A Day in the Life of a Foreign English Teacher in China.

So I've had a few people ask me what I do on a typical day here.

6:00 am: Wake up to loud honking on the streets. Turn heater back on (it shuts off when the power goes out, which is often) and put on headphones and classical music playlist to go back to sleep.

8:00 am: Wake up. Make some tea or instant coffee with my electric kettle. Shower. Note –  I can only wash my hair at night or on days when I don't have class until the afternoon because it takes so long with my ghetto shower and plastic cup.

9:00 am: Read, Study Chinese. Surf the internet. Work on lesson plans.

11:15 am: Lunch. Try to arrive a bit early to beat out the 2,500 students that literally RUN into the cafeteria. Point at random dishes and pray for something edible with as few bones as possible. Sit down awkwardly at a table and try to make small talk with my Chinese coworkers, most who do not speak English.

* On a side note, yesterday I had lunch with the principal of the school. She speaks very little English but is VERY nice. I only learned that she was the principal towards the end of the meal. We then went for a lovely walk around campus and she took me to her office and fed me chocolates.

12:00 pm: If it's sunny, walk around outside and enjoy the weather and the blatant stares from people.

1:00 – 5:00 pm: Teach class. Sing songs, play Simon Says, mime English words, and generally make a fool out of myself for 40 minute intervals in front of hundreds of Chinese children.

* On Monday I have 3 classes, Tuesday 1, Wednesday 4, and Thursday and Friday, 5 classes.

5:00 pm: Dinner. Basically a repeat of lunch, though I usually get to eat with the other 'village foreigners'. Order using the "point and pray" method.

6:00 pm: Stroll through the village. There's not really a whole lot to do around here so after dinner I usually take a walk around town to check things out. Sometimes I'll visit the supermarket to pick up a diet coke, a beer, or a bottle of China's finest "Great Wall" wine to enjoy with the guys that live next to me.

9:00 pm: Read some more. Skype Mom and Dad. Watch a movie. Go to bed early.

All in all, it's a pretty stress free schedule.