Close to a decade ago, I boarded a plane bound for Beijing to embark on an experience that would change my life forever.
A few months earlier, I had taken a weeklong course on how to teach English as a foreign language. The company that was administering the program provided me with a job placement in a small Chinese city about five hours south of Beijing that I had never heard about, Dongying, which is located in Shandong province.
As I said goodbye to my family and flew from Charlottetown to Toronto to catch a connecting flight to Beijing, it dawned on me that this was the first time in my life that I would be flying internationally.
Sure, I had been to every province in Canada and about a third of the United States by this point in my life, but other than that, I had never really spent any time outside of North America.
Spending 16 hours on a plane, going through many time zones and flying over the Arctic is taxing on anybody, and I was no exception.
Upon landing in the Chinese capital, I couldn't help but feel as though I had landed in an entirely different world. I had a severe case of jet lag and hardly anybody I met could speak English, although they were able to point me in the direction of their fellow citizens who could.
I ended up spending the night in a hotel in Beijing before heading out in the morning on a bus to the city where I would spend the next year and a half.
It took me about a month to get over the culture shock, which was made easier by the fact that China has become increasingly Americanised over the last four to five decades. I could even enjoy some of the comforts of home while living overseas such as McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and other American restaurant chains.
Teaching English to hundreds of energetic and eager children was quite challenging at first, though after I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun.
During the time I lived in China, I made several friends from the local population along with those who, like me, were from English speaking countries such as the USA, The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
I took advantage of my down time to not only explore the area around Dongying, but also to visit other parts of China, including the wonderful tropical paradise Hainan Island.
I also had a once-in–a-lifetime opportunity to explore cultural landmarks as the Forbidden City, which is located in the heart of Beijing close to Tiananmen Square.
As I look back on this chapter of my life, it was undoubtedly the best experience I have had to date, at least regarding travel. Since that time, I have made trips to the Dominican Republic, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Due to the immense size of the country and the history and culture contained within, living in China was a good learning experience for me. I picked up quite a bit of the language and grew to understand the culture and customs of some of the people.
While we can learn a great deal from reading and watching documentaries, there is no greater teacher than the experience that comes with traveling.
