#国际教育##远嫁国外##跨国婚姻##人物故事#
This is the 3,824th real story we have told
My name is Julia, a native of Jinhua, Zhejiang, currently living in South Korea and working as an educator in an international school.
Since I was a child, my life has been very smooth, I was admitted to Xiamen Huaqiao University in 2007, and I also had a graduate boyfriend from Xiamen University.
During the four years of college, I never thought that I would have direct contact with Thailand, but because of a kind invitation from my best friend, I went to Thailand to become a Chinese teacher in the year I graduated.
As a result, this time of teaching abroad changed my life. In the past few years abroad, my boyfriend who has been talking for many years broke up, but my career has been slowly climbing upward.
(Me and my father)
My hometown is in the countryside of Wuyi County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, where my father opened a factory and my mother helped me.
Although my family was not wealthy, my parents attached great importance to my younger brother and me's education, saved money for themselves, and bought us books for us to go to school.
When I was a child, my academic performance was always at the top, and I never let my parents worry, so I won the trust of my parents. They rarely interfered in my affairs and often encouraged me to fight for my own opportunities. It also allowed me to become independent and take care of my life like a little adult.
In 2007, I was admitted to Xiamen Huaqiao University, majoring in Chinese as a foreign language. It was also there that I met a very good and humble boy, who was a graduate student at Xiamen University and later became my boyfriend.
(Just started college)
In the second year, my boyfriend got the opportunity to study for a doctorate from Peking University and Tsinghua University. But in order to stay with me, he finally chose to stay at Xiamen University.
Being able to be with my boyfriend is a huge joy for me. However, in the process of studying, I felt more and more that being a teacher was not too happy, but a repetitive hard work, so I planned to find a foreign company after graduating from my senior year.
But at that time, my best classmate suddenly invited me to go to Thailand with her for an internship, which was contrary to my original idea of working in a domestic and foreign company.
I wanted to refuse her kindness, but it just so happened that Hanban launched a volunteer activity to become a Chinese teacher in various countries as long as I passed the selection.
At that time, I also realized that although I had read Chinese as a foreign language and made many friends from all over the world, my understanding of the world was actually one-sided and narrow. So, with the constant encouragement of my friends, my thoughts gradually loosened.
(University graduate)
Isn't there a saying that says? Only when you look at the world can you have a worldview. At that time, I suddenly had a great urge to go out to increase my knowledge and improve myself.
But what really made me go to Thailand to become a teacher without hesitation was because of my boyfriend's full support.
My boyfriend is motivated, and he keeps improving his academic qualifications whenever he has the opportunity, and after holding two master's degrees, he is still studying for a doctorate. When I hesitated, he told me that I was still young and that this was a rare opportunity for growth that I had to take advantage of.
Looking at my boyfriend who was moving forward, I didn't hesitate to go to Thailand.
At that time, I was very excited, but I didn't expect that when I first arrived in Thailand, the school drove a minibus to pick up people, and it seemed to be wandering all the way to the countryside, which made me worry about whether I was assigned to the legendary "Shangougou" school.
Half an hour later, until a lavish "aristocratic school" came into view, it turned out that everything had completely exceeded expectations.
I was lucky at the time. At that time, there were about 2,000 Chinese volunteers sent to Thailand, but I was said to be one of only six teachers sent to international schools.
Later, I learned that the international school was founded by the daughter of the richest man in Thailand, and the children who came to school were either rich or expensive.
(With the kids)
The school is an authorized K-12 International Baccalaureate Diploma T The aim of this program is to provide students with an education from kindergarten to pre-university, with the aim of developing students' intellectual, emotional, personal and social skills to learn, work and become global citizens.
In the primary school, a Chinese and English immersion program is adopted, with a Chinese teacher partnering an English teacher and teaching two classes in one grade level as a class teacher. Students learn a variety of subjects through thematic inquiry using Chinese and English as the medium language. For example, children will use English and Chinese to learn about climate warming, environmental pollution, habitat destruction, etc.
Through the form of unit inquiry, the knowledge of various subjects is integrated in each unit, allowing children to explore the world in two languages.
When I first arrived in Thailand, my perception was still stuck in the preconceived mind, and I didn't think that the next work would bring me much shock.
(Self more than ten years ago)
At that time, I went to the kindergarten class as a teaching assistant to help the children write, and I was surprised to find that the five-year-old children in the class were talking to the teacher in English.
