GS: How would you describe the assistance you have received when you joined our school?
AC: Really good. The assistance was very good both before and after I arrived at the school. I received a lot of correspondence from Mike and Tommy, the visa specialist, before I came about how to apply and sort out all my documents with the authentication etc. They made it all very clear. Then after arriving in China, I didn’t have any issues. So, really good.

GS: Who helped you find your apartment?
AC: I found the apartment when I went online to a website called smartshanghai.com. The website is all in English. There are lots of apartments listed on there so I found my apartment on that. Then, Mike from WEBi came with me with the real estate lady to check out the house and what not, and it was really easy. I moved in 2 days after seeing it. And, it was reasonably priced, so it was easy.

GS: You arrived on Thursday, so what did you do over the weekend?
AC: I went exploring. I went walking around the city a lot. I went shopping. There is lots to do around here in Shanghai. I went for a bike ride. I went out drinking one night and I made some friends. That was really cool. Just sorted myself out and getting it all ready.

GS: What’s the most popular social media app in China?
AC: Wechat. Weixin all the way!

GS: Did you do the medical check yet?
AC: Yes, I’ve already done the medical check. I was quite fortunate because I’ve done the medical check before coming to China back in my native Australia, so I just used that medical check, so it was relatively quick and easy.

GS: Did you try some Chinese food over the weekend?
AC: Oh, of course. I love Chinese food. My favorite is LanZhou La Mian (LanZhou noodle). It’s a noodle chain that’s all around the city and quite cheap and really tasty. It’s quite interesting Chinese food that I wouldn’t get back home. The food is delicious, with lots of tasty street food. There is plenty of stuff to try

GS: It sounds like a fantastic week. What are you going to do next week?
AC: I’m going to start training next Monday. I’m going to train for 3 days at the headquarters in Shanghai. It’s training how to teach so I will be learning how to teach and meeting my fellow foreign teachers. It should be a lot of fun. Then I start working next Wednesday when I meet all my students, so… busy week!