GC Thailand Team,

I received an email from you at the beginning of the week asking me to comment on my time here. I hope a letter is OK rather than email ( note: GC team has typed and posted as such ).

I would like to begin with saying that my expectations or my thoughts of this program or Thailand were completely wrong (not in a bad way), so far the past three months I have rolled with punches and accepted whatever a surprise or not, come my way.

Language and culture program :

On-line this was described as 2 weeks though every location, but Denise said that this program in Thailand had been modified. It was only about a week which gave me more time in school. I thought it was extremely helpful because Christine, the other volunteer here at the time I arrived, didn't even know how to say hello in Thai. I was taught basics to get by, pronunciation and was given a dictionary that has never left my side. I enjoyed seeing some sights and Wats (temples) in Bangkok and Ayuthaya with a staff. I even went to my first movie in Thailand with him when we decided it was too hot to do anything else. My favorite part of course was my home-stay.

Jot made me feel welcome in her home and village and showed me around as well as experience some of her and her families daily activities and reaching out from the locals even though I was or could be seen as an “intruder” in their home town. My favorite parts were dinner with her family or neighbors. I love eating “Thai Style” with lots of people so you can try different things – you can't do this on your own. Also in the afternoons we would relax in the hammocks and I would teach her English and she would teach me Thai. She is a much faster learner than I am. Everyday I had something new and exciting to look forward to and I was sad to leave, especially when the children wanted me to stay and teach at their school nearby.

Living Arrangements:

I was really disappointed to learn that I would be in an apartment for 3 months instead of a home-stay but I figured it was almost impossible to find one that would want someone living in their home for 3 months. Also I know that every area in Thailand needs volunteers and the placement is close to the coordinators, but I wish I was in a more rural setting. I did like the fact, however, that it was convenient to get Bangkok or leave for the weekend which was easy-once figured out. I also didn't like the area because after my homestay I realized how close knot a Thai community can be and here it is mostly singles, single parents, and younger people – no real sense of community or family. I think many left their home towns to get away from farming and wanted to find work in a city. That is fine and understandable but authentic Thailand which is unfortunately seems to be slowly diminishing. I was grateful that another volunteer was here when I arrived so she could show me the ropes. If she wasn't I think I would have gotten seriously lost on my fist day of school.

Placements:

Primary School:

I loved it, everyone was so nice and accepting. Pinut, an English teacher, was extremely helpful and was there if I needed anything whether it was advice about a weekend trip or suggestion for a lesson plan. I was relieved to find a laid back atmosphere and none of the teachers seemed to be grumpy like most one in the States. I was assigned primary forms 3-6. My favorite was 4 th – 5 th because they were usually the most well-behaved and did what I asked. I had fund with all the children and as the weeks went on it was great to see their personalities developing, which was how I differentiated them as I could not remember all of their names. I have a new respect for teachers and will for my professors when I go back home. Teaching is not as easy as one thinks especially in classes of 35. I also enjoyed the area where the school was. It had more community than the apartment for living and I became familiar with it because the teachers would show you around and take you to lunch. I really had fun at this school and enjoyed all the people I have met and spent time with, even if they didn't speak English they were interested about learning about me. I already miss this school, especially my students. Too bad they have vacation.

Kindergarten :

I was really confused about my first placement. First it was a nursery, then it was a “Summer School”. When I got there it was a nursery but a week or so later it was a summer school. Now that I have settled in my class usually ranges from about 4-9 students. Because it is summer and there is no mandatory attendance, I think some of the kids don't come either because they don't want to, are on vacation with their family or are sick. After my first day of teaching I knew this school was different because many of the kids already know alphabet, numbers to at least 20, and vocab-words even if some are only somewhat vocal about it. I have a 5-year old who will and can have a full out conversation with me, which I find fascinating because my 12-year olds at my other school could not count past 15 and knew about 10 English words. Teaching here I have also had to adapt a new technique because most are 3-5 years old, much younger than my last students. It is also hard to keep their attention for 3 hours, especially with English, so we end up playing a lot with me just talking to them even if they don't understand me.

I have had two very different placements and am glad and fortunate because it has allowed me to see the differences in schools and age and learning abilities as this is something I have not studied and had to adjust to.

