Comments on: Teaching in China (and Why I Hate Air Pollution): An Interview with Teacher Mitch

By: Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian)

Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian) — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 14:25:55 +0000

Hi Dima,

I’m glad you liked the vlog. Thanks for commenting and all the best on your travels, too :)

By: Dima

Dima — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 09:09:11 +0000

What a fantastic interview with Mitch, I thought his vlog was very cool too, some brilliant insights for prospective English teachers to take into account when deciding to ply their trade in China. I especially enjoyed the tackling of stereotypes which definitely do exist, and which can obviously affect your decision to become in a teacher in China. Regarding the pollution, yes I suppose that comes with the territory, but definitely gets better the more you move away from the major cities, and there are many, many English teaching job opportunities in the less built up cities too. It is a huge country, with lots to discover, and as Mitch says, they are and will continue to be a major player in the world. So what better way to contribute to the future of the world, than to make a positive contribution to the children of China? Safe travels, and thanks again for a great read Mitch.

By: Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian)

Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 03:01:21 +0000

In reply to Brianna Jackson.

Hey Brianna,

That’s an interesting question. To be honest, the air pollution isn’t something that you notice in the sense that you feel immediately sick or anything. It’s more the fact that you are aware of how bad it is for your health — and there’s a slight smell and taste in the air as well (although that could be a placebo).

The air pollution can get quite bad in Shanghai but, interestingly, it’s worse in Hangzhou (where I used to live… or rather, where I lived when I made that video). This is because Shanghai is a seaport, so the breeze blows all the dirty air inland and towards Hangzhou. A lot of people in Hangzhou like to say that we get Shanghai’s secondhand smoke, which is sadly quite true!

Day to day, it’s not something you’ll notice and it should never be a reason not to move to China. It’s more something to be aware of. I downloaded an air pollution monitor for my laptop from this site.

http://aqicn.org/city/hangzhou/

If it gets over 200, I think twice about how long I’m going to be outside (even with a mask).

Air pollution is particularly dangerous to older and younger people, so that’s something to bear in mind if you want to in Shanghai with younger or older family members. It’s also worth pointing out that air pollution is often a lot worse in the winter. Once the winter is over, the worst pollution is over.

One more thing, air pollution is worse in certain parts of China than it is in others. Places like Hainan and Xiamen are famous for their clean(er) air, though sadly this is becoming less and less true. Hong Kong’s air is much cleaner than China’s (because there are less coal factories) but it can still get pretty bad.

If you want more information, I made a full video on air pollution on my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SnLdB7XbWY

Thanks for reading the article! I hope everything goes well in Shanghai. It’s a gorgeous ciy and I’ve been there a couple times myself :)

By: Brianna Jackson

Brianna Jackson — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 17:46:37 +0000

Hey! Great read, as I was really interested in the experiences with the pollution. Do you find it to be a difficult factor? Is it bearable on most days? I’m just really worried about teaching in a place where I’ll feel like I can’t breathe all the time. My fiancée and I are looking at moving to Shanghai. I think the benefit to moving there is the cheaper cost of living and the ability to save a lot more money than we could teaching in Europe.

On the other hand, although the pay is lower in Europe, it’s cleaner!! We’ve been considering Spain or France (and would love Switzerland although there are rarely positions).

If you had to choose between China or one of the above countries, which would you choose? Why?
Which was your favorite country to teach in? Why?

By: Victoria

Victoria — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 22:18:13 +0000

Oh my, the air pollution in China! It does put me off, but your experience sounds like it must be fascinating. Great post :)

By: Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian)

Mitch (AKA The Ambling Bristolian) — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 10:03:55 +0000

In reply to Sharon.

Hello Sharon,

Thanks for your comment! What you said about exercise helping with cognitive function makes a lot of sense. It actually reminds me of a interesting video on watched on SciShow (one of my personal favourite YouTube channels) about a shortsightedness epidemic. Many more children from this generation are short sighted when compared with the previous generation.

And the solution to this problem, some scientists believe, could be exercise. Interestingly, one the studies that they mentioned in the video was performed in Hangzhou. So perhaps more regular exercise in schools is the way forward. My school could be on to something here :)

And thanks for subscribing to my channel. If I could personally thank every one of my subscribers, then I would (y)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwQzTKHIkb4

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 13:24:09 +0000

This is a great piece and made for interesting reading, thank you.

Apparently, much research has shown that exercise improves attention and concentration in all ages. This has been evident in research when comparing scores on standardized academic achievement test in education.

It also improves cognitive flexibility when switching between intellectual tasks, maintaining speed and accuracy.

Dr. Karen Postal Ph.d., Abbpp-cn. and others, explain that excercise stimulates new brain cells and binds them together.

‘In addition to stimulating new brain cells, exercise also increases BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which leads directly to brain cells binding to one another. Synapses, or connections between cells become more dense. We think better because our capacity to make connections is literally improved. BDNF stimulated connections are an important factor in creating long term memories’.

Everything seems to function better when we go full circle, even our brain!

All the best to Mitch on his journey, I’ll be sure to follow.