Hello everybody and welcome to this week's edition of the newsletter! :D

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Join us on the podcast!

Available on Libsyn, Spotify, Apple, and YouTube!

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This week was a little bit slower in terms of publications, but a little bit faster in terms of studies and preparations.

Although I usually sit down to study for a bit each morning, Monday morning saw me have a little bit of inspiration with which I thought it would be neat to take a bike ride past Tiananmen Square. So, instead of studying Russian and Chinese first thing in the morning, I got dressed up and hopped on a bike to see the Forbidden City as it’s all lit up in the morning. I managed to get to the other side of the Forbidden City before the camera died (frozen?) on the way back. I’ll have the video out next week for you to see.

We did prep a couple other videos, namely a 2024 review and the Cafe Show 2024 video we’ve been meaning to publish for a while. The Cafe Show 2024 will be published on Sunday, while the 2024 Review will be published later in the week.

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This week's videos:

1. LONG: Time for a change?! What would make you move?!
2. LONG: China Cafe Show 2024
3. SHORT: What is ESL?
4. SHORT: What is the CELTA?
5. EXTRA: Chinese Course by Email

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Our first video, Time for a change?! What would make you move?! was inspired by last week’s podcast episode in which I discussed a bit about why I came to China in the first place, what’s made me stay, and what would make me leave.

This video, however, focused more on considering a job change and, if I did change jobs, would I also consider changing cities or even countries?

One commentator mentioned Chongqing and another mentioned Guangzhou as places to live. Both were given to me as an option when I first moved to Beijing many moons ago. 

However, it does seem like something has changed either in the city or country, or, quite possible, just me.

But all of this begs the question: what would make you move?

What would make you move from your current city?

What would make you leave your current job?

What would make you move countries?

Reply to this email and let us know, we’re as interested as you are in this topic!

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Like what you're reading? BUY ME A COFFEE!

Thank you for your support!

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The long-awaited Cafe Show 2024 video is up a ready to be seen. My video editor put a lot of effort into this one so please do have a look and give it a thumbs up!

Coffee is one of those subjects I’ve been interested in for a while, but I’ve never attended an exhibition dedicated to the commodity. I have, however, roasted my own coffee in my apartment just to see what it was like. (Hint: very smokey.)

This year’s Cafe Show was the first big one in a long time due to COVID times, so it was great to see so many people out and about. And, given that China is renowned as a “tea drinking nation” and not of coffee, I think this exhibition shows things are changing. 

The vlog covers quite a bit of the day we attended, though we missed out on covering the honey made from coffee (the bees feed on coffee flowers and then take it back to the hive (I think?)) and the coffee-infused alcoholic beverages, mostly beer. 

Highlights include:

-Turkish Coffee

-Jamaican Blue Mountain

-Yunnan coffees

-Tasting 16 coffees from around the world

-Panama Honey-Washed coffee

Overall, I’d go again. It’s free, though buying coffee will of course cost you!

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The next two shorts we published dealt with the ESL industry: What is teaching English as a Second Language and What is the CELTA, or Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults?

I’ve been asked about teaching ESL abroad quite a bit over the years and I can say it’s been a good experience overall. The money isn’t what it used to be, but the experience is still there and the choice of countries, I think, has certainly expanded. 

The key is to know that you don’t go into language teaching for the money.

That being said, you CAN make a career out of teaching, especially if you continue to up skill and move into more administrative roles or, like many teachers, open your own teaching “business” by way of posting online, working through iTalki, or offering courses to students or business classes.

This coming week, I’ll try to post more about teaching ESL overseas as it is a good time to be looking for jobs. The next big intake after right now would be in June or July.

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Finally, don’t miss our Chinese Course by Email. We’ve had a few sign ups and we’re continuing to improve the course as it unfolds. Sign up here.

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We’ll leave it there for this week. Please drop a comment on our videos or respond to this email if you have any questions or concerns. We’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading and let us know if there's anything we can help you with!

-Steve

YOUTUBE