilities, it was a struggle. And I was exhausted.
I found myself searching tours overseas during my lectures; daydreaming about volunteering with marine life; imagining myself teaching English as a second language. My day to day activities included: university, procrastinating university work, and working in my local supermarket. Eventually, I just couldn’t handle the repetitive days anymore. I realised that nobody in my town ever left, and I couldn’t let that happen to me.
So, I asked Google for help. And Google delivered. I discovered a program that would leave me TEFL qualified while including a five month teaching internship in China. They paid for my accommodation, daily meals, and paid a monthly allowance. Best of all, it didn’t require a degree! I was filled with doubts – I had never been overseas before and had never been in control of a classroom. I went to the one person whose advice I knew I could trust: my mum. And she told me: “Aleisha, go for it.”
So, I did. I booked the internship, completed the course online, and hesitantly awaited the day I would be saying goodbye to my family. When that day finally came, I wasn’t as nervous as I should have been. Departing my family in the airport was the saddest part, but then I found myself on that plane and all my worries went away. I met another intern on the plane, and we formed a close friendship. We were just two young Australians seeking adventure in a country whose language we didn’t even know. It was the best decision I ever made.
The first week was spent in Beijing where we were introduced to the culture and ideologies of the culture. We tasted street food, sang karaoke in a hidden KTV bar, explored the gardens of The Forbidden City, ate traditional Chinese meals, drank traditional Chinese tea, and climbed the Great Wall of China. It was an incredible introduction to the country that I would be calling home for the next five months. I met people from England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, America, and Australia. I met some people who were well travelled, and others like me who’d never left their country before. One man was in his forties, other interns were eighteen. I was the youngest. The vast variety of people and unique stories that came with them made the first week even better.
The first week came to an end and we were shipped out to our new homes for five months. I ended up in Dongguan, Guangdong, a lovely city with mountainous horizons and beautiful lakes. My new position would be teaching kindergarten. My new home would be a small but homey apartment on the eighth floor. I had enormous windows overlooking clusters of trees, the city skyline, and the school. I was immediately made to feel at home.
The first few weeks of being a kindergarten teacher were quite frankly, exhausting. Yes, I get tired very easily. But can you imagine singing ‘head, shoulders, knees, and toes,’ every lesson, every day to a class of thirty kindergarteners? No. It is tiring. I felt homesick. What was I doing here? I was so far away from my family, from the comfort of my queen-sized bed, and my simple job. I missed my cat, my dogs, my sisters, my brother, my parents. The first month was definitely the hardest. But the most important people in my life believed in me. They told me I could do it, that I was strong enough to succeed. And sure enough, things started looking up.
I bonded with the school cat, Meow. She had kittens. I connected with my students, realised how much they lit up my day. I felt the grief of a tragedy back home and realised that I can’t spend my life fearing the unknown when my life could be over in an instant. I was so close to quitting during that first month, but I stuck it out and have now made it to two months. Myself and the two other interns in our school have been in a rendition of three little pigs. We’ve immersed the kid’s in Easter celebrations, and we’ve experienced situations I never would have imagined. Every day is a new learning experience. If I hadn’t had the courage to pursue my dreams, I would still be leaning against the walls in parties, praying people won’t notice me.
I left Australia as an inexperienced introvert. I’ve only been gone for two months, but I’ve learnt so much during that time. My confidence has been forced to flourish (having to sing in front of the entire school every day), and I’ve met some incredible people. If anything is holding you back, don’t be afraid to push it aside and hop on that plane. You might just end up having the best time teaching tiny humans English.
