AIRFARE: The cost of the roundtrip airfare from the U.S. to Shanghai, China depends on when and with which airline you travel. Ticket prices will range from approximately US$700 (if flying from West Coast) to US$900 (if flying from East Coast). We encourage you to book early to take advantage of lower airfares. If you are coming as a team, you may also want to look into group discounts for airfare. Good, cheaper airlines with services to Shanghai include ANA (All Nippon Airways), Asiana, China Eastern and United.

ACTIVITIES: In order to help our participants experience Chinese life, we will arrange one weekend trip to one of Shanghai¡¦s neighboring areas (either Hang zhou, Su zhou or Zhou Zhuang). We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to travel!

Factoring the above listed expenses, the total program costs will be approximately US$1,200 to US$1,500. If you sincerely have the heart to serve in this project but are unable to raise the necessary funds, please do not let that be a deterrent to your participation. We have set aside a portion of our funds for fellowships that we will award on an as-needed basis to Small Group Leaders that will help cover room & board. However, as a pledge of good faith, we ask that you raise at least the airfare portion of these expenses through your own funding sources.

ľ Where will I live?
We are very fortunate this year to have secured housing on our SMIC Living Quarters premises in the Pudong New District of Shanghai for all participants including both the volunteers as well as the rural teachers who you will be teaching.


ľ Will course materials be provided? How much teaching material should Instructors prepare?
We encourage all Instructors to prepare and design their own curriculum. However, if given proper notice and a detailed list of resources, we can help procure the materials and books necessary to facilitate your training. Most instructors will be expected to teach at minimum 20 hours. However, many of these will be for different classes, so the materials can be reused (You don¡¦t actually have to prepare for 20 hours of fresh material!). Depending on the length of your stay, you can spread the 20 hours over 5 weeks, or squeeze it into 2 weeks.

Our core curriculum will cover these major areas:
„X English Teaching Methodologies
„X Health and Nutrition
„X Computer Skills
„X Values and Ethics
„X Music
„X Creative Teaching

ľ Will pre-program training provided?