http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com A Canadian's View of Living and Working in China Tue, 11 May 2010 03:31:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The road to Canada is an interesting one.  At first thought, this journey was overwhelming.  The thought of bringing my wife to Canada and applying for her to become a permanent resident was intimidating.  Where do we start?  How can we do this?  Do we need to hire a lawyer ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=524 Sitting here in my apartment overlooking High Park and Toronto's skyline, I'm listening to music, drinking red wine and thinking about being lost. A long time ago I had this sensation pass through me as I was standing outside a McDonalds crossing a dangerous street in Haidian, Beijing.  At the time ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=517 During the past two months, my wife and I have been spending a lot of hours working on our permanent resident package. To be honest I think she's been doing a lot more of the work than I have so far. She's found many online websites in China ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=497 On Dec 30th, 2009 I got married in China to the most beautiful girl in the world. Looking back I'm still a bit shocked that we were able to do it.  We had only a two week vacation in order to get married. And we had already planned a  nine day ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=485 Yesterday I got my visa to return to China and it feels, sooooo, darnnnn, gooooood. Actually, there are few things I have done in the past 8 months that have felt as good as getting this visa.  I know it sounds strange.  How can waiting in a government office to get ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=482 Since returning to Canada I have started Tai Chi and have enjoyed the process of learning this art. Through Tai Ji Quan I am not only learning the martial art, but also learning to listen to my body more, learning about Daoism and learning about Chinese culture.  Also, I am learning ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=477 I must admit I've been very fortunate with my re-entry to Canada after living in Beijing for almost four years.  I can't say that I have experienced much reverse culture shock.  Remembering some conversations I had with friends who have been in China for many years, I believe culture shock ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=471 I have noticed a strange feeling since returning to Canada and that is of being afraid of returning to my old way of life.  Now I don't know if this is a common aspect of reverse culture shock, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Ever since I returned I've ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=465 "Looking back, I can see how my fears and hopeless attitude with regard to the future were wrong.  Fear is the great destroyer of happiness, and most fears are unjustifiable."  Dr. Norman Bethune. When I first arrived in China and spoke to locals, when they found out I was Canadian they ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=460 Having lived in China for almost four years I have had a lot of amazing experiences and have made a lot mistakes.  You'd think that I have also learned a lot from each of these mistakes.  Unfortunately I don't always.  But one area that really sticks in my mind has ... http://www.anenglishteacherinchina.com/?p=458