This month we decided to do something a little different for our Teacher Spotlight series and chat to one of our teachers outside of Shanghai. So we got in touch with Nqobile who has been a kindergarten teacher for Kid Castle for two years in Xi'an.
She's from South Africa and has been teaching at our Bolangfang branch. We're excited to share what her experience has been like teaching in our kindergartens and living in another part of China!

Why did you want to teach in China?
My first career plan was to work for a multinational company in South Africa to obtain work experience then resign later in my 30s and teach English abroad. But things didn’t go according to my plan. I faced unemployment in 2017 after obtaining my Honours Degree. As a result, I decided to cancel my first career plan and teach English abroad in 2018 instead of waiting for a corporate job opportunity. I chose China because of the low cost of living and the job, as well as the visa application process which was simple and
easy for me to manage to do everything on my own.

What do you love most about living in China?
Living in a free apartment. My school pays my rent.
Being able to cycle to work, to the gym and the supermarket. It’s convenient.
Access to higher quality of life. I can afford things I couldn’t afford before moving here.
Safety. I moved to China alone on my first year and I felt safe living alone in a small city that had a few foreigners.

What is your go to game in class?
Rock Paper Scissors. My students always get excited to play this game. My classes are 25 minutes long and I don’t always have enough time to play games I planned for the lessons, so this is my favorite go to game when I’m running out of time.

What is your favourite age group to teach? And do you have a favourite teaching moment that you'd like to share?

I work in Kindergarten and my favorite group are the senior students (5-6 years). I have 5 senior classes.
My favorite teaching moment with them is when they greet me with hugs and tell me they love me. Another cute moment I’ll cherish forever is when they sang for me on my birthday last month.

A word of advice for new teachers moving to China:
To those who are considering moving to China, I’d advise them to seize the opportunity. It’s fulfilling. And to those who recently moved to China, remember if you you fail to plan you plan to fail. Always do lesson plans and include different activities because students sometimes get bored so it’s important to
have plan B.
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If you'd like to be featured in our Teacher Spotlight series or would like to nominate someone you work with let us know!