In the interview I was asked where I would like to be based, and I had been looking up places and learning about Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities in China. While looking I saw Nanjing was a pretty vibrant place, filled with many expats, but wasn't really 'international' on the same level as 'Shanghai', with the prospect of having a more fully immersive experience in China of learning about the culture and the language. I was told that Nanjing was 'competitive' and was already full, and then the lady suggested Hangzhou because the Olympics in 2015 had meant that many expats had left due to the increase in security and police interference. I looked this up and did some research and saw that it had been nicknamed 'Heaven on Earth', with Westlake as the main attraction....on that I was pretty much sold.
The process had started, and I was getting my online free TEFL certificate as part of the visa requirement that I had to finish before flying to Shanghai. I don't think during this time I fully accepted that I was going to China, it was the expectation that I would soon 'chicken out' and be back in the UK. I googled a few things about culture in China, a few language tips, which I didn't really take much genuine interest in, and a few things about cultural etiquette, which I also didn't remember.
I was awaiting a formal invitation letter from the company to arrive via secure delivery, and it came within a few days. After that I had booked my appointment at the closest embassy in Manchester to apply for my visa, together with train tickets, which is went it started to 'sink in'.
On the train from Hull to Manchester, I met a girl, around the same age as me, who had spent a summer as a skiing instructor in France, and who's father had been working in Saudi-I guess oil, and seemed pretty wealthy. Meeting her made me realise that getting out of Beverley meant that I could meet other people, and I enjoyed learning about her experiences.
I left the train and used an old fashioned map to walk over to the embassy located in Chinatown. I originally expected a red brick building, but instead appeared more modern and more of an inside 'bank' type environment, and seemed to be more of an office. I remember walking in and a guy, who seemed to be English said 'Hello'. I remember wearing a poppy, because it was around Remembrance Day and realised this probably wasn't the best idea-opium wars. Its important to remember that this was the time when Xi Jinping was having a pint with David Cameron down the pub and China-British relations were fairly 'cosy' during this time, rather than the geopolitical tensions of today.
I went up to the last counter on the right with a glass barrier and gave my passports, certificates and invitation letter to the gentlemen. I smiled, but he didn't smile back, and he didn't speak much English, he seemed to be really serious. He said 'oh.....so you want to learn more....'. I think that was him trying to be chatty, perhaps he realised I had gotten a PhD, though I'm unsure if he could speak English. To be honest, I had no real idea what I was applying for, and I had no real idea of what all these documents were needed, I was simply there because I was instructed to bring these documents and fill in the form.
My application was submitted, and I went back to the train station, only to find that my train had been cancelled-due to suicide on the track. It said to proceed to the queue, which I did and in that I met an older lady, who was catching the same train. We were told to simply catch a later train. She invited me to go upstairs with her for a cup of tea, which I did and we shared experiences. She was a lecturer at Durham University and was telling me about her son who lived in Japan, he seemed pretty successful and said that it was a 'lonely' life for him, I assume because he didn't have a woman. I explained that I was going to the Chinese embassy to get a visa, and she in return shared her experience of working with her husband teaching English in Russia. It was a coincidence that we had met, but these two people on the journey kind of 'softened' my fears and anxieties about working in other countries. Around five working days later, I collected my passport with the visa inside, and said to the guy 'I really like the stamps', just because I remembered the Australian lady saying that they really liked stamps, but I received no real reply. Initial interactions didn't seem friendly. I wasn't lucky enough to meet any more people on the way to collect my visa, and since I'm geographically challenged I didn't really want to look around Manchester in fear I would get lost and not find my way back to the train station. My mum had also terrified me when she was describing the amount of crime there was....though, she says that about everywhere, accept where she lives. As a magistrate, I guess she naturally focuses on this.
With a year long legal working z visa in my passport for China, and my flight booked by the company....I was all set. It still didn't seem to really sink in, but I remember lying in bed thinking 'this time next week...I'll be there'....or 'this time tomorrow, I'll be there....', and 'this lasagne will be the last meal...and possibly the last one I recognise....'. It still didn't seem to sink in.
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