An
Experience With The Buckland Group And China
Hello, my name is Joshua Baynes and I have been teaching
in China with my girlfriend Tara Jonasson for almost
two months. So far, the experience has been great. The
Chinese people are some of the friendliest folks that
you'll ever meet.
Our experience with the Buckland Group began six-months
ago. We had finished our TESOL course in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada with a company called International TESOL. We
had been mailing applications all over the world and
had some good prospects from a few different places.
We were still deciding where to go when we received
our monthly newsletter from International TESOL. One
of the articles in the newsletter highly recommended
an educational group in China called the Buckland Group;
they also happened to be on our list of good prospects.
We immediately started serious correspondence. After
a few letters to and from the Buckland Group we saw
that the recommendation was well deserved. Owen and
Jennifer Buckland both spoke great English and were
always there to answer all of our questions and alleviate
all of our concerns. I loved the fact that I was always
speaking directly to the heads of the company. After
a few weeks of correspondence Tara and I had signed
contracts and were preparing for our trip to China.
When we arrived at the airport in Guilin, China, there
was a person to pick us up and drive us to the hotel
very near the Buckland Group's offices. They took care
of everything and let us have a few days to relax and
sleep off the jetlag. They made the transition as smooth
as I think it possibly could have been.
We spent a total of four days in beautiful Guilin and
then headed for our school in the Sichuan province.
The Buckland's took care of all the travel plans and
hade a person to escort us on the journey, very helpful
since we didn't speak a word of Chinese! We arrived
at PingChang Middle School and were greeted by the school
leaders, English teachers, and two students with huge
bouquets of flowers for us. They were all so kind and
understanding, and let us have a week to settle into
our apartment before we started teaching. All of the
promises that the Buckland group had made were stood
by. The apartment is brand new with all of the things
that we need to live comfortably.
Like I said, the experience has been great so far. Of
course there were some things that we needed to get
used to, but if you're a person who enjoys the differences
of a new place, China is a good place to be. The food
is very tasty, although there are some dishes that you
certainly would not see in North America. It took a
couple of weeks for our stomachs to adjust, but I think
that is something that can be said when traveling to
any new place. The students here are amazingly dedicated
and interested in learning. I feel lazy sometimes because
they go to school for fifteen hours a day, and my longest
day is six! I had many friend that asked me if I was
crazy, "Why are you going to be a teacher",
they said "don't you remember how we were in school?".
I can now officially say that the students here are
nothing like the hell-raisers of many North American
schools. The students here really want to be in school,
and I have not yet to have a problem with disrespectful
students.
Well, to wrap it all up, if you are thinking of coming
to teach in China, I'll tell you now that things are
very different here in many respects. If you are looking
for a change and a challenge this is the place to be,
and the Buckland Group are the people that you want
to deal with.
Sincerely,
Joshua Baynes
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