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Gap Year Teaching - Gap-Year-China - Africa and Asia Venture

Gap Year Teaching

Where?

University and schools in Emei. Emei is 96 kilometres southwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and lies at the eastern edge of the mountains that form the Tibetan plateau. It is cooler, less arid and with fewer temperature extremes than Beijing, Shanghai and the eastern cities. Some of the scenery is stunning.
Chengdu is the home of Taoism, whilst Mount Emeishan is one of 4 mountains of deep significance to Chinese Buddhists and also important to Martial Arts enthusiasts.

Emei is one of China’s new towns. With a population of around 300,000 it is quite small by Chinese standards, but it contains a university campus and a number of schools. The people are very friendly and you will be made welcome with a beaming smile!

There are bars and clubs (but burnish your karaoke skills!). Furthermore, Sichuanese food has a world class reputation.

Outline Experience

What and Why?

Emei Campus (7000 students) is part of South West Jiaotang University, largely based in Chengdu. Emei has a Foreign Language (mostly English) department in which you would assist teachers by providing structured practical lessons. In addition, you will run informal conversation lessons, which could be attended by students from other disciplines with a need for English (e.g. tourism and hospitality). This is an easy route to making lots of friends and, since most will be living among the university accommodation, you should be able to make a pretty busy social life.

Schools vary from the 200-pupil Huang Wan (Clear Waters) School to the 3000-pupil No 2 Middle School. The bigger schools are modern, large, medium rise and have excellent athletics facilities. All schools have classes of around 50, often split for English lessons to 25. Classrooms are good but basic, with chalk and blackboard, though there are some ICT classrooms in the university. There are remnants of Maoism in the architecture but overall the welcome smiles are huge and there seemed more attention paid to Buddhism than to politics!

Gap Year Living

You will live on the university campus in modern flats, 6 – 8 in a flat, with kitchen, bathroom and sitting room; or, near the flat, in single rooms with kitchenette and bathroom attached, and 2 or more on the same floor. All accommodation is among the Chinese students, so you are unlikely to lack friends! Dress is western, but few students have much money to spend so you may drink more tea (Chinese, green) than beer (9% vol) or spirits (but beware the formal toast!) There are plenty of restaurants, a university canteen, and a university hotel. Public transport is good.

Gap Year Travel

Some of the most amazing sights in the world are in China. Locally, the summit of Mount Emeishan, renowned for its beauty, is a 2-day trek. You can get close by car/bus and even be carried up! You can also trek in the approaches to Tibet, an area of amazing natural beauty and explored by very few. There are Red Pandas on Mt Emeishan and Giant Pandas close to Chengdu.

Further afield, there is the Great Wall, and of course The Terracotta Warriors at Xiang. We think you might fancy a trip on the new railway to Lhasa where oxygen is available when you cross the higher passes. Or perhaps the Yellow River and Chunking? Then, of course, 2008 is Olympic year in Beijing, when Chinese speakers will be in demand. (See www.china.org.cn/english/olympic/210661.htm)

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