On Celebrating Chinese New Years In A Warzone

Everyone at The Child Academy dressed up for Chinese New Years

Celebrating The Year Of The Snake At The Child Academy

Ni hao!

TCA had a party to bring in the Year of the Snake and it was a lot of fun! Kids and staff dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and ate tons of dumplings. There was even a visit from the Fortune God with hong bao envelopes for the kids!

At the Chinese New Years Party with Oscar!

This little French student reminds me of one of the children from ‘Madeline.’

Here we are in our qipaos (traditional Chinese female dress)!

Shanghai Turns Into A Warzone

Ami and I had a great week off for the Spring Festival holiday. While we enjoyed the non-stop firework displays that go along with the holiday, it was easy to wake up to explosions and mistake it for artillery fire.

All over the city people light off fireworks that put Vancouver Celebration of Lights to shame. Here’s one exploding right in front of our apartment.

 

Highlights from the break include meeting friends, baking, and enjoying Shanghai’s empty streets (most of the city has gone to visit their home towns). Ami also surprised me with a visit to Shanghai Circus World on Valentine’s!

Gōng xǐ fā cái,

Cecily

Jobless In China

The difficulty started when I found myself visa-less and jobless in China wondering what my next move should be.

Being Let Go

August 19th: I’ve been working for a Montessori preschool for about a month. The staff is great, the kids like me and I enjoy the job. The school claims they will have no trouble procuring my work visa and life was good.

August 20th: I am let go.

The school had realized they were not legally allowed to hire a foreign English teacher. The news, delivered a week before my visa expired, hit me like a ton of bricks. Shaken up, Ami and I headed off to Hong Kong for temporary visas.

Visiting Big Buddha in Hong Kong

The Long Job Hunt

While the trip to Hong Kong was amazing, our return to Shanghai was followed by an excruciating job hunt. One month passed without success. Money was getting tight. I was going to dozens of interviews but nothing felt right.

Thankfully, after two long months following every lead, I stumbled upon The Child Academy, and it was a good fit.

The Child Academy is an international preschool run by two Canadian guys. As school nurse and float teacher I combine my love for health care and children.

I create emergency protocols, teach health classes, cover for sick teachers, and help with the occasional bloody nose. The kids are aged one to six years old and definitely make the job worthwhile!

Zài jiàn,

Cecily

PS. We’re enjoying our first Chinese New Years in China. Look out for my next post coming later this week—I’ll show you how I rung in the New Year— at school and at home!