10 weeks as a Googler

I have been privileged enough to have, for the last 10 weeks, been exposed to one of the world's most ingenius, innovative and dynamic working environments. I have been surrounded by engineering wizards of the highest calibre who have been hand picked out of some of the most prestigious universities in China. All have come to Beijing to work for one of the World's top companies at their head office here in China, all of them are engineers or editors for Google, all of them now my good friends.
The 10 week programme was the first of it's kind: EF won the contract to teach 40 of Google's young engineers in September last year after I delivered what was obviously a sterling demo class - my first one ever. The fact that I landed up being the teacher on the deal was a miracle because my visa had been denied for the umpteenth time, but God knew all along that this experience was going to really challenge and grow me and so it was Him who made sure it went through despite the obstacles. Besides the obvious hand of God however I was later told that my students had voted to have me as their English teacher purely on the fact that I was pretty. Guess I can live with that.
Firstly, the working environment at Google is unlike anything you have ever seen: it's like a grown up's playground. There are gyms, bean bags, massage machines and canteens stocked with yummy free food. Everyday - if you are in the building - you are invited for both a fully catered (Western or Chinese) lunch and dinner. No expense is spared...and I was the only teacher on the job! I was given 40 students of varying levels to teach twice a week for an hour at a time. The large group of 40 were divided into 8 smaller groups and I was to give each student individual attention on how to practically improve their oral English. I was given materials for each lesson, but soon discovered that the materials were quite inadequate and needed a lot of remodeling. Thus began my crash course in English teaching here in China.
Teaching English sounds pretty easy, or at least that is what you are led to believe before you get here. But being a good English teacher and being able to explain a very complex theory that you inately (but not theoretically) understand - in a way that is easy and useful, can be quite tricky. Don't even get me started on my very worst phrase for a student..."can you give me an example please"
Besides the obvious challenge of the teaching, this contract also forced me to learn a few more survival skills for getting around Beijing. I lived on quite a tight schedule for 10 weeks, teaching up to 10 classes a day in sometimes 4 different places/buildings. Conversing with taxi drivers, negotiating with bus conductors and being very technologically advanced had to come with the territory and I was proud of myself when, after a few tries, I had the route from home to Google and EF down. I'll never forget one particularly hair raising experience however that had me almost in tears with frustration and gratitude: I had only 17 RMB in my wallet which on a usual day would have been more than enough to get me from Google to my next class in a taxi. Time was limited (I had a class of 25 students in 40 min) and so the stop-start of a bus was not an option. Hopping in the taxi I had no idea that 35 min and more than 17 RMB later we would be only 2 km down the road and I would have only enough credit for 1 sms on my cell phone. That sms went to Kyle and read "please call me!" and thankfully he did. He explained to the taxi driver that I was out of money and instructed him to pull over and drop me off so I could walk (no run) the rest of the way to work. He pulled over as soon as he got the chance, and kindly let me off the hook with the 17 RMB I had (I offered him my free Google muffins but he wouldn't take them). Feeling ever so flustered I grabbed my things and jumped out the taxi; leaving behind my cell phone, dropping my wallet and the entire contents on my bag. At first I didn't notice and eager passengers pushed passed me to get into the cab while I scurried to the side of the road to compose myself. Imagine my South African surprise when the passenger got out the car and handed me both my wallet and cell phone that had been left on the seat. It could have turned into quite a disaster, but instead landed up being just a stressful 40 minutes!
But seriously there is nothing more rewarding than being an English teacher in China - you get to teach and learn so much simultaneously. You can't help but love your students for the innocent mistakes they make not only in language but also when it comes to understanding Western culture; because you know you invariably make the same fauxpas when it comes to Chinese. I had grown to care about them all so much by the end, through our laughter and frustration, that throwing them a Christmas party at my own expense was the least I could do. I think those who came were completely taken aback by the gesture, and we all enjoyed sharing in a night where our 2 cultures met.

Now that the season is over, I am grateful that I was thrown into the deep end so that I can now confidently call myself an English teacher here in Beijing. Even a good one. It sets the platform for my start as a private teacher from March of this year, and has allowed me to gain enough of a reputation to kick start that possibility. All my life I wanted to be a teacher but after that seemingly disasterous stint at Northcliff High School in the first 6 months of 07 I really didn't know if my faith in the beauty of learning could be restored. Now thanks to this job at Google - it has been, and I love being a teacher again :)