Achiever of the week: Theodorah Tisa Ntlawini

      Sep 28, 2020 | By Nqobile Mdima 

This week’s feature is Theodorah Tisa Ntlawini from South Africa. Tisa holds a BA Honours degree in Psychology from the University of Johannesburg. She is teaching English in China and works for a Peking University China affiliated International kindergarten (Jing College Group) in Weihai City Shandong Province. She has been working with this school for 1 year and 6 months (heading for her second year). Tisa had always wanted to work abroad and after discovering her passion for teaching through her previous work experiences (teaching English online and training refugees), she decided to move to China to teach children English. During her first year working in China she managed to buy her first property. When she's not working, she spends her time educating herself about finances, producing content that she shares on her YouTube Channel ‘Chat With Tisa’ and she often hangs out with the locals exchanging cultural experiences and improving her Chinese. She has also been using her holidays to explore different cities in China.

Tisa shares with us how her childhood dream to work abroad came true, how she managed to pay for all her expenses when she was moving abroad, how she manages her finances,  her future plans and more. 

What made you decide to work abroad and why did you choose to work in China?

I’ve always wanted to work abroad. My mother recently reminded me how as a child I would always say to her “Mama I want to see the world and work with children”. I had forgotten that I used to say that to her. It’s amazing how I am now doing exactly that. I am working in China and teaching mainly English to children. However, as life unfolded, I did not always know how this would happen. While in high school I met one of my closest friends who had come to South African from the US and closer to completing high school I brought up the idea of going back to the US with her to start university. Unfortunately the reality was that my mother would not be able to afford that. I started paying attention to the idea of going abroad over the years and while in university, at UJ, I came across a company called ‘cultural care au pair’. I saw there was an opportunity for me to be an au pair in America. I ended up not completing that application and worked for their sister company EF (Education First) instead. After countless part-time jobs/ hassle I landed a full time job with EF - an online English teaching company that operated in an office (not homebased at the time). I was really excited to start this new journey of teaching adults English Online. Most of my students were from China which later made me consider going to China and teaching children. That would only happen three years later, I worked with EF for two years and got an opportunity to work with an American NGO operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. This job allowed me to travel to various parts of Africa and work with Refugees. A year after that I moved to China, I’m headed for my second year in China. 

When you were moving to China, did you find the preparation process   (visa application, packing, leaving your family behind etc.)  easy or difficult?  

I’ve always lived away from family so leaving everyone behind wasn’t that difficult. It was difficult to leave my partner of five years because we had been very committed to each other although not yet married. While packing I couldn’t decide what to take and what to leave behind. Looking back, I would say pack more hair products if you have African hair, for Caucasian hair don’t worry there are plenty products for Caucasian hair. Ladies don’t pack a bunch of sanitary pads but rather plenty of tampons because you won’t find them at your local supermarket. Pack skincare products if you have specific items that you use for your skin and don’t pack summer clothes, they are cheap in China. If you do arrive in the summer or the winter pack a few items that are light for the summer because it’s so hot in the summer and very good winter clothes if you arrive in the winter because you will feel very cold. Either than that everything else was easy. The documentation process was easy because of information being available in some of the groups on Facebook about South Africans living in China and Teaching in China. I read old and new posts that people shared about their experience with the documentation process and most of the information was useful. I was able to read through people’s comments and use that as a guide while applying on my own. Deciding on a school wasn’t difficult per se but it took a bit of time. I rejected good offers mainly because I felt that the school was not what I wanted. It was only when I found what I wanted that I stuck to that school and renegotiated anything in the offer that I wanted renegotiated.

Which airline did you use when you first flew to China? Would you recommend it? (If yes, why? If no, why not?

From Johannesburg, South Africa I flew with Air China. It was normal, not uncomfortable. The food was not great at all. I flew for 13 hours into Shenzhen. I Flew with Shandong Airlines from Shenzhen to Jinan and from Jinan I flew with the same airline to Weihai Shandong Province. The excess luggage prices with Air China were more affordable than the bigger airlines.  I just went with the ticket that was more affordable. I didn’t fuss too much about which airline it was. Most airlines had the same baggage allowance and if you go with an expensive airline, excess baggage will cost more money so with Air China I had one excess bag and that didn’t cost as much as it would have with the more expensive airlines. 

