Back to China – TEDA-Tianjin

So here we are, back in China for another three months! Who would have thought!! I was invited to leave my cushy Thailand retirement and go back to the classroom for a bit and accepted the invitation. Meanwhile, I am continuing to write for International Living Magazine and carry on my other responsibilities with them.

This time I am working at Maple Leaf International School in TEDA, on the outskirts of Tianjin in northern China. It was a hell of a lot colder than Chiang Mai when we arrived a month ago but is warming up quickly as spring is now here. Daytime highs are reaching 20C and it drops down to about 10C at night.

Despite the bad press about the air quality here, we have had way more clear days than polluted days. Unlike our previous stomping ground, Wuhan, you can actually see stars here at night and cannot look directly at the sun like we were able to almost every day during our last six-year stint in this country. Having said that, apparently we are here during the better time of the year for that kind of stuff.

The place is bigger than Wuhan with a total population exceeding 15 million but you wouldn’t know it. The Tianjin Economic – Technological Development Area (TEDA) is one of China’s state-sponsored development areas and located about a half-hour away from the center of Tianjin. Major multinational companies like Motorola, Toyota, and Samsung have chosen to set up here as well as a huge number of banking and investment firms. It is nothing like Wuhan where we used to live. It could be downtown Vancouver except for the language.

Western restaurants, shopping centers, pubs, and supermarkets are all within a half-hour walk from the school. Everywhere we go to eat or shop, people speak pretty good English. It is a business district. During the day, the streets are empty; everybody is working! People are very friendly, smartly dressed, polite and quiet spoken for the most part. It is not the real China we are used to but it is great!

I am teaching three blocks of Digital Media Arts 11/12 so basically get to do everything I love to do but get paid for it; Photoshop, 3D Design, Website building, Animation, and other fun stuff. I loved teaching Math and Chemistry but this is much more relaxing since it is an elective course. They also have me building a school website for my other block.

I continue to tell students and other teachers that teaching has always been my hobby. I don’t think they understand! lol

Our on-campus apartment is large but pales in comparison to the beautiful condo we had in Wuhan. But for only four months, this was the easiest route to go. We aren’t buying anything and are not putting any effort into it at all. The last thing we need is more stuff to get rid of before we head to Arequipa, Peru at the end of June to live.

Anyway, I finally had time to write something in here and get people up to date with our latest adventures. Still have lots of Thailand photos and stories to post and will get to that some time in the future. In two weeks, I am off to speak at an International Living conference in New Orleans. Another three-day trip to the US. And who said “retired” life was boring?

Here are some pics of the area. Click on the top right of the photo below to make the slide show full-screen.