Welcome

I've never had a blog before. But rather than inundating your inbox with my stories, I thought it would be best to post on here, so you can read up at your convenience.

People keep asking me the same questions, so I'll just go ahead and answer them on here. That way, I won't have to answer "Because I've always been a fan of communism, and wanted to see it for myself" when someone asks me why I'm going.

Q: Why the hell are you going?

A: Unhappy at the prospect of being confined to my desk for the next 42 years of my life, I evaluated what I wanted: A) Go back into the field of education, B) Travel, C) Grow up. And always one to take the easy way, I decided to do all three at once, and head to China to teach English for the year.

Q: So why China?

A: I don't have a good answer. South American didn't interest me, Brits are always the first choice for EU countries and Jewish girls don't often opt for the Middle East. So that left Asia. Thailand is too rural, Japan is over-saturated with teachers, S. Korea is strongly anti-Western at the moment. So China it is.

Q: When do you leave?

A: Friday, July 24. I will arrive in Shanghai on Saturday, July 25.

Q: How will you keep in touch?

A: This blog. Email (rgold300@gmail.com). Skype (rgold300). Cell phone (to be determined). Internet is apparently kind of iffy in China, so hopefully one of these will work.

Q: What will you be doing?

A: First, I'll be in school, getting a certification in TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language). The school, Boland (www.boland-china.com) is located in Suzhou, just outside of Shanghai. After the 5 week course, I'll go on interviews and get a job teaching yet. I have not decided yet if I want to teach at a school or a language-education center, and which age I want to teach. Nor have I decided if I want to stay and work in Suzhou, or move to Shanghai. All will be determined in time.

And that is all I can think of. Plus, I'm boring myself by writing it, so if you even made it this far down in the post, congratulations, you must really love me!

I'll do my best to update periodically. But send me emails, I love emails! And cheesy e-cards. Those are the best.

I won't update again until I arrive in China. Goodbye my friends!

RDG

Note: This first post is dedicated to Ian 'Knowledgeable' Shevill, who's sense of adventure has been, and will continue to be, a source of inspiration.

Your Chinese for the day:
Hu Yu Hai Ding- We have reason to believe you are harboring a fugitive.