Recommendations:

As stated before I think its best if volunteers are placed in home-stays or a small community, this way they can really sense what a Thai lifestyle and culture is all about. I also feel the people are more accepting, whereas here they wonder what I am doing here, but never ask, just go about their business (similar to western society).

I think it would have been nice to take weekend trips to volunteer with other volunteers. This was mentioned in information I got such as help with the tsunami but nothing was even organized. I also think it would be good to have other volunteers' emails incase they wanted to travel together with others. I understand that this is an individual rather than group effort, but it would be nice to see some community with the other volunteers. I met someone who went to the Philippines and every-weekend did something with the volunteers because they were close and the organization, I feel/think planned it that way. I know if we need anything we can call and email and you will do your best, but at times have felt that I have literally been dumped in the middle of Thailand on my own and I know it is what I signed up for, but again it wasn't what I expected. I guess I thought there would be more sense of community from the coordinators down to the volunteers. Finally location, I think it would be great to see GC place volunteers all over Thailand – north, central, south. I am sure it may be a direction the organization plans on heading but if you aren't, I would consider it. I think volunteers will get a more fulfilling time if they were out of Bangkok and Bangkok surrounding areas to really get a taste of Thailand before commercialization. Even in Bang Sai which is close to Bangkok, I felt that sense of “Old World”, so I imagine far north and further north in central regions must be still very well preserved, minus the 7/11's that seem more frequent than in the US ( GC Team would like to thank Kristen for her valuable suggestions which will help us improve our program further ).

Overall, aside my “complaints”, I have had a great experience. It was nothing I expected which I realized could be good. I learned and grew a lot – thanks to you what your company offers. I think it is a great experience that people should definitely try. I was never a close-minded person, but this trip to Thailand has opened my eyes even more and hopefully when I continue on to Tibet this will happen more.

I appreciate your time and patients (my mom who always seemed to call you!) and for your services that were available, but never had to use. I hope you consider my recommendations to further enhance other's experiences in Thailand and good luck with future prospects.

All the best,

Kristen Gold

Hello Global Crossorad!

So here I am in Bangkok having a ball. My flight came in on time, with my luggage and I found the man with the Lilli Szafranski sign right away. Strangely he was wearing a Lisle Park District Tshirt, but had no idea where Lisle was. I am with a volunteer group, Global Crossroads (goggle it if you are interested) on their Summer Escapes trip with 5 other volunteers. I have clicked immediately with the 4 Americans, 2 AWESOME teachers from Denver, one sarcastic girl from the Indiana Chicago burbs and a Harvard grad. The 5th is an Asian obsessed Irish man who is a bit pissy at best, but we like him. The beer and hot Asian girls have opened him up a bit. The GC coordinator has taken us on some super awesome trips every day we've been here. He is Wonderful. We went to the Ayutaya ruins, oldest things I've seen and the MAGNIFICENT Grand Palace where there are Pagodas (big tall shrine buildings) COVERED in 24 K gold and GIANT gold Buddhas. The room with the Emerald Buddha was the best, and unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos. It is indescribably beautiful with millions of details. The Buddha is not too big, about the size of a toilette or something, but made of solid jade and dressed in gold. All the artifacts around him are intricately decorated and also gold and he is sitting atop a very high gold pedestal of sorts. The walls are beautifully painted and the vaulted ceilings have a gold leaf design. We went to the floating market and had tons of fruit (which I suspect had lots of river water all over them, gross) and also to the overwhelming giant weekend market and Future Mall. Thais sell EVERYTHING, for way less than in America, and you can find WHATEVER you can imagine. Nike Shocks and Birkenstocks (though not real) for $20 and shirts and hippy attire for about $2 apiece. I had a 2 hour full body massage for $5!! The market and mall are overwhelming, to say the least, with tons of shops lights sounds and Asians, though STILL not a single shirt fits me. Thais often laugh at me for being "too big!! too big!! hahahah". yeah, hahaha, real funny.

For the Fourth, we were staying on Khoasan road with lots of free time, coincidentally. We bought lots of alcohol and got thoroughly wasted in celebration and had a blast. Even the Irish man did too.

