The pre-departure training was extremely useful.
I particularly enjoyed the enthusiasm of the children, the friendly and welcoming attitude of the Chinese, and the fantastic and healthy food. I greatly enjoyed every single day and made a lot of friends!
However, I think my favourite part of my time in China was the teaching itself. The children were receptive and very good listeners. Some of them even set themselves homework! I never dreamed teaching would be so fun and easy. The Chinese teacher was helpful at smoothing over the language barrier. I quickly built a positive relationship with them and derived a lot of energy from it.
I had an absolutely fantastic time!
Do you have any advice that you would like to pass on to future applicants on how to prepare for the summer camp?
Prepare fluid lesson plans, ie walk into every lesson with 10+ ideas rather than a rigid series of activities and be prepared to change activities and games depending on the mood of the class. Some days the children are excitable and other days they are very tired; it really worked for me to choose appropriate activities on the spot instead of inflexibly following a timetable.
Don’t bring too many clothes – bring a small wardrobe of things appropriate in the extreme heat and wash them regularly. This leaves more room for souvenirs.
Bring very strong mosquito lotion and suncream! The weaker stuff I took didn’t seem to function very well.
