So here we are!

As we near the end of our first week in China I figured it was probably time for an update. Despite months of planning, we managed to collect our visas, book our flights and depart for China all on the same day. Who said I liked to leave things until last minute!?

Ahh visa, so nice to see you at last!

All the delays in paperwork meant we had already lost our first job in South Korea and we didn't want to book our flights until we had our passports in hand and were able to travel with the right visa, just in case of any further problems. So on the Monday we were due to collect our passports from the Manchester Chinese Visa Centre we headed over with our bags fully packed (to bursting!) hoping we would be on the next flight rather than heading home empty handed. Thankfully it was the former and after a quick dash across the city, we were on the afternoon flight to Beijing via Istanbul.

Bizarrely it was substantially cheaper to book Turkish Airlines tickets on their own website than in person at their ticket booth in Manchester Airport. The lady behind the counter was kind enough to let us know where we could access wifi so we could go and book the tickets then run back to make the flight. Why they can't price match their own site we'll never know...

Goodbye UK, see you in 13 months!

Just over 15 hours later we were arriving in Beijing and the owner of the school came to pick us up from the airport. Despite us both looking a little bedraggled after the long flight she seemed very pleased to meet us and after another frantic rush across another city we were finally on the train to our new home city, Cangzhou. We were rather thankful she had picked us up rather than trying to make our way over ourselves as we quickly learnt the city is pronounced Tsan-Jo rather than Kang-Zoo as we had previously been calling it!

This is Beijing's less busy travel time. Puts London's rush hour to shame.

After a blissful 13 hour sleep to recuperate it was all systems a go the next day when Andrew had his first lesson. As the school had been waiting a while for our visa's to get processed we were thrown in straight at the deep end however this meant we were able to meet the students and all the other teachers who were very welcoming.

Our new school, part of a chain of DD Dragon schools across Asia (Dì Dì means little brother in Chinese)

A few days later everyone from the school headed out to a nearby restaurant to celebrate Andrew's birthday and our arrival. All I can say is, the Chinese LOVE to order food. The host is expected to be very generous and pays for it all and they are petrified that someone may go home hungry. You will not get asked if you fancy anything more, they will just keep ordering until everyone can barely move. And don't expect everything to come all at once or desserts to come after mains, everything will just be served as and when it's ready. Fruit salad with those fried aubergines? Why not?!

We were also served massive steaming bowls of extra long noodles as is Chinese tradition on birthdays, New Year and weddings which are supposed to represent long life. Given that we hadn't long arrived in China eating the noodles with fiddly chop sticks was rather difficult, particularly as we weren't allowed to cut the noodles as this would be considered 'cutting our lives short!'

This was at the beginning of the meal, the plates have already started to stack up...

Smash with blueberry jam... do not knock it until you try it, this dish is DELICIOUS! 

Andrew's extremely floral birthday cake. He also received a ginormous bunch of flowers which were kindly re-gifted to me for our anniversary the next day!

King for a day! I am sure those who know Andrew well can appreciate how much he loved having all the attention lavished on him

All in all it's been an amazing experience so far and now we're finally getting over our jet lag (we're 8 hours ahead of UK time) we look forward to more amazing meals and to start our adventures. This is only the beginning... 

From Suncheon to still in Sherburn...

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere abroad by now?"

In a word, yes. We're supposed to be here. In Suncheon, South Korea, and should have been for the past two weeks. We should have been beginning our Asian adventures, settling in to our new jobs as English teachers and explaining bonfire night to adorable Korean children.

But instead we're still in the UK because of a tiny stamp required on the back of our documents.

Unfortunately the 24-48 hour service provided by the Legalisation Office ended up being a 24-48 day service when they couldn't get hold of the solicitor that signed our documents. When they finally told us this, we were able to call said solicitor and get him to contact them and have the documents released the same working day. Why they didn't let us know sooner and only have a 'help-line' that is answered by people with no access to our records or the ability to pass us through to those working on the documents is a mystery to us all.

However, kindly waiting a month before telling us this meant the school we were supposed to working for decided to take on a couple already in Korea as they were concerned we would not have our visas in time. Understandable from the school's point of view but frustrating none the less. Particularly as we've now spent around £180 on getting the documents.

So the panic set in. We had left our jobs, apartment and life in Cardiff to come spend a couple of weeks with my parents in Sherburn before flying to South Korea. But now we had no job, no home and dwindling funds. So it was back to square one, back on the job boards and frantically trying to arrange job interviews for first thing in the morning due to the time difference!

I do however believe everything happens for a reason, although Andrew may refuse to speak to the next person that says this to us (especially as nearly everyone we've spoken to so far has said some variation of this). Apparently it's like being told there's plenty more fish in the sea when you break up with someone, and you know it's true, you just don't want to hear it when you wanted that particular cod. 

Things have turned out for the better though. We've now been offered a similar job in Hebei Province in China with much shorter working hours and lots of extras such as free Chinese lessons, gym pass, kung-fu lessons and bikes for us to get around the city. The city, Cangzhou, is also host to a yearly International Martial Arts festival where Jacky Chan and Jet Lee are regulars #声名鹊起!

So it's now back to the visa process for a different country. I'll post an update in regards to the school/city soon.

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.”

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

So we tried adult life. We got graduate jobs, moved in to our first apartment and paid rent and council tax and bills.

We lived in the beautiful Cardiff Bay. Andrew wasn't too far from home and I had a wonderful Church family close by. We had a choice of bars and restaurants on our door step and work was just over the road from where we lived. We were very happy.

But something was missing. We were living to work with little time to enjoy the things we loved. Whilst we were both grateful to have jobs related to our degrees (a rarity for graduates or so we're told!) we knew they weren't jobs we wanted to develop in to a career. The majority of our wage was spent on rent and bills with little left over. We either needed to win the lottery or try something new. Unfortunately, despite several attempts, the former never worked out for us.

A holiday to Turkey in the middle of June renewed my passion to travel and learn new languages even if my attempts of ordering a cuppa (çay lütfen) was often met with "would you like milk and sugar with that?"

We knew we didn't have the funds to simply travel outright so we considered the opportunities available for work abroad. Having already completed a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course alongside my degree and spending a summer at a summer school in France, it seemed like the perfect choice.

But where to go?

European countries required too many teaching qualifications for the best positions and are reasonably expensive in regards to cost of living. A quick Google search confirmed that Asia is the place to go to teach English with excellent rates of pay and plenty of positions available. 

So we contacted a few agencies and before we knew it we were having interviews with several different schools. We focused on South Korea as I'd been before and loved it and would love to see my friends in Busan again.

After a few different offers from schools in different parts of South Korea we decided to move to Suncheon, a small city on the south coast in South Jeolla Province. We are so excited to go and start teaching!

The school wants us to start on the 31st October so gives us a chance to spend time with friends and family before leaving. Will keep you updated as we prepare to move!