The food is awesome, though sometimes not too sanitary. You can buy anything on a stick and it is often only $.25-$.50 a meal. The last 3 days we spent in the heart of the jungle near the Death Railway in Kanchanaburi. I got to walk over the Bridge Over the River Kwai, which was scary as there was no railing, the track is still in use and people often didn't try to move as you passed so you had to teeter on the actual track and hope you don't fall to your death. We stayed at an elephant camp on a raft-house in the river run by the NICEST Thais. You could see the river running through the bathroom floor, but the bedroom floors had contact paper over the planks of wood. We often went swimming in the river which carried us downstream to some bamboo rafts. We took a raft ride down the river and none of us wore shoes. We had a lengthy hike back to the truck and of course all the Thais laughed at us. There was a GIANT spider in my room. I am not even scared of spiders in my room that I would have begged Geoff to kill back home. This spider was about 3-4 inches in diameter (with legs) and some super nice Thai man killed it. In the morning we got to ride the elephants barebacked into the river and give them a bath as the little Thai boys pushed us in and told the elephants to spray us. AWESOME experience. We went to the Erawan waterfall, which were like out of a fairytale. After hiking to the top of the mountain and passing 6 continuously better steps of the falls we reached the top most with all the jungle flora, bright flowers, bamboo, palm trees, white rocks, clear water, crystal blue pools, monkeys, fern covered caves....it was AWESOME. We swam in the most magnificent water I have ever seen.

The Thai people are incredible nice and they LOVE Americans. It has helped greatly subdue the culture shock that the Thai are very laid back and friendly with a "No Worries" attitude and they laugh at EVERYTHING. Any time you do something stupidly American, everyone just laughs and if you laugh back, you feel better and everything is alright. Thai people are very nice and often smile at you as you drive by. I am very glad to be here and not London (yikes, we found out right away, too, from our British friend we met while traveling) or Europe as hiking in the gorgeous jungle with such a culturally rich people is certainly better than super $$$ Europe. My nice hotel with AC was only $7 a night. It is hot, but not unlike that hot week in Chicago before I left.

Next week the 6 of us go to rural Thailand to teach school children English. Learning English is a priceless experience for Thai children as I learned, it gives them their only opportunity to go to University or do anything other than be a poor farmer. We are all staying at one house (probably an estate) run by a 75 year old man. I hope it is nice. I don't know the phone/Internet status so I might not be able to contact anyone soon. After the volunteering we will trek up through the hill tribes near the Loa border. I expect it to be magnificent.

I will be sad when the other volunteers leave, but I have met so many other travelers already I know I will be ok. I have met many solo-trekkers, men and woman, who are getting along fine. I feel very safe and do not expect to be kidnapped and sold into white slavery.

As I do not know everyone emails, please pass this on to all you think will like to read it.
I will send a separate email with pics.

I miss you all and I hope everyone is alright!

Having a BLAST!!!!
Lilli Szafranski, Thailand

Extremely satisfied with the entire experience! & found everyone to be very friendly and hard working It was great to work alongside the locals and learn from their tremendous skills & really enjoyed the ceremony at the end and felt like had made a difference. Two things that could be improved include the information we are given about the trip before coming & found (once arrived) that some info on the website was not accurate. Also an overview of the jobs that need to be done that day we go in the morning would be great and then tell people to rotate jobs more often so everyone gets a chance to do everything.(eg.sifting sand was often neglected and then the same people would always end up doing it)
But overall an extremely amazing experience. Thank you for all the hard work you put into providing this experience for us

Tracey Renshaw, Sri Lanka

Thank you to Paul, Michael & Ravi for organizing and managing the pro projects. I always found you to be approachable helpful and kind. The local tradesmen were also very patient and good natured which made working along side them fun and productive. The food on site the and at the hotel was good and plentiful. The hotel is fine and Upali and his team helpful. One improvement could be the pre information pack about what to expect. If it could include a clearer list of what to bring and comments from previous volunteers that would be useful .I would be happy to help with updating such a pack. Let me know. More tools of course would also be good. Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity. I have taken more away than I have left here. Best wishes and continued success

Jennifer Mackay, Sri Lanka

Name: Stuart Cameron Rudolph

First week Program:

1. Orientation about project, Schedule, host family, situation of Nepal : Extremely Satisfied
2. Performance of Language Teacher: Extremely Good
3. Ability and Helpfulness of staff: Sufficiently enough
4. Room and food arrangement of first week: Extremely good
5. Travel activities of first week program: Very Good and organized
6. Over all performance of our Nepal partner for First week: Excellent
7. First week language program: Excellent

Comments: It was always fun, we learned about as much as we could in a week. Good job Hom. My overall experience in Nepal has been great so far global crossroad is always there to feed me and answer my questions. It is a great organization.

