Hi, I am Paul Nunan and I came to China in 2003 and have worked here ever since. I first travelled to Asia in 1979 for nearly 2 years and have since that adventure felt a connection to Asia. In 2003 it was the right time in my life to try another lifestyle as the youngest of my children was 20 and living away from home and working. I decided on China as I had always enjoyed staying with Chinese in other Asian places like Singapore and Malaysia. Teaching children English has been very rewarding and I especially like teaching kindergarten children.

I started work for JESIE in 2005 and have worked for JESIE ever since. I have been able to work in different cities and have always felt fairly treated and have developed a good working relationship with people at all levels of JESIE. For any new teachers I would highly recommend to work for JESIE as they have worked with foreign teachers for a long time and give you opportunity to work in Public Schools. Also their staff speak excellent English and can help you with daily life in China. They also will orientate you to teaching requirements when teaching in China and help you with improving your teaching techniques. They also are so important as a liaison with your school where you are teaching.

China offers the chance to visit a totally different culture and get to know the Chinese people. I have married in China and have a big Chinese family whose hospitality has been overwhelming and I am lucky to have experienced Chinese lifestyle. Chinese have become my friends and I have shared with them all things that have happened to me here and will always be in some way very much strongly influenced by them.

To anybody looking to come to China I would strongly recommend working in the Public school system, try and learn some language, and get out and travel this country. I am lucky to have stayed in over one hundred places in China attended family weddings, birthdays, funerals and  other events and learnt to speak some Chinese and I feel younger, healthier and am wealthier. Now I have the enviable task of returning this hospitality to my Chinese friends and family on my return to Australia.