The preliminaries

Shots - Today I received my first set of shots. If you are travelling to Northern China, you need to get shots for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B and Typhoid. It is also recommend that you get vaccinated for Diphtheria and Tetanus. In a month, I go back for the "second batch" of these shots. These are not cheap, costing $176 (fortunately, Heather's and my health care benefits plans pay these fees). 

I also have to admit that the visit to the clinic was somewhat eventful. The Nurse who gave me the shots was busy giving me some information, and during our "talk"....without ANY warning what-so-ever, she stuck the needle into my arm!

I have to say that I was more than a little startled....and yelled out. (OK, in reality, my "yell" was a little higher pitched than I would have liked, and looking back on this traumatic event, technically might have been described as a bit of a "scream" (and perhaps may have even bordered on being classified as a "scream like a little girl" scream). Anyway, at least the nurse did not laugh...until I dry-heaved a couple of times - then she laughed!

However, I think there is a lesson to be learned here. If you are working as a health care professional, please make sure you give your patients SOME warning before you proceed to stab them with a metal ice pick!

Passport and Travel Visa - I have also begun the process of renewing my passport and getting a travel visa that will allow me to enter China. In addition to a valid passport (that does not expire within the year) you require a travel visa that is approved by the Chinese government. This visa is a separate application, which in my case, is thankfully being taken care of by the MHC's international department.

Background Info!

I have just agreed to teach some business classes in China for 5 weeks this spring (from May 27th to June 30th, 2011). I will be teaching at a small college called E&A College.

The college campus is located in a "small" Chinese city of 2 million people, called Quihuangdao. This city is located on the coast of the Yellow Sea, and is approximately 3 hours north of Beijing. It is considered a bit of a resort town, and is used to get away from the oppressive heat in Beijing during the summer. It is also well known as being the "starting point" of the Great Wall of China!

The actual college was jointly established in 2002 by Hebei Normal University of Science & Technology and Medicine Hat College. E&A is known as a Sino-Foreign joint institution for higher education.  The College has more than 250 full–time teachers, and provides education to almost 5000 students on the campus, 3700 of whom are degree students.

I will be teaching in the Business Administration Department, but as to which courses I will be teaching, I am not quite sure what they will be just yet!

 

Picture of the college campus

Students can choose to apply to study at Medicine Hat College after they have studied for two years at E&A College. We currently have some 70 to 100 students who have taken advantage of this option, and are presently studying at MHC this year. The idea is to continue developing this cooperative relationship, and one of the ways of doing this is to encourage some MHC College instructors go over and teach on the Chinese campus. Hopefully, this will help me to better understand and improve the "international" experience for those students who come to Canada.