Stuart Cameron Rudolph

Name: Joseph London

1- Orientation about project, Schedule, host family, situation of Nepal : Satisfied
2- Performance of Language Teacher: Extremely Good
3- Ability and Helpfulness of staff: Enough
4- Room and food arrangement of first week: Extremely good
5- Travel activities of first week program: Very Good and organized
6- Over all performance of our Nepal partner for First week: Good
7- First week language program: Excellent

Comment: I feel like we coursed so much in our language class. It definitely was a cram session. It is hard for me to remember now but it will be very useful in the villages. I really enjoyed sight seeing and it was great to have a guide. I really enjoyed the first week and am excited to move on to the second.

Joseph London

Name: Erik Jon Jacobsen

1- 2-Orientation about project, Schedule, host family, situation of Nepal : Extremely Satisfied
2- Performance of Language Teacher: Extremely Good
3- Ability and Helpfulness of staff: Sufficiently Enough
4- Room and food arrangement of first week: Very good
5- Travel activities of first week program: Extremely Good and organized
6- Over all performance of our Nepal partner for First week: Very Good
7- First week language program: Excellent

Erik Jon Jacobsen

Name: Andrew Lawrence

1- Orientation about project, Schedule, host family, situation of Nepal : Extremely Satisfied
2- Performance of Language Teacher: Extremely Good
3- Ability and Helpfulness of staff: Enough
4- Room and food arrangement of first week: Very good
5- Travel activities of first week program: Extremely Good and organized
6- Over all performance of our Nepal partner for First week: Excellent
7- First week language program: Excellent

Comment: Language course is great; I learned a maximum amount of information in one week. I don’t think it’s possible to learn more in the short time. I would have liked to see a few more temples but the sightseeing was good. The food was awesome, never bad meal. Future volunteers should be weary of street salesman; they all have goods to sell.

Andrew Lawrence

Allison Davis (USA)

I love working with school and am proud to be able to contribute to such a wonderful place!
The language classes were helpful but I think there only needed to be an hour or so a day. Also I would have liked a boarder instruction. Sonam was an excellent teacher – patient, amusing and flexible.
The sightseeing expeditions were amazing! Thank you for organizing such wonderful outings for us. I appreciate all your hard work and help. The renovation project seemed to have gotten off to a good start today. We accomplished a lot and were very well equipped for what we had to do. I also appreciate the flexibility of country co-coordinator in making sure everyone had enough time to teach the kids. Thank you.

My experience with Global Crossroad

This is lesley, who came back from Peru and here's my testimony:

"My experience in Peru is truly one of the most memorable moments of my life. I stayed in Cuzco for about ten days from May 3 till 12, one day in Lima, and then flew back to Toronto, Canada. From start to end, Jenny and Martha, the national and local representatives, were very helpful and supportive, and facilitated our stay in Peru. We always talked with Jenny. My friend, Maryanne, and I had the fortune of meeting another volunteer (David Curtis) who works at an orphanage, whom we became good friends with during this trip.

The host family was extremely friendly and welcoming. Despite not speaking the Spanish language at all initially, I felt very comfortable interacting with them through other means (ex. sign language, drawing, dictionaries...). They served us many delicious local foods, such as the guinea pig, ceviche, maize, papaya juice..etc. They showed us around the city and took us to markets, small shops, cathedrals and other touristy places (ex. Plaza des Armas). On weekends, they even planned full-day trips for us to see Machu Picchu, other Inca ruins, and museums. We even got to go horse-back riding on mountains!!! The Peruvian scenary was stunning and the experience was exhilirating.

At home, we played soccer, drew pictures, watched TV and chatted with the host family. The house is nice and spacious, and the washroom is very clean. The only minor concern is that there isn't hot water to shower in, but it's easy to get used to. Our bedroom has two beds with lots of blankets (the night can get really chilly), and our privacy was always respected.

