Tell us about Penelope! What’s your background?
I am originally from Venezuela, South America and during my late 20s I was into traveling and backpacking. I came to China 6 years ago as a Mandarin student. After my Mandarin improved enough I took a job as a Spanish teacher, then as an English teacher and since I loved the experience I decided to prepare myself better in the Education field. I got a Bachelor's degree in early Education and since then I enjoy one of the most rewarding things in the world: The smiles of my Kindergarten students!You’re from Venezuela and currently in Shenzhen. Tell us about your unique journey to China that’s lasted 6 years?
When I first came to China I wasn't alone. My fiancé was with me. He already had a job as a German teacher in the same college I was studying Mandarin in Zhengzhou, the province of Henan. We settled well here and prospered greatly. The first two years we traveled around the country and visited some other Asian paradises. Then we decided to get married and started a family. So 3 years later after my arrival I was teaching and fully pregnant. Chinese are kind and treat pregnant women as queens, so I never had an issue with that. The experience was so pleasant that one year later I was carrying my second baby in the womb!
Our readers will be keen to hear first hand about your experience of living in China through the Coronavirus outbreak. What are some challenges that you have faced and how have you overcome them?
At the moment my older daughter is 3 years old and the smaller is one, so the biggest challenge was to convince them that we couldn't go out to play. Being in a lockdown for eight weeks can be very exhausting especially with the demands of two infants that really can't be more than 10 minutes without supervision. Thankfully I am a resourceful kindergarten teacher and I have plenty of ideas and material to keep the little ones busy plus the help of my husband made things easier and way more fun. Other than that, the worry and anxiety for the situation going on outside and the suffering of the ones that were sick was hard to handle. However, we were conscious that we were stuck at home but safe, meanwhile others like doctors, nurses, police officers, health providers, etc were outside wishing to be in our place, to be home, and could not. We felt more than lucky.
What advice do you have for individuals considering China as their next teaching destination?
China is a great destination to grow as an individual. It can be shocking at first because things work totally different here but with an open mind one can just embrace it and learn so much. Here we really learn to accept the difference and be part of it. China is also really safe and the job opportunities and the packages that come with them are usually great. Plus, if one is dedicated enough, he or she could learn a new and powerful language, could have plenty of time to cultivate oneself, read, master a new hobby and use the time in very productive ways. In a few words, start anew and be a better person.
