Do you dream about moving abroad? YEAH THAT'S ME
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. So you’re here because you’re thinking about applying to Ambassador Year in China, or AYC for short (Formerly known as Ameson year in China). You’ve probably heard good things and bad, and are looking for an unbiased opinion on whether or not you should take […]
I never thought it would come: my Ameson Year in China has come to an end. Today I packed all my things and shipped out to Shanghai, where I will embark on a trip to the Zhangjiajie “Avatar Mountains” with a friend, and then I’ll spend two weeks solo-traveling through Taiwan. It’s hard to explain […]
Last Thursday I received a text from Lynn: “(101) 7:55-8:35, (109) 9:40-10:20, (103) 10:30-11:10. The time for class has been changed tomorrow because of the celebrating activity.” “Celebrating activity?” I replied. “Will you meet us at the front gate of the school after class about 11:15 so that we can go to the buffet together.” […]
AYC is having its first annual photo essay and video competitions. Naturally, I entered both, because let’s face it, what else am I going to do with my time? My last post, This is Home, was my photo essay contribution, and the video below is my submission for the video contest. The prizes are a trip […]
I thought I was immune to culture shock. I studied abroad in China for seven months and I speak Chinese almost fluently. I’ve been jostled in China’s largest cities, and stranded in some of China’s smallest towns. I’ve traveled to Tibet and Xinjiang and I’ve eaten fried scorpions in Beijing. One time I accidentally signed […]
In my last post, I talked about my experience giving final exams and grades to almost 1,000 students. I also mentioned that I had to fail 2/900 of my students. This is the story of the student who earned a 14%. I have a student in Senior 2 who can’t speak English. He has been […]
At the end of November, I was informed that I would have to give all nine hundred of my students’ final grades. My immediate thought was: “How the heck am I going to do that?!! I only teach each class once every two weeks and I definitely don’t even have 1/5 of my students’ names […]
Young Chinese women are under immense pressure to have a baby the moment they get married. For many, the pressure comes from the grandparents who are only allowed one grandchild under the One Child Policy. Society also plays a role with constant questions and comparisons. I joke that a few of the English teachers at my […]
This year, the Chinese government gave everyone Wednesday January 1st off for the Western New Year. Since I work at a boarding school, the administration wanted to give the students Thursday and Friday off as well, so that they could go home to their families. But, since I also work at a public school, we’re […]
After my bout of Christmas food poisoning, I started to feel a little better on Monday, so I taught my afternoon classes. While my voice was still pretty much gone, I was at least able to show the first third of Elf, which the students really enjoyed! In the afternoon, I stopped by the office […]
Hi I'm Richelle! I'm the founder of the Freedom Life and I've been living abroad since 2013. For the last eight years, I've been helping hundreds of adventurous people just like you move abroad, and I can't wait to help you get started on this incredible adventure!