How long did it take you to adjust to the new environment?

I would say it took me about six months to fully adjust and even now I’m still adjusting to new things as I learn more about the culture and language. Given a new situation and environment I am very quick to adjust of which I was quick, however looking back six months post arrival, I was more open to learning the language, saying things in Chinese, eating Chinese food, going out with more people, getting to grips with my work as a teacher. Before that it was just very stressful, however, I literally had adjusted from day one but the stress began to ease off about six months later.

Was it always your desire/plan to ever move abroad?

Yes it was. It was only a matter of time till it happened I remember wanting to also work for Qatar Airways and Emirates, I knew that they would occasionally come to Johannesburg to hold open days which I didn’t attend, however I had wanted to do it, I also had looked up opportunities for becoming an au pair after graduating from UJ, however I found myself working in South Africa for a little bit of time, but while I was there I realise that my desire to go abroad was just becoming bigger and bigger and I couldn’t ignore it anymore and it all finally aligned, so I was not always sure about how I would come to work abroad what job I would be doing abroad but I did know from a young age that I always wanted to work abroad. 

Do you regret leaving your previous job and pursuing a teaching career?

My previous job where I worked as a cultural orientation trainer and I trained refugees that were being resettled to the United States was really rewarding. I was in a classroom setting and trained people that were of different literacy and education levels all with the common factor of being refugees - being a vulnerable group that was trying to get away from persecution and move to a better place. That was a very fulfilling job for me. While doing this job I learnt a lot about teaching as well because I taught young children and adults alike. I was teaching English online before working with refugees and this also gave me an idea of what it is that I actually love. I realised that I love teaching so when I moved on from the online teaching job to working in sub-Saharan Africa training refugees it further cemented the fact that I love teaching. I knew that I wanted to work with children and I knew that I wanted to teach and I love teaching English, so it only made sense for me to leave and go to a place where I would be able to do that fully. Thus when I left, I left knowing that it was time for me to leave.

 Moving abroad can be quite expensive, did you pay for all the costs yourself? How long did it take you to save for this big move?

 I was fortunate enough to have been employed consistently for a good three years prior to my move. I had also worked part-time jobs while studying and I was saving money on a monthly basis. It didn’t matter how much I was earning, whether I was working part time or full time I would always save the little that I had earned. It was a bit expensive however I had prepared for it and doing everything part of the process myself. On the documentation end of things that saved me money because I was not using an agent. I regret spending so much money on products that I came over with to China because I had the fear that I wouldn’t find some of these products especially for my African skin and African hair, although I needed the products I didn’t have to buy that much. The flight was fairly priced, upon arrival I had R3000 with me of which, when I withdrew from the bank using my South African bank card it came out as 1500¥. I had to pay for a medical exam upon arrival which cost 500¥. I was left with only 1000¥ before my first payday. That 1000¥ allowed me to buy enough takeaway food to live on for that month and to buy cleaning products to clean my apartment which I found in a terrible state. I would say anyone coming over should budget for food, the medical exam and any other little expenses that they might encounter before their first paycheque. So you can budget as much as 2500¥ which might be equivalent to over R5000 if you are moving to Shandong Province. If you don’t have that amount of money, having something equivalent to 1000¥ can still be enough to buy food at the supermarket and live off that before your first paycheque because the cost of living in China is low. To conclude I didn’t really need that much money and I didn’t need to take out a loan or borrow money from friends and family because I had already saved or created a habit of saving years before that.

Did you start your YouTube channel in China? What motivated you to start it? 