Our workplace was a geriatric center in a small, rural area that is 20 min away from home by bus. We usually worked from 9am-5pm, but time flies by when you're having a good time! The staff there (doctors, nurses, psychologists..etc) were as curious about our culture as we were to theirs! I learned how to apply hot packs and massage patients who had sore backs and necks, how to use various medical equipment, and learned some common Spanish medical vocabularies.

Many thanks to Jenny for organizing everything, Martha for matching us with our wonderful host family and workplace, the staff at the geriatric center for teaching us local medical practices, and of course, the host family (Beto, Hilda, Favio and Nicole) for sharing their wonderful culture with us. All of this was very fulfilling and worthwhile. I am thankful for the organization for providing us this opportunity. I will forever remember my time in Peru. :

Cheers,
Lesley Wu

My Time with Global Crossroad

During my time with Global Crossroad, I taught English in Dong Ning, a small city of about 100,000 people on the Eastern coast of China. Dong Ning is a unique city because it is located directly between Korea and Russia. There were many people there who speak Russian, and many Korean people. I taught high school, Grade 1 at Dong Ning Yizhong. I taught roughly 15 classes a week for about 8 weeks. During my teaching period, which lasted from May to July, I had many memorable experiences, and made many valuable memories. I made friendships with many of my students, and after their lessons were over, we would go hiking in the mountains, or swimming in the Suifenhe River, which flows through Dong Ning and into Russia.

When I first heard of the opportunity to teach English for Global Crossroad, I was a little hesitant. For one thing I spoke absolutely no Chinese at all. I am a student at North Carolina State University in the United States, still working on my degree. I am majoring in Business, not Education or English, and I don’t have a lot of experience with things like this. I was hesitant, but I went anyway. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I did not want to look back and realize I had missed out because I was afraid. From the time I got here, until the time I left, I was very well taken care of. The apartment I stayed in had hot and cold running water, a phone, a television, and a washer/dryer (I was worried I would be living in a hut with a dirt floor). There were people in Dong Ning who spoke English who helped me get comfortable in my new home, and also with learning Chinese. There were Internet Cafés everywhere, and a computer with Internet access at the high school, which I used to check my email on a daily basis.

Students in China are all very studious, their day includes about 12 hours of classes lasting from 6:30 am until 9:00 pm. During their free time, we played basketball together, went on bike rides, and hiked through the local mountains. Since we were so close in age (They are 18, I am 21) it was almost more like talking to my friends than teaching a class full of students. During my stay in Dong Ning, I experienced many interesting cultural events, and saw many beautiful things. I was here for 2 of their national holidays: Children’s Day, and The Dragon Boat Festival. During these days, I took part in many of the people’s traditions and customs. I hiked to a Buddhist temple in the mountains with some of my students, which was very beautiful. The river and the mountains also had various trails running through them. I also got to travel all over China during my visit. While teaching, I went on many weekend trips to places like Harbin, Mudanjiang City, and Ba Miantong. After my 8 weeks of teaching ended, I went to Beijing to see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City, then I went to Qingdao, and saw many beautiful things there as well. It was a very exciting trip,

and I would recommend the Global Crossroad experience to anyone with an open mind, and a love for seeing beautiful places, and meeting new people.

Patrick Stinehour

Teaching in Ba Mian Tong

Hello, My name is Charles Dick and I have been teaching in Ba Mian Tong now for amount a month. I first heard of teaching in China from a close teacher/friend at my college. I was really excited and thought how great it would be to spend some a great time abroad. Through much research on the internet I decided to travel with Global Crossroad. A company that supports and arranges the opportunity for people like to me to teach english in many parts of the world. I have been traveling and working in with Global Crossroad since May 14th of this year. It has been just over one month and it has been incredible. Where I teach, Ba Mian Tong is a small city in the northeast corner of China. It has a population of around 250,000 which is rather small for a Chinese city or so I hear. It is about 2-3 hours bus ride from Russia and 2-3 hours bus ride from North Korea. The scenery is beautiful. The town is surrounded by mountains and rice fields. I run here about everyday. My daily run takes me through the rice fields and these mountains. It is an extremely beautiful run and usually about 4-5 miles on dirt roads and trails through the rice fields.

