Dom Bryan

Weekends have been the main chance to venture away from my school and explore some other parts of the city of Shunyi and Beijing itself.

Myself and Ian, a fellow Brit and English teacher at the same school, have made regular trips into downtown Beijing to see the usual tourist hotspots such as The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Beihai Park, The Silk Market, etc, as well as discovering some of the lesser known parts of the capital.

The silk market is somewhere I regularly have a wander around to see what new clothes, gadgets, etc are on sale. A visit to the market is always an experience with plenty of bargains to be had if you like haggling. Do be aware though that you get what you pay for so don’t expect things you buy there to last years.

I am a keen sportsman and I regularly visit the local sports centre where I play badminton and work out in the gym. Apart from losing some excess weight and the obvious health benefits, I have made some good friends which have enabled me to learn more about my local surroundings and visit some places which I may have may never had chance to see.

Coming out to China to teach English is a great experience and very rewarding. As with most things, you will get as much out of your time here as you put into it.

UPDATE
I returned home in June last year a well rounded person, buzzing with energy. The impact that my students, teachers and friends had made was very apparent for all to see and it was not long until I was missing my old life back in China.

The opportunity to teach in a foreign country enabled me to not only realise my passion for teaching but has also enabled me to gain a fantastic job, which I would not have been able to secure without the experience gained through the TEIC Programme.

I hope to return to Shunyi in the near future and would like to thank the TEIC team for their support during this exciting period.

In addition, if anyone considering joining the programme or is currently teaching in China, has any questions, then please do not hesitate to contact me:- d_e_bryan@hotmail.co.uk