Jeanett is living her best life in China

She holds a B.Sc degree in physical and chemical science as well as a B.Sc honours degree in chemistry which she obtained from the North West University. She was a chemist at a global platinum mining company when she decided she needed a change of direction.

She challenged herself by pursuing a field outside of her profession and as a result obtained a level 5, which is 168 hours Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate from the TEFL academy. With that, a year ago, she moved abroad to pursue a career teaching English as a second language.

She was on vacation in Thailand in 2019 when she realised there is a language barrier and an opportunity for English teachers in Asia.

“It was at that point when I started doing my research on TEFL and salary ranges between countries in demand for English teachers and found that China is one of the highest paying countries, with the lowest cost of living,” she said.

She moved to China in December 2019. Covid-19 broke out three weeks after she arrived, as a result, she has not been able to come home.

She shared that her first month in China was an overwhelming culture shock which she documented through vlogging on her Youtube channel, ‘Jeanett Lesufi’.

“It has been a rocky journey thus far, mainly because of the pandemic, but through it all I have tried to create fond memories.

“I had to live off my savings for the first six months, however, moving here is everything I expected and more. All I ever wanted was a healthy environment and a balanced work-life and I would say that is exactly what I got,” she added.

Her transition from being a chemist to teaching was trouble-free, she said.

“Transitioning into teaching was smooth because of my personality as well as the preparation through the TEFL course I completed. Responsibilities, working hours and the minor challenges of teaching are definitely much less than those of a chemist.”