China, Here I Come!

The ever present question in my mind for the last few years has been, "What do I want to do with my life?" and "Where do I want to go to do it?" I do not have an answer to either of those questions but I do know that I love to travel and create. I will graduate with my associates degree in May and so, instead and running off to a university to pursue my degree, I decided to take some time off and go to China! That will at least satisfy my love of traveling and I will find a way to sprinkle some creativity in there.

A friend of mine, Wendy Smith, told me a couple of months ago that she was signing up to be a volunteer English teacher in China to little kids with the ILP Program. In the process of telling me all this she said, "Tessa, you should come!" I thought about it for a few seconds and then said, "Okay!" So, it is settled, for the fall semester of next year I am doing to go teach English in China to children ages 4 and up. To answer some frequently asked questions up front, No, I do not know Mandarin. I am not sure how I am going to teach the kids exactly, but they are young and pick up the language fast. I am sure the system they have set up works. I will live in dorms and will be living at the school I teach at. There are six different places I could go in China and we are not assigned yet. If anyone has any input on where I should go please let me know. I am going to have plenty of opportunities to travel while I am there so if you have been to China or know about some great places there, I would love your input.

I am very excited and also terrified. I will leave sometime in August and will post more details as I know them. I have been accepted to the program so off I go.