I teach and "Yi Zhong" middle school, translated it is number 1 middle school. I teach from 21 to 33 classes a week. The standard is 21 but some weeks I teach a little more. The students are from 13-18 years old and their knowledge of English ranges from extremely poor to quite impressive. The kids are all extremely nice. I have eaten dinner or lunch with several of the kids and their families. There is an immense language barrier but everyone always smiles and everyone has a good time. I am trying to learn more the mandarin language while I’m here. Several people have tried to help me and continue to give me lessons.

The food here was a big change. It is nothing like the food back home in America. Some of it is delicious and some I can go without. It's a matter of finding what you like. The dumplings here are ridiculously good, as the fried rice and the bread. The people here are really patient at the shops and markets and put up with my extremely poor Chinese, often times letting me see and taste what I buy before I buy it.

Traveling to China, I would definitely take the opportunity to invest in and be invested in by each person you meet. I have made several friends with my high school students. We hang out after school and play pool or
basketball. I learn from their culture and they learn from mine. A suggestion I would give would be to go with an open mind and know a little Chinese language before you come. It would make everything a little
easier but by far in not necessary.

Charles Dick

Teaching sharing their experience with Jeff, Global Crossroad’s coordinator

Dear Jeff,

I finally got around to writing the report you asked for. It was interesting to read the sample report. My experience has been certainly different. Here is an overview of my experience as Foreign English Teacher in China.

I am a professional woman of mature age, with a tertiary education. I am from Sydney Australia. I found Global Crossroad on the internet, made an application for a placement in China and was accepted. I am not a trained teacher and I do not speak Chinese. I was looking for a challenge.

My placement is in No 1 Middle School in Lian Yu chang which is a suburb in the Linzi District, in the north eastern Province. Zebu is about 150klms from the sea. It is known for its heavy industry and it is very polluted. I am the only foreigner in the suburb, which is similar to a small country town in Australia. I am visible being a blue eyed blonde. I am a curiosity to the local people. I am also the school's first female foreign English teacher. The local people are very friendly and helpful. They sound happy, look healthy and appear to live a simple life. They have made me feel most welcome.

The placement is for the term, which finishes at the end of June. I have 19 classes in all. I teach six days a week. From Monday to Friday I teach four, Grade One classes (2 x 45 minute lessons per week) and four Grade Two classes (2 x 45 minute lessons per week) at the No. 1 Middle School. In each class in each Grade there are about 40 kids. they are aged from 12 to 14 years old. On Saturday mornings I teach a small class of private students, aged between seven and ten years old, (3 x 50 minute lessons) in Zhangdian, which is about one hour by bus from Lian Yu chang. In addition to classes it takes about another 5 hours per week to prepare lesson. So its a full time job.

The standard of English differs greatly between students in each grade, from reasonable to almost non existent. My reading of material on the internet of teaching Oral English in China suggested, that students in a Middle School in China all had a reasonable command of both written and oral English, not so. I also expected the school to have an established basic English programme in place for foreign English teachers to follow. I was surprised that there was nothing, neither textbooks nor support material. When I asked the Chinese English teachers, "What do you want me to teach?" I was told, teach Oral English, keep it simple and maybe talk about idioms, slang and read poetry. I was given one of the current English textbooks for each grade, which the Chinese English teachers are using for this term as well as a copies of last terms textbooks. I tried teaching from those books but the students became very bored reading the same text taught by two different teachers. I read a lot of material on the net about word games etc., many of which required students to leave their desks, which I thought would not be time efficient. Each class has only two, forty five minute classes each week. I found that all students could read English well, but their comprehension was O.K. to minimal. I also found explaining idioms and slang impossible, the students had no interest in them. If I can't get their attention within five minutes I switch to something else. By trial and error I formed my own curriculum.

It is very basic and works for me most times; however, the students may have a different view. Use it or lose it is my motto. Getting students to listen, understand and use English is my aim. I get them to read material aloud, discuss and analysis it , in simple terms. Then we go through explanations for the difficult words. When the students read aloud I get half of the class to read a paragraph and then the other half to read the next. The idea is to try to keep each side of the class alert and ready to read, it works most of the time. In addition, I also prepare other material, some which I have taken from the internet. There are many good websites and I am grateful for the material that they provide. I have good days and bad days with classes. The Chinese teachers tell me that's par for the profession. The one thing that I find is crucial for a quiet good class is to have a Chinese teacher present in each class, particularly in my Grade One classes. If one is not present the students can be very difficult to control particularly as I do not speak Chinese and suddenly they lose all their understanding of English. Most of the foreign English teachers I have spoken to about this difficulty have experienced the same problem.

