Matthew Van Orden

As an English teacher working for JESIE, I live quite an interesting and somewhat relaxed life in Nanjing, China.  I have worked for JESIE for almost two full years now.  Last year I worked in two primary schools and taught three VIP tutoring classes on JESIEs campus.  In one primary school I taught four 1st and four 2nd grade classes, in the other school I taught five 5th grade classes.  The three VIP classes at JESIE last year were: a group of three 3rd graders, a group of four 5-6 year olds (mixed grades), and a one on one class with a third grade boy who had lived in America for one full year and was fluent in English.  At that time, I was living on JESIEs campus right across the street from Nanjing University and around the block from Nanjing Normal University. This area is the heart of the foreigner area of Nanjing and a great place to spend your first year.  This article, however, will focus on my daily life now as my situation is different and in many ways better than last year.

After traveling for two months in the summer of 2015, I returned to Nanjing to begin my 2nd year.  I had just spend the summer in Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia and was thoroughly exhausted from the hiking and many interesting and exhilarating experiences. I would no longer be working at the two primary schools from the previous year as one of my colleagues would be taking over in my place. I instead would be replacing another colleague who was returning to Canada. The job I would be taking in his place was at a middle school teaching 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. This middle school is in another part of the city and they actually have their own off campus apartment that they like their teacher to live in.  It is about a 25 minute walk from the school or 10 minute bike ride.  I was hesitant at first to change location because I really liked living at JESIE in the foreigner area.  However, once I thought about it I decided that maybe it was a good idea to change scenery and try living in a new place.

My schedule at my middle school is pretty easy actually.  I work two classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and four classes on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday I have class at 7:40 am which means I need to get up early, but since on Tuesday and Thursday I only have two classes I am done for the day at 9:40 am. Wednesday I am finished at the school at 11:30 am and then I have one VIP class at JESIEs campus with the third grade boy from last year (he is now in 4th grade) and another 4th grade girl who also lived in America for a full year and is fluent in English. On Mondays and Fridays my two classes dont begin until 2:10 pm which means I can sleep in if I choose to.  Because my schedule is not exactly the same on any two days besides Tuesday and Friday I cannot really describe a typical day here, so I will just describe a typical Friday. 

On Fridays I wake up around 6:25 am and take a warm shower. After getting dressed at my own pace I depart from my apartment at around 7:00 am for my 25 minute walk to school. I could, and probably will, get a bicycle soon, but I honestly dont mind the walk although it takes longer. On my way to work there are about 25 options for breakfast including McDonalds if I am feeling like it is a McDonalds morning (you all know what I mean get that smirk off your face).  I usually opt for some baozi (stuffed steamed buns) with either pork or vegetables inside. I will normally just get two which, depending on which place I go, will cost me between 2 RMB and 2.6 RMB (30 cents to 40 cents USD).  I also sometimes get some dumpling soup, yogurt, or some breakfast wrap with egg, vegetables, meat, sauce and crunchy bread inside.  Everything is really delicious and I have never had any stomach issues after breakfast. There are also probably 15 fruit stands on the way to work so I can pick up a few bananas if the craving strikes. I usually need some coffee to wake me up and get me ready to teach, so I will either buy some coffee from a convenience store (not as tasty as convenience store coffee in South Korea where I lived prior to China) or I get Mcdonalds coffee which always hits the spot. I'm talking about McCafe, not the behind the counter McDonalds coffee.  Thats really gross.

I normally arrive at the school about 15 minutes early to prepare myself for my class. On Fridays I teach two 7th grade classes of about 40 students each.  I am the 7th graders first foreign teacher and they are very excited to have me in class. Their English speaking level is pretty low overall, but they can read and write in English and most importantly are excited about my class. Sometimes they even clap when I enter the room which is an awesome experience. The other two grades are older and more stressed because of upcoming exams, but are still happy to have my class. I teach all the classes an adapted novel series which is in English with the Chinese translation on the opposite page. I also play a lot of games with the class to try and get them to speak and practice the vocabulary their Chinese English teachers are teaching them.  They will need to know those words for some important exams at the end of 9th grade, so it is very important for them to learn these words well.  On Fridays I teach both of my classes and Im finished by 9:40 am with my whole day free to spend it as I wish.

After I finish work, I will either walk or take a taxi to my gym to get some much needed exercise. The gym is really new and modern. The workers there are very friendly, and a few can even speak some simple English. I find this a great opportunity to practice my Chinese and I have made friends with a few of the trainers there. 

After the gym I go for a run around the neighborhood on my way back to my apartment. If I run directly home it is only about 10 minutes, but I like to explore the streets of this district because they are all new and have wonderful sidewalks to run on. This district was all built around the Olympic stadium which was used for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games held in Nanjing in August 2014. Running in this area is much easier than trying to run downtown where there is a ton of traffic and more scooters and motorbikes than any normal person would want to compete for the space while trying to get a good workout.

After I arrive back on my road I have about 15 options when it comes to places to eat lunch.  All of the restaurants are family owned and operated and the food is delicious.  It does take some practice reading Chinese characters to order food in most of the places, but there are 2 or 3 that have pictures in the menu or on the walls.  I really love to eat in these restaurants, but sometimes I take the food to go because I just want to relax in my room while I recover from my run.  There are also several convenience stores around my apartment where I can purchase all the things I need to survive on a day to day basis.  In the same building as my gym there is a supermarket which has all sorts of imported products, foreign foods, and higher quality products for the wealthy population living in this district. There is also a Starbucks in that building as well which I go to every once in a while.  Across the street from my middle school is also an upscale mall with nice restaurants, foreign brand clothing stores, a Walmart, an Apple Store, a Starbucks and many other modern places.

At 2:00 pm every Friday I head to my Chinese teachers apartment for class which is located downtown.  I can walk to the subway station near my apartment in about 15 minutes and ride 6 stops to the main subway station downtown called Xinjiekou. After I transfer to another line I just need to ride one more stop and get off the subway. The total cost for the journey is 2 RMB (30 cents USD) and then walk 200 meters and I am at her door. My Chinese class is one-on-one and extremely helpful.  Because of her class I can read upwards of 700 Chinese Characters and can understand more than 1,000 Characters.  I can also speak and communicate throughout my day with out too many problems. I can see real progress in my Chinese month to month which is really satisfying. 

After my Chinese class I will either meet up with friends, go to a local bar, walk around the city, take photos, or help friends with their English. There is a large foreigner community of English teachers, other professionals, and foreign students from all over the world. There are many bars and places where we meet to hang out and enjoy our Friday night. There are always Chinese people hanging out with these groups and it is a great way to network and meet new people. Sometimes I meet up with Chinese coworkers or friends to drink coffee or tea.