I was surprised, but on second thought, it was nothing, this kid might be an international student, and it was normal for him to do this. But when the children walked into the Chinese class, I couldn't help but be surprised when the non-Chinese children fluently communicated with the teachers and classmates in Chinese in front of me.
They spoke clearly and without any confusion, and at that moment I completely forgot that these children were "foreigners" from different countries.
None of their native speakers are Chinese, but I am particularly shocked that they can switch between two languages smoothly at such a young age and without a background in two languages.
It was also this international education work that made me really feel the way the teachers treat the children, as well as the children's talent and vitality. I began to realize that education was not the same thing at all as I imagined.
(I'm taking Chinese class)
Education can also be so fun, vivid, and vibrant. And the children who go to school can be so happy!
So in Thai school, I stayed for four years. In the past four years, I went from being a volunteer to a teaching assistant in a class, to becoming a Primary 2 PYP (IB Primary Years Curriculum) Chinese class teacher, and later becoming an international educator.
During this period, I applied for a graduate degree in international education at an American university, which is completely inseparable from the inspiration that the school has brought me.
But when my career in Thailand was booming, my boyfriend graduated with a doctorate and immigrated to Canada with talent introduction. We have been in a different place for 4 years, and now our boyfriend is not in China, you can imagine how much pressure we have.
In order to save our relationship, after the fourth year of teaching, I resolutely chose to quit my job and go to Canada to re-employ.
However, they do not admit that the UGC of each province in Canada is not universal, and some provinces need to have a domestic UGC before they can apply for review. As a result, I had never thought about taking the UGC exam when I was in college, so I had to choose to return to China to apply for the exam.
(I'm in Beijing with my friends in Tsinghua Park)
The time for the UGC examination is not long, but it is not short. I had to find a job in Beijing first.
The school I joined was in the early stages of IB education, and they needed to find an experienced teacher to do the curriculum construction and authorization application, and I was the perfect fit.
We soon began experimenting with inquiry-based teaching in English for Year 1. At first, it was okay, but as we went deeper, we realized that we were wrong.
Because our children did not receive English language immersion training in kindergarten, many children could not even understand the classroom instructions during the class with foreign teachers.
We have made a lot of attempts to do this, including hiring senior foreign teachers from Australia as trainers, referring to the path models of other schools, and finally finding a way to integrate.
Although it is not possible to copy the Thai Immersion Bilingual PYP (Primary Curriculum), there is a lot to learn from. After we quickly changed our strategy, we got good results.
(I teach in Beijing)
While I was cheering for the progress of the course, my feelings were already in crisis. Due to the long-term distance between the two of us, my relationship with my boyfriend began to become difficult. There was no cheating, no empathy, just because of various misunderstandings in different places, we who were young and proud, finally chose to break up. And I stayed in Beijing.
But it was precisely this stay that gave me a special feeling that I have only had since becoming a teacher.
In China, when I first taught in Chinese, I found that children naturally love their teachers. Every morning, many children come into class and say to me, "Teacher, I love you." Foreign kids will say the same, but you have to put in a lot of effort to win their affection.
I suddenly realized how lucky I am to have a natural link from my native language! As a teacher, I was loved by this group of lovely children, and the softest part of my heart was touched, so I decided to continue to move forward for love.
The education implemented by the school is moving forward steadily. I think back to the beginning of the school year, one day the vice principal suddenly asked me, "Julia, are you sure you want to be a class teacher?" "I said of course, I want to be a homeroom teacher when I do the PYP (IB Primary Years Programme).
I was a little confused at first, but then I fully understood her concerns. After becoming a class teacher, I realized that domestic and international school class teachers are completely different concepts, and the work content is very different.
(Going to a concert with friends in Beijing)
The homeroom teacher abroad is the homeroom teacher, so I only need to be responsible for the daily curriculum teaching and evaluation, and only need the student contact book, parent-teacher meeting, and monthly class news to communicate with parents, focusing on the child's learning growth and personality cultivation.
However, in China, the daily work of the class teacher is to completely integrate administration, logistics and teaching, student growth, and parent communication, which is very tedious and stressful.
Not long after I worked, I felt a little overwhelmed, because in the field of education, I am a person who advocates simplicity and professionalism. Obviously, the teaching environment here is not very suitable for me.
But fortunately, we have a very good PYP team, from the vice principal to every Chinese and foreign teacher in the department, everyone has gradually gathered into a strong team.