The accommodation provided is basic but adequate. It is a two bedroom apartment on the 4th floor, no lift, the exercise is doing me good. The bathroom is also the laundry and toilet (western), no door though. A small washing machine was provided. Interestingly, the floor waste outlet in the bathroom/laundry for the shower is about 1.5 meters from the shower area, so the floor floods when I shower. It appears there was no shower in the room originally, it was installed later, hence the waste outlets not being near the shower head. The kitchen has a sink, one gas burner and a microwave oven and its O.K. I also have a very small fridge.

The apartment is opposite a large lovely park, which is the village green and town square. It is the centre of everyday entertainment. It has exercise equipment, puppet shows, evening exercise classes and I'm told, in Autumn, ballroom dancing. The people in Lian Yu Chang lead a very simple life. There a many places to eat but there no pubs, bars, disco's, movie theatres or other usual places of entertainment. I lead a very quiet life, visitors at home, reading and long quiet walks.

Bush tucker is alive and well in Zibo, China. In the largest supermarket in Zibo, Fu Mart, there are lots of insects, grubs and worms very nicely and colorfully displayed in its refrigerated section. In the free market each Sunday, near my apartment, I watch silk worms being cooked and sold. I'm told they are very delicious. I have not to date had the courage to try them, maybe next week.

I have been in China for more than three months and the time has certainly gone quickly. I don't know whether my efforts have helped improve the English of the students I teach, but I am certainly enjoying the adventure. Everyone is so very friendly and helpful. I have not found my inability to speak Chinese a very great disadvantage.

Regards Hedy

My Trip to Brazil

Global Crossroad Volunteers taking a group photos

“My trip to Brazil was one of the most humbling experiences up until this point in my life. I left with the hope that I could make a difference in the life of at least one child. After I returned, I realized that Brazil had given me more than I could have ever asked. My stay in Brazil lasted only for five weeks, but I learned so much it seemed like longer. Upon my arrival at the airport I realized that I really had no other choice but to be open to an abundance of new knowledge (especially the Portuguese language). My first week there was spent with the coordinators learning about the culture, the city, and most crucial, the language. After the first week of orientation, I felt confident enough to get around on my own. I was set up with a host family to live with during my stay. The family I stayed with was very warm and welcoming. The minute I arrived I was offered fresh juice, suco de maracaja... delicioso! (The fruit was definitely a highlight of my experience.) Incidentally the niece of the woman I was staying with was around the same age. Her and I made a special connection. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to stay with this family. They were so very warm. Although I would have to say that I experienced this warmth with most of the people I encountered in Brazil. It seemed to be a way of life. My journey was filled smiles… unexpected, considering my project details. My project was working with children that lived in poverty stricken communities.

My objectives were to teach English to the children as well as assisting with other various activities. I was warned before my departure to Brazil of the possibility that I would encounter situations that may be difficult to deal with. This was due to the poor conditions many of the children were coming from… but I found the children allowed me no time to focus on the negative. My first introduction with the children was filled with hugs and kisses. On the faces of all of the children were the brightest and most sincere smiles I have ever witnessed. They were so excited to have someone from a different place there to see them. As I learned more about the conditions of some of the children I became more impressed with their strength and fortitude. Regardless of the hardships that they had to deal with once they left the school, they always managed to keep a smile. Granted they are children, and maybe one can say they do not know any better, but they taught me so much about humility and happiness. I grew a strong admiration for these children. I made many new friends in Brazil. I was extremely fortunate to have met the people that I did. They were very eager to share their culture with me. With the help of my host family and the information given to me by the project coordinator, I was able to really experience the essence of the culture. On the weekends I traveled to the beaches, went to festivals, and ate lots of tapioca (I may have even acquired a small addiction to this indigenous delight). The Brazilian people reminded me about the importance of unconditional happiness with the sincerity of their smiles. This was true from the time the coordinator picked me up at the airport, till my new friends waved good-bye at my departure. It was truly a life changing experience. Adoro Brasil! Beleza! – thank you global crossroad

Danielle Nicole

REPORT ON GLOBAL CROSSROADS TRIP TO CHINA

cultivate one's morality, understand ones' wish;love one's study, purse one's creativity'

My wife Elise and I are a couple from Philadelphia in our sixties. We were looking for a trip to China that would enable us to have a lot more contact with Chinese people and the everyday life in China than we could get from a regular tour.

