Today is a super exciting day! "Why?", you ask? Because today, after months and months of waiting, I've received my in-China placement!
I’ll be living in Taiyuan (city), Shanxi (province), China for the next 11 months! My placement is at a K-12 private boarding school with over 6,000 students, where I’ll be teaching English to more than 300 elementary grade-level students 6 days/week. It's one of the top private schools in China and has a 99% college acceptance rate, which is especially impressive because the national rate is less than 20%. I'll live in an on-campus apartment that will have modern western amenities, including an actual toilet, which is pretty exciting considering some placements only have a hole in the ground! One of the most exciting aspects, though, is that there’s even a Wal-Mart, McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Dairy Cream nearby (YAY-looks like I won't starve from being picky about food after all)!
Some facts about the Shanxi province: It's located in a mountainous region in northeastern China. It has a continental monsoon climate and there tends to be a bit of flooding during the summer. The population is almost 34 million. The main industry is coal and due to the numerous factories and mining sites, Shanxi is the most polluted province in the entire world. Minus the pollution, Shanxi is actually considered one of the most beautiful provinces in the world! There are numerous Buddhist monasteries and Taoist palaces, and several of the many incredible landmarks are World Heritage Sites. The Great Wall of China forms the northern border of Shanxi with Inner Mongolia. Vinegar is put on almost all food, and the main food staple is noodles (which are apparently delicious).
Several cool tourist attractions that you should Google: Pagoda of Fogong Temple, Hanging Monastery, Yungang Grottoes, Great Wall of China, Jinci Temple, and the Terracotta Army.
Feel free to ask me anything you want to know about where I'll be living for the next year! I don't think I can run out of awesome things to say about it :-)
Feel free to ask me anything you want to know about where I'll be living for the next year! I don't think I can run out of awesome things to say about it :-)
