A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. - Confucius

So my journey has not officially started, but I have been taking steps toward it for quite a while now. I thought I would start my blog ahead of time; partly so I can get organized with things, partly because it is a good way to keep people updated, but mostly because I am way too impatient and writing helps keep me sane. This will not only be a way to keep in touch with friends and family and update those of you who are interested in my voyage, but will also be a nice way to keep track of everything I want to remember once I come back to Canada. I will be teaching English in Guangzhou with the Worlda Cultural & Educational Consulting Services Co. until the end of June. I don't know what school or what age yet, but that will be decided after my training in Guangzhou, which will be about 3-5 days long. I am so anxious to learn what age I will be teaching so I can start planning. I know my experience at the York Region District School Board Summer Institute has helped me to feel comfortable running my own class, but that was only 6 weeks so this will be a much bigger deal. I am lucky enough to know a lot of teachers though so I know if I need some help all I have to do is ask!

To get started, I sent all of my paperwork, pictures, and references to Worlda and they translated these and sent them off to get my visa permit. Once I received confirmation from Worlda, I bought my plane ticket! When my documents came in the mail, I went down to Toronto to finish up my paperwork and came back the next week to pick it up. I will officially be on my way Wednesday, November 14th at 8:20pm. With 2 stop-overs, 2 different airline companies, and about 25 hours overall I will arrive there at 10:15am Guangzhou time, which is exactly 12 hours ahead of Toronto time (so 10:15pm on Nov 15).

I am going with one of my best friends from university, Alethea, whom I lived with for 2 years, although we are heading over on different flights. It is going to be an amazing adventure for us and I am so glad to be sharing it with her. As well, another one of our roommates is currently teaching English in Dongguan, which is about an hour away from Guangzhou. It is such a different culture in China and I am basically feeling every emotion; happy, eager, nervous, anxious, stressed, energized, but mostly excited. The most time I have spent outside of Canada has been about 2 weeks so it will definitely be an adjustment for me to spend 7.5 months somewhere so drastically different, but I know I am going to be learning so much; growing as a teacher, but also learning about myself. I have had so much support from my friends and family and I am so grateful that I was able to spend Thanksgiving with everyone. I am going to miss you all so much, but I know just how lucky I am to even have this opportunity. My post-university journey is certainly starting with a leap, and it is exhilarating to have so much to look forward to.