We found Global Crossroads on the internet, which offered an opportunity to teach in China for as little as one month at a reasonable price. Elise has had some experience teaching English as a foreign language to small groups of adults, and I am a professional teacher, also with a little experience teaching English as a second language. This seemed to be just what we were looking for, so we signed up with them to teach for 2 months and then travel for two weeks.

It took a while to make the arrangements, but in the end we were promised just what we wanted - a position in China for two months teaching college students (We did not want to teach younger students.)

When we arrived in China we found out that the college that had been arranged for us had canceled on us just three days previously. Jeff, the Chinese coordinator for Global Crossroads, kept in close touch with us, however, brought us to the town where he was living, and in a few days found us another placement at a University (Niong Da) in the north of China - transport back and forth as well as a modest salary all paid for by the university.

We are now entering our fifth week, and this has been a wonderful experience for us. The university representative who arranged for us to come here has been exceedingly helpful, even to providing us with a car and driver for weekend excursions and dinner one evening with his family at a very posh restaurant. We have a lovely apartment with foiur nicely rnished rooms, two balconies and lots of windows. It also includes a microwave, a TV (but no English channels), a DVD player, and a computer which was adjusted so we could use the internet, e-mail, and word-processing in English, and a phone (local use only). We are on the 6th floor, which is a bit of a climb, but as they explained to us, it's good exercise. We also have about a fifteen minute walk to our classes (which is also good exercise.) The campus itself is out in the country, but there is very regular bus service for the ten minute bus trip into Da Qing (population 750,00), and we have on one occasion actually walked there in about half an hour. The weather here includes a few hours of rain on many days, but the temperature so far has been mostly in the 70's - just right.

The semester here ends on June 30, so we will actually have two more weeks to travel than we anticipated and the teaching itself - just 14 hours a week with one class of 32 but the rest under from 15 to 25 - has really been a lot of fun. We are teaching just oral English and just to freshman and sophomore English majors. The students’ command of English is not so great, but some of them are able to converse. Text books which are a little outdated but provide ample material as well as suggestions on how to present it are our main instructional tools. We have supplemented them with some other things that we brought with us and material from the internet.

In addition to the university person who arranged for our coming here, a young English teacher has been assigned to us, and we meet with her every week just to talk and to have her help us with our very limited Chinese.

The best part, though, has been our contact with the students. Their English speaking ability may be modest, but they are bright, helpful to each other as well as to us, very inquisitive about life in the West, and with a good sense of humor. Some of them have come to visit us in the evening. Two of them taught me Chinese chess in exchange for a lesson in regular chess. On the break of the 2-hour classes they help me with my Chinese. (I brought along the instructional book from the few classes we had in Chinese back home). On two evenings we offered an "English Corner," to answer any questions they had about life in the States and also for us to ask them questions. These sessions were both very well attended.

In our spare time, we read, take walks, go shopping in DaChing and play pingpong in the teachers ping-pong room. . We also went with one of the Chinese English teachers (we are the only foreigners on campus) to a piano bar last night.

Lately we have been busy planning our touring time. This has been more complicated than we thought because there don't seem to be any group tours that go where we want to go when we want to go there. We have spent a lot of time on the internet with this and have also gotten a lot of help from Jeff, who has been very flexible and responsive in trying to meet our requests, which sometimes change a bit from day to day as we gather more information.

In brief, our trip so far has been all we hoped for and more. Global Crossroads in the US and especially Jeff, here in China, have been more than cooperative with us in meeting our requests, and the Chinese that we have encountered, both students and adults, have been warm, friendly, good-humored, and helpful in spite of our very limited knowledge of Chinese.

Milt Cohen and Elise Bromberg

All in all it was a good experience. Some of the work was very difficult at the beginning but it was never more than what was manageable. Future more the men we worked with at the site were very nice and did an incridibleamount of work. However there were times when the work was a little slow and that was frustrating However I do recall that being specifically mentioned in the e-mail regarding the trip the people in the country were very nice and it was amazing to watch people overcome that kind of sever adversity.

Brian Lange

Thanks for the great experience to