THABISILE BUTHELEZI
Achiever of the week: Thabisile Buthelezi
April 29, 2021 | By Nqobile Mdima
This week’s feature is Thabisile Buthelezi. Thabisile is from South Africa. She holds a Bachelors degree in psychology and a psychology + honors degree in Criminology and forensic studies. She obtained both of her degrees from The University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Thabisile is an ESL teacher in China. She works for acompany called Playplace learning international. Thabisile has been living and working abroad for 1 year and 5 months. She had always always wanted to travel the world and explore different walks of life but she couldn't afford it. When she heard about the opportunity to teach and travel, she decided to take it. She chose to move to China because she heard very interesting things about china and she also knew people who had already moved to China. So far she has visited 4 cities in China. When she is not working she practices self care, explores different cities and creates content for her YouTube channel.
Thabisile shares with us her TEFL journey, travel experience in China, things she gets up to when she's not working, details about her YouTube channel and her future plans.
What were you doing before you taught English abroad?
I was a student studying towards my honors degree.
What made you decide to work abroad and why did you choose to work in China?
I have always wanted to travel the world and explore different walks of life, but I was just broke to do that since I was fresh from varsity. When I heard of an opportunity like this I didn’t waste time, I took it because I had already heard some very interesting things about China and I also had people who I knew that were already there.
Was it always your desire/plan to ever move abroad?
Yes, I actually wanted to be a flight attendant growing up.
Did you find the preparation process to move to China easy or difficult?
I used an agent to actually help me with preparing my documents and also with securing a job, so I would say it wasn’t as bad as it would have been if I had to do it myself because I honestly didn’t know where and how to start.
How long did it take you to get your Z visa? I am not sure maybe 2 weeks,I really have no idea because my agent was in charge of everything, so I never paid attention to it.
When you were legalising your paperwork, did you have to notarise your TEFL certificate?
Yes I had to authenticate my TEFL as well.
How much did it cost you to move to China – legalising papers, visa application, booking flights, and surviving during the first month before your first salary?
I would estimate that it was R25000.
This is the list of things I did:
•Tefl= R 2500
•Visa = I think R 1800 I don’t remember well its been a long time ago but I remember it was between one and two thousand.
•Medicals= R 2000
•Police clearance = R 114
•Passport= R 450
• Flight Ticket = R 12000
•Authenticating = R 2000
•Sending documents to my agent= R 300
•Surviving for the first month= R5000
You have a YouTube channel where you share your TEFL journey and experience. What is the name of the channel and what content do you share?
Thabby Shenge is the name of the channel.
I just share my journey as the girl next door who went to work abroad. My aim is for people to relate to my channel and be able to feel that going to work abroad is not really far fetched and that is why I also share about my life living abroad, experiences and also information on how people can also come and work here.
What do you like and dislike about teaching abroad?
What I like about working here is definitely getting financial freedom, growing as an individual and learning new things almost everyday. And what I don’t like is not being able to see my family as often as I would like to.
How long did it take you to adjust to the new environment?
It was almost 6 months because a month after I had arrived COVID hit and I was new in the country, I still had a lot to learn and experience.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad?
The advantages for me will have to be doing the job I love. Yes I didn’t study teaching but I love working with children and having to get an opportunity to do that makes me happy.
The disadvantage is the language barrier. I think because it becomes difficult to communicate and socialize with the local people, but it gets better with time. And also not seeing my family still is a disadvantage because I don’t see them whenever I want to and I can’t just go and pop in when ever you want.
What do you do for fun in your city?
I enjoy my own time so I must say making YouTube videos, taking walks and going out to eat is my kind of fun. I am planning to travel a lot when I get holidays though that will definitely be fun because there are a lot of places I would really like to visit and see.
How many cities did visit in China – please name them. Which one was your favourite and why?
I stayed In yueyang (small city nothing interesting) but I have been to Changsha city and saw the statue of Young Mao Zedong that was cool I won’t lie. I have also been to Changde it has a place called (the German city) it actually looks like Germany. Also been to Zhangjiajie and visited the Tianmen mountain it also has the glass bridge and the cable way ( I think that’s what its called) unfortunately I couldn’t do anything on that trip because it was raining heavily. I have been to Nanjing and I now stay in Suzhou, still yet to explore more of Suzhou.
What does your day look like as a TEFL teacher China?
It’s really one of my best days, very exhausting and busy but I enjoy them very much because as I mentioned above I am doing something I love. I leave my apartment in the morning and get to work teach all my classes bond with my students and after work I go home and spend time with myself talk to my family and just relax.
Living abroad can be challenging, how do you make the most out of your experience living in China?
I make sure I charge myself a lot emotionally and mentally. So I read a lot of books about just anything I find interesting at that time. I spend time with myself and enjoy my own company. I speak to my family when I get time,watch lots of cartoons and go out when I can.
How long are you planning to live and work abroad?
I am not sure as yet but 30 years is the latest and that means I still have a lot more years to stay if I decide to stay till then.
