Hi, my name’s Chris and my teaching career began in a public toilet in Istanbul!
I was backpacking and working my around Europe (grape picking in France, dish-washing in Spain) after graduation from University and I found myself flat broke in Turkey. I also found myself in the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and upon visiting the Gents I saw an advert saying ‘English Teachers Wanted’ on the urinal wall. I called the number immediately, and was asked to come for an interview. Immediately. That afternoon I was offered a job and I started teaching that very evening. After 3 months I had saved up enough money to continue my travels, and headed off to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Upon returning to England at the end of my trip I was faced with the prospect of looking for a career. As both my parents were full-time, lifelong teachers I think it is entirely understandable that I had never, ever wanted to work in the field of education! But I had greatly enjoyed my time teaching in Istanbul, and I had discovered that I seemed to have a natural talent for it. So I became a teacher in my hometown of Poole in England, teaching English to some of the tens of thousands of foreign students who visit the UK each year to study.
    And 23 years and half a dozen different countries (Turkey, England, Spain, England, Japan, England, Japan, England, China, Czech Republic, China) and about a million different schools later here I am in Qingdao. And I still enjoy teaching and I still think I have some kind of talent for it!
I get a lot of satisfaction from working here at AMIO and I can assure you that it is one of the most professional schools that I have ever worked at, anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the students here really are tremendous. There are lots of very bright, eager, enthusiastic and interesting students, and it is a pleasure to teach them every day. Finally, the team of teachers that we have here at AMIO is undoubtedly the finest in Qingdao, and it is a both a pleasure and a privilege to share the staff room with them.