Returning to China (Part 1)

It is hard to pinpoint when it was exactly that I decided to return to Beijing and China, but I think the seed was sown during a night out with friends. I was stood at the bar with a couple of people chatting about how all my close friends in Beijing had decided to sign on for another semester or two at their schools.

For me, I thought of home, family, friends and my pet cat! There was never a question of not wanting to stay, I was happy living and working here. In fact, I think that I enjoy my work in the classroom more than any job I have previously held. I just wondered whether I could be away from my loved ones for another whole semester, as it turned out I wouldn't be away from my family for one semester at all...

After a dreaded Skype conversation with my mum and then my dad, to my surprise both were quite supportive of my idea of possibly staying, I felt more confident about signing on for another semester with the same school. I could have found a different school to work at and earned a lot more money, but I was happy to take a measly 200% pay rise working for the same company and possibly teaching the same students.

So after a lot of consideration, I decided to bite the bullet and asked my boss about the possibility of staying, she seemed pleased to hear that I was keen to remain at the school. However, I would not be offered a contract for one semester but two. This meant that I would be in China until June 2013 instead of January 2013 (as I was expecting), I had only just convinced myself that I could survive one more term, how could I manage two? I decided not to think about that and worry about it when January came, and with that I signed on the dotted line.

I already had my return flight booked, so in early July (3 weeks after I had finished teaching) I returned to England. I had little money and two months to save enough to fly back! It was a struggle, I did the odd bit of work for my friend but as the September approached, I knew the chances of returning to China seemed highly unlikely. My mum had an idea, which my little sister and dad also seemed to support - each of them gave me my birthday and Christmas gifts in the form of money, which combined with the little I had managed to save, would be enough to book my flight back to Beijing. And with about 10 days left until the date I was required to be back, I booked with Swiss International Air Lines.

Leaving my family this time was a lot harder than back in January, the goodbyes being the most emotional I have ever experienced. As hard as it was to say goodbye, I just want my family to know I am very happy to be back in China, and without their help and support, it wouldn't have been possible. I owe them a lot, and my debt to them will be repaid as soon as my adventure over here comes to an end.

Posing 'China style' outside Beverley Minster during my summer holiday

However, as you have guessed by the '(part 1)' suffixed to the title, this was only half the story and although I had done enough to get myself back to China, there would be a new challenge awaiting me, getting back into the classroom...