P.E.I. teacher keen to get back to work in China

It was supposed to be a four-week holiday for the Chinese New Year but five months later the COVID-19 pandemic still has Leah White unable to return to her job in Beijing.

White has been teaching at a school in the Chinese capital for years. When she finished her education degree at UNB there weren't many full-time positions available, and she wasn't enjoying subbing. Friends suggested she might try an international position.

She was able to make contact with the school in Beijing through the New Brunswick Department of Education, because it uses a New Brunswick curriculum.

"I've always loved travel, my family's always travelled, so it seemed like a really good opportunity," said White.

"I love my students. They're the best part of the job. They're so entertaining."

Questions at the border

On Jan. 16 White packed a backpack and left for North America. She had not yet heard about the coronavirus.

She first went to visit friends in the U.S. She was questioned when she landed, but because she had not been close to Wuhan she passed through customs quickly. A week later, when she returned to Canada, the questioning about her time in China was more extensive, but still she was able to pass through.

As the time for her Feb. 16 return approached, her parents were getting nervous about her going back. She agreed to postpone for two weeks.

"Then it kind of got worse," said White.

"By the time the second flight rolled around, it had basically hit the rest of the world and China had closed the border to foreigners."

She has not been able to get back since.

Teaching from half a world away

She has still been working, teaching online since February.

For a time, students were able to return to the school so she was teaching classes live by videoconference.

"At one point I was having to wake up at 4 in the morning to teach because it's an 11-hour time difference right now," she said.

"That was a little stressful."

More recently, an outbreak in Beijing has closed the school once more, so White has been able to send out readings and assignments on her own schedule.

A different culture

White said spending all this time in Canada has reminded her of the differences between the two countries.

People in China now have apps on their phones tracking their movements, which assists in contact tracing for new COVID-19 cases.

"Every time you go into a new place — a building, an apartment complex, a shop — they test your temperature and it gets recorded," she said.

"They keep track of movements pretty well. We might consider that an imposition but for them it's really helped control the spread."

Her school is currently working to try to get her back. She's not concerned about the travelling, she said. She would take extra care: wearing a mask, washing her hands, physically distancing.

"There's risks in everything that you normally do," she said.

"If you're really conscientious about it hopefully you should be OK. Plus at this point so few people are travelling that you've got a little bit more space than you normally would."

White said she is looking forward to returning to China. Her boyfriend, her friends, her whole life is there now, and she is keen to get back to her students, and some kind of normalcy.

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