I started my YouTube channel while I was in Zambia, Lusaka. I was at a hotel and I decided to start talking about my hair and I posted that video on YouTube. I didn’t have any intentions of having a YouTube channel that I would be running on a consistent basis. I just thought that occasionally I’ll post something about my hair because people always ask about how I take care of my hair and I really wanted to share that information in order to help African ladies take better care of their hair. I subsequently uploaded a few videos every now and then and when I came to China people would say well why don’t you create a YouTube channel and I kept procrastinating that until COVID-19 happened. I was under lockdown and had to start recording teaching videos for my school then I realised that I could actually do this and record something about my hair which I did and then I thought well I’m also passionate about finances and this is something that a lot of people are not taught at school, even though it forms part of basic information to know about life. The financial opportunity of working abroad and how that could be literally what kick starts where we want to be financially, but if we don’t have the literacy then we will remain stagnant and continue the same spending habits that we’ve observed from our parents or that we have acquired from our time in South Africa and carry those into our salary here in China (of which working in China is such a huge advantage). So I decided to start sharing my financial journey, financial experiences and touch on African natural hair, personal finances and culture based on my experiences abroad.

What is your channel’s name and content?

‘Chat with Tisa’ is the channel name and I initially started off talking about taking care of my African hair. I have moved away from that as of late because I’ve been building more of the financial literacy content that can help South Africans both in South Africa and those in China by adding more China specific financial information and talking about my cultural experiences and recording those whenever I can. So it’s about three main things; my African hair, my financial journey/ managing my personal finance and my cultural experiences while abroad.

 When do you get the time to plan your content and shoot your videos?

In order to maintain consistency with uploading content on my channel, I mainly record on Saturdays or Sundays for the upcoming week. Seeing that our lunch breaks in the Kindergarten where I work are long, I am also at times able to slip away for about an hour and 30 minutes to record content and get back to work on time.

In one of your videos you share how you bought your first property, CONGRATULATIONS!!!. Why did you invest in property and what advice would you give to someone who is working abroad and plans to invest in property in their home country? 

Thank you!  I’ve always wanted to own investment property and being abroad for an indefinite period meant that I could prioritise investment property over personal property. I felt the need to share that because I know that there are South Africans that have come to China and bought property back in South African with their earnings that they accumulated here but I didn’t see any of those stories online. Being able to buy my first property in less than a year of being in China, I felt I needed to share that experience and any other personal financial knowledge that I have that could help people reach their financial goals. There are a lot of similarities in the property buying process while you are abroad as a South African or working in South Africa. However there are things that will be different here and there. There is also a lot of detail that I intend to further explain about the process and I’ll be uploading that content on my YouTube channel soon. I would say that the biggest advice I have is, start saving from the first pay check. Don’t create or allow for new unnecessary expenses or lifestyle changes. It is possible to be consistent with your savings. Don’t sign anything you don’t understand, take your time and ask questions - ask every little question you need to ask and I’ve done it. You can reach out to me and ask me some of these questions that I might have missed from my channel Chat With Tisa. In conclusion I would say do it! It can be done! It makes financial sense! 

Did you study Financial Management or any related course? Or did you self-educate yourself about money and wealth? 

I’ve always been passionate about finances. I always had so many financial specific questions that my parents could not necessarily answer, maybe because they didn’t have the financial knowledge. But one thing I knew was; if I spend less, I save more! and if I save consistently I will have more. I was able to save my first R10,000 while working a part-time job. I felt so proud of myself and that pushed me to save more money and to start looking at savings options that could help me earn interest. I did at some point get distracted with my savings, but I always try to maintain consistency in saving and reading financial information.  Financial jargon can be overwhelming and I decided to educate myself on things that I don’t understand. I don’t know everything, however every single day I do something that will help me improve my financial knowledge: be it reading articles before bed or during my lunch breaks or listening to podcasts in the morning as I get ready to go to work. My understanding of that info7rmation thereafter is what I try to break down on ‘Chat with Tisa’ to share that information with everyone else that probably still feels very afraid and fearful of not being able to understand some of the financial jargon and concepts or not having the patience to read all that information because it can be a lot. My aim is to simplify information in the way that I would’ve loved to have it simplified, so much so that when someone who is in primary school or high school listens to what I’m saying they understand it. I didn’t study financial management I’ve never completed on enrolled any courses in finances, I don’t think there is a need to because all the information is out there for us to read and do something with.