However, it is still difficult for the IB program to land in China. Three years later, despite a lot of reluctance, I started looking for a new opportunity and went to Daegu, South Korea, by chance.
On the first day I arrived, the principal of the school was already waiting for me at the airport. He was very accommodating and took me out for lunch with the other new teachers after checking me in and giving me a short break. Because it was still summer vacation, the school cafeteria was not open. This made me feel the warmth of the school leaders in a foreign country.
The summer in Daegu is very hot, but my room is very comfortable, all daily necessities, even my daily toiletries, have been prepared in advance, and the air conditioning temperature in the room has been set for me even before I arrive at the school. I was very touched by this kind of attentive attitude towards the teachers, and I quickly fell in love with this school.
In South Korea, international schools can only enroll 40% of Koreans. The school has a large choice of students, which can be said to be the best of the best, and the students are very polite, so I live a comfortable teaching life.
(Korea School Sector Collaboration Conference)
Of course, there have been times when it was embarrassing because of the lack of Korean. Shortly after I arrived in Daegu, I went out with a colleague. In the taxi, a colleague (a white American) communicates with the taxi driver in broken Korean.
The driver was looking at me in the rearview mirror the whole time, only to see him sweating profusely and winking at me. I didn't know what the driver meant, but I realized later that he was thinking of me as Korean. But I didn't know Korean, so I had to look down at my feet and avoid looking at him, which hurt the driver.
Teaching in Daegu went smoothly until the outbreak of the pandemic, when I was stuck in a Korean school dormitory and could only teach online. But it was also at this time that I formed a bond with my love of software engineers.
He was Indian, and he fell in love with me at first sight, and after a few meetings, he chased me after him. But at the time, I always felt that we were not suitable for each other.
He's in Gyeonggi-do, and I'm in Daegu, and it's seven or eight hours to go back and forth. Coupled with the previous relationship experience, I was discouraged from being in a different place, and I was preconceived not optimistic about the relationship.
So after meeting him, I turned him down. He insisted and begged me to give him another month, saying that distance was not a problem.
I thought he was joking, but he was extremely sincere and made it clear many times that if after a month, I still didn't like him at all, he would leave.
(Me and my husband)
At that time, it had been 5 years since I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, and it was time to give myself a chance to get along with him as friends first.
During this time, we traveled to Jeju Island together. It was this time that he made sure that I was the right person, so that whenever we had a problem in the future, he insisted that there would be no problem.
After we started dating, he came to see me almost every weekend and came back on Monday. This went on for a long time, and then he moved to Daegu. Last summer, we registered our marriage, and after two years of dating, everything fell into place.
After marriage, he was very responsible, and while working hard to earn money, he took care of most of the housework, and lived a comfortable and comfortable life.
Come to think of it, don't be afraid to make changes in life, don't be afraid of changes, and use your heart to meet the ups and downs of life. Of course, this also includes feelings.
(Wedding photo shoot in Jeju Island)
Every step in life counts, and when you go to the back, you will find that there are often surprises buried behind the difficulties, and God has already secretly prepared candy for you who work hard.
Looking back, I boldly went abroad to work and study, and then returned to China to explore the IB, becoming the first teacher in China to realize the implementation of the IB curriculum. Today, I have roots in Korea.
Of course, along the way, I have often been talked about myself. "Why are you abroad? Aren't your parents the same as not having your daughter? "If you marry a foreigner, what will happen to your parents?"
All kinds of voices are telling me that my choice is worthy of my ancestors. In the eyes of outsiders, I am an unfilial daughter if I marry a foreigner so far away and live abroad for a long time.
At first, I also had self-doubt and pain, but after many years, I finally understood that life is my own, happiness is my own, and people can't live in other people's expectations, if you want to live, you have to live as you want.
Even if sometimes the pressure comes from society, parents, and even our own expectations, we should pursue the life we want and live independently and gracefully.
You don't have to live the same life, and you don't have to deliberately be different, just find the right fit that belongs to you.
(Welcome to "Leah-senpai in Korea")
[Narrator: Leah]
[Editor: Yiyi]
We can't experience different lives, but we can feel different life trajectories here, every photo here is a bit of life, every story is a real life, if you also like it, please click to follow! @真实人物采访
(*This article is based on the oral statements of the parties, and the authenticity is the responsibility of the oral narrator.) Friendly reminder from this account: Please identify the relevant risks by yourself, and do not blindly follow the trend to make impulsive decisions. ）