What a week! Beijing has come back to life and the endless fireworks have been replaced with the inumerable Beijing residents returning from their hometowns. The job search is once again in full swing for Liz and I both, and it's been surprisingly busy. I've been having a good time in Beijing, but make no mistake, I've been busy looking for a job as well. This week, I'm creating and editing English reading comprehension exercises for a publishing company that puts out English language testing materials. This is in a trial phase, so I'm not being paid yet. I'm also privately tutoring a high school kid as he prepares for the TOEFL. This was arranged by a friend as a mutually beneficial situation as I can familiarize myself with the TOEFL and he gets English tutoring; unfortunately, this means I'm not being paid yet. Thankfully, I'm also privately tutoring a lawyer who is looking to interview at multi-national companies and needs help with his English interviewing skills - this one pays....somewhat.
Most promising on the long-term job front is my interview process at New Oriental, a major English teaching company in China. I've had some informal interviews, gone to their orientation session, and sat in on classes taught at the center. My ex-roommate from 2006 works at the company, and his boss likes me a lot, which gives me all the advantages in the world. The most crucial part of the interview comes tomorrow - I have to teach a one hour demo class on any subject I like. I've also been getting an online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate, and she's expecting me to show what I've learned in this demo. The online courses have been time-consuming, but useful. Still, they certainly aren't the same as an in-person certificate program. I've tutored privately, I've mentored, I've led presentations, and I've facilitated groups, but I don't think I've put all those skills together to teach an actual class. The ability to pull those skills together will be put to the test tomorrow, so wish me luck!
On a more fun note, I've now seen the Bird's Nest and Water Cube in the Beijing Olympic Park. It's funny, but somehow I always had the impression the 2 structures were far away from each other. They're actually right across the street from each other! A panoramic photo I took proves that point (see above). They're quite inspiring!