Which books would you highly recommend for financial education? (you can also recommend YouTube channels, websites/blog links and podcasts). 

The first ever financial book that I read was Rich dad poor dad, by Robert Kyosaki. Everyone was talking about this book and I had it for a couple of years before I finally read it. When I finally read it, I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down, and I would advise anyone to read it because it was really the starting point to thinking differently about money. It affirmed everything I ever thought that I might have not really been able to put into words or action. I listen to podcasts every morning when I get ready for work. I listen to the ‘Money show’ from 702 with Bruce Witfield which is a bit long but I also listen to another podcast called ‘The fat wallet show’ by Just One Lap and ‘Money Web now’  with Simon Brown. On YouTube I watch the JSE Power Hour webinars that they upload and other investment videos on their channel. I also watch some of the EasyEquities webinars that they upload on their YouTube Channel. I do more reading than watching of videos because when I read throughly I find out more information and facts that I then simplify and speak about on  my YouTube channel according to how I understood the information, simplified further for my viewers. I also used to watch Nicolette Mashile on YouTube. She is an inspiration to me, she is a young African woman who took charge of her finances, shared her journey and  continues to do so. I could relate to her. She also has a book out, which I haven’t read yet, based on her YouTube content. I believe it’s probably a good book to read.

One of the main concerns for African expats when they move to Asia is maintaining their hair health and hair growth. How do you keep your hair healthy and maintain the growth?

I brought a lot of products for my hair that literally lasted me for a good year and a half. I got very nervous about what I would do after all my products run out, however I was lucky and happy to find out that there are so many people that sell natural hair products in China. You just need to find out from WeChat groups who sells them and people are always willing to share the information. There is a lady that I consistently buy from and she has most of the products that I used to use in South Africa. The water unfortunately will change the texture of your hair my hair has started to feel very dry. I use tap water to wash my hair but I’ve been advised to start using mineral water but for the past year and six months I have been using tap water. My hair finds it very difficult to absorb moisture so I think the metal in the water further perpetuates that dryness hence my hair feel so dry.

Please list advantages and disadvantages about your apartment. 

I live in a two bedroom apartment, of which I am so happy about, my bedroom is very spacious and faces the East side where the sun rises. It’s so beautiful and my kitchen is on the west side with the sunset so I get to experience the sunset and sunrise. In my spare bedroom I store most of my other things that I’ve accumulated. My main bathroom is spacious, the kitchen is spacious, the lounge is spacious, I live in a very spacious apartment.  If I lived in a bachelor apartment I think it would’ve also been okay but I’m loving the size of this one. When I have fellow African friends come over they have a place to sleep, it’s easier to host people.

Please list advantages and disadvantages about working and living in Weihai City. 

Weihai is very clean city, very low air pollution, not over populated, it’s a coastal city and very beautiful. You get to experience the beach. Living costs are very low - everything is affordable and cheap from public transport to cabs to food to social events. People in Weihai are very kind, very open, very accepting of others, yes they are still very curious about Africans in their community however mainly welcoming.

Weihai doesn’t have many foreigners so the first six months I believed I was alone. I thought I was the only one with maybe one or two other foreigners but everybody seems to keep to themselves mainly because some people work at Kindergartens ( Monday- Friday) and some people work at Training centres ( Wednesday - Sunday), so the days off are different. There are a lot of Russians and other Caucasian foreigners. One has to make a great effort to find African foreigners, however the trick is where ever you are you will find foreigners closer to the University because a lot of foreign students would be in your city if there is a university. So it’s a good idea to hang out around coffee shops or areas around universities because that’s where you see foreigners. I would bump into African people and feel so excited and overjoyed by the sight of a black person because there are so few in Weihai.

Social events, if you are a person that likes going out Weihai won’t be that entertaining and can get boring very quickly but this is not an issue for me.

Weihai is six hours away from Beijing by high-speed train and eight hours away from Shanghai by high-speed train but if you’re flying it’s an hour away from Beijing and two hours away from Shanghai. With the type of transportation available in China it’s easy to travel between these two cities or any other place from Weihai whenever I want to travel during my holiday or public holidays. When I travel and return to Weihai, I find that Weihai is just a peaceful place.

How many cities have you visited in China? Which one is your favourite and why?

Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan and Anhai.

I really enjoyed Beijing there was so much to see, so many different historical places. I always dreamt about seeing the Great Wall of China and I got to see that. There are so many different parts of the Great Wall, it is unimaginably huge so much to do that one can never walk from one point to the other. I didn’t even realise that before, so being at the great Wall and seeing it twice was amazing for me. Seeing other areas in Beijing was really lovely. Beijing has a lot of foreigners so coming in contact with other foreigners from other parts of the world was also a lovely experience. One can easily find both the western culture as well as the more Chinese traditional culture in Beijing, however I only like being there on a holiday basis. I wouldn’t want to stay there because it is more expensive. There is more to do so one will obviously do more and spend more, but it’s a beautiful city and just experiencing being in the Beijing subway was lovely.

When I went to Shanghai I had a great experience as well, beautiful city and I didn’t spend as much time in Shanghai as I did in Beijing, however Shanghai was similar to Beijing in terms of expenses, also having a lot of things to do, a lot of foreigners as well. I also wouldn’t stay in Shanghai because of how big it is and the cost of living, although it can be kept low but I just feel that when we’re in a busy place, we have more to do and having more foreigners around means you spend more. With Jinan I didn’t see much of a difference between being in Jinan and being in Weihai except Jinan is much bigger, however, I wouldn’t really stay there I just love how clean the air is in Weihai, it’s beautiful, peaceful and still my favourite place at the moment.

What is your goal when you return to South Africa?

I would love to start a business; I know I will start a business when I return to South Africa. I probably will not go back into formal employment, however I know that I’ll be starting a business and probably working in the financial advisory sector as well because I will continue being passionate about finances and maybe doing some charity work to go to schools and teach things that High school and primary school learners are not being taught about finances (things they should know from their young age). By the time I go back my financial knowledge would have grown and might consider personal financial coaching.

What advice would you give to someone who is confused about making a decision to teach abroad, especially during a pandemic?

I would say go and watch the video that I recorded about sharing a meal with a Chinese family. It’s a two-part video where I spent the day with a Chinese family, we cooked and we did a Q&A. Pay more attention to the relationship and the closeness. That’s  probably what you are going to get when you arrive in China, there will be 2,3, 4, or 5 people who will want to make you feel comfortable in your new environment, who will want to be helpful even if there is a language barrier they will still want to make an effort to be your friend to learn about your culture. So by watching that video just know that you’re coming to a place where people are loving, caring, ready to share their culture with you and they want to experience yours as well so bring some Pap, custard or anything that is non-perishable that you can carry in your luggage bag and has a long expiry date. Keep it in your cupboard so that one day when you share a meal with Chinese people they can taste something from your country and they’ll be more than excited to do so. Just do it! take the leap of faith. I know it’s scary especially if it’s your first time going abroad however you won’t regret it. Keep an open mind, know that you are coming to a different place, it will be different you might hate it first but you might also love it immediately. China has been the safest place to live in during this pandemic, everything is so organised, so controlled, so much so that people back home couldn’t believe that we had stopped wearing masks and everything had gone back to normal, and that is honestly because of how controlled and well managed the country is. Everybody follows the rules and we all stayed indoors during the lockdown and that’s how the government was able to take control of Covid spreading. China is now back to normal. It’s a safe place to live in if another pandemic hit I would stay in China, a lot of people that left China and  went back to their home countries will tell you that that was the biggest mistake, that they should’ve rather stayed in China because things went back to normal really quickly because of how organized the country is. It safe to be here, it’s probably the safest place to be.