Journeying Back to Beijing with Hayley Edge | 跟随Hayley Edge返回北京

When Hayley Edge, YCIS Bejing Head of Humanities and Secondary School Coordinator, left Beijing for a holiday in January, never did she imagine she would be living from her suitcase in four countries and 15 different accommodations. Approximately seven months later, her penchant for travelling may be less after this experience, but she certainly will have entertaining stories to share with colleagues once she is back in Beijing.

 Hayley Edge

When we spoke to Ms Edge earlier today, she was at a coffee shop in South Korea, preparing to move into her 16th accommodation.  

Originally from England, Ms Edge moved to Beijing 4 years ago to teach Business and Economics in our Secondary. Her desire to teach abroad was sparked by many years of travelling, but she also states that “I taught Chinese students Study Skills at the university level in England. That is when I became interested in Chinese culture."

As a result, when the opportunity showed up for her to move to Beijing, she accepted it with open arms. Her journey in China and at YCIS Beijing has been one filled with positive experiences. “I love China,” she asserts. “I can’t see a reason why I would want to move at this point. I am happy with the life I have made here.” Like many expats, she came to China intending to move after two years, but as the saying goes, “Time flies when you're having fun.”

Professionally, Ms Edge has soared in the past four years. She started as a teacher, then moved to be Head of Humanities, coordinator and recently has been named YCIS Beijing’s Secondary Coordinator alongside Jonathan Mellen.

Speaking to her previous roles, she shares that as a Business and Economics teacher, she was able to incorporate her real-life experiences as an entrepreneur into the classroom. “Throughout my university career, I was self-employed," Ms Edge commented. Ms Edge ran a Graphic design company, t-shirt business and a milkshake bar. “My graphic design company was the revenue generator. I was making up to $50 000 a year while I was a fulltime student,” Ms Edge added, which is an inspiring piece of knowledge that students can learn from.

The role of Head of Humanities, which she will be continuing in the new school year, has been a great opportunity to share ideas with her colleagues regarding Learning Communities and building cross-curricular links with the English department.

This year, Ms Edge has been appointed as Secondary Coordinator. In this role, she will be responsible for overseeing Secondary and also the Year 10 and 11s in the IGCSE Programme in partnership with Mr Mellen, who will be responsible for IBDP students. “I’m looking forward to having an impact on all students, not just students in my classroom or within my department, but students at all year levels,” Ms Edge remarked.

While Ms Edge has called Seoul home in the past three months and created a routine by signing up for a gym and connecting with old friends and former students, she is ready to return to Beijing. “I’m looking forward to having a jianbing,” she said. Secondary school staff usually have ‘Jianbing Fridays’, just one of the aspects she has missed about her life in the city. “I am looking forward to socializing with friends and physically seeing our students as well,”Ms Edge added.

Despite the physical distance, preparations for the academic year are in full swing, and together with her team, they have been tirelessly working online towards the planning of what the new challenges for Secondary will be, with e-learning taking centre stage once again. She will return to Beijing on the 20th of August, and after a two-week quarantine, Ms Edge will be back in the comfort of her familiar home after months of nomadic living and will be welcomed back to YCIS Beijing campus.

今年1月，当北京耀中人文部科组长与中学部主管Hayley Edge离开北京开始度假时，她从没想过自己会去到4个国家、住过15处不同的住所。回顾这七个月的时光，今后她对旅行的热情可能会因为这次特殊的经历而有所消退，但她回到北京后肯定会有有趣的故事与同事们分享。

今天，我们采访了Edge女士，采访时，她正在韩国的一家咖啡厅里，并准备搬到她的第16个住处。 

Edge女士来自英国，4年前来到北京，在我校中学部教授商科和经济学。多年的旅行经历让她有了离开英国教书的想法，她表示：“我曾在英国的大学里教中国学生学习技能，也就是从那时起，我开始了解中国并对中国文化产生了浓厚的兴趣。”

Hayley Edge

因此，当来北京工作的机会出现时，她欣然接受了。她十分享受在北京耀中工作的时光。“我爱中国，”她说，“现在，我想继续留在这个国家工作。我找不到离开中国的理由。我对现在的生活很满意。”虽然，她原本只打算在中国工作两年，但俗话说，“开心的时间总是过得飞快”。两年后，她选择了继续留在这里工作。

在职业发展方面，Edge女士在过去的四年里也在不断尝试与突破。她最初是一名教师，后来担任了人文科组长，上学年末，与Jonathan Mellen一起被任命为北京耀中的中学部主管。

作为一名商科和经济学科教师，Edge女士能够将自己曾作为企业家的真实经历融入到课堂的实际教学中。“读大学时，我是名自由职业者”，她说道。Edge女士曾经营过一家平面设计公司、一家T恤公司和一家奶昔吧。“平面设计公司的工作是我的主要经济收入来源。当我还是个全日制学生的时候，我一年的收入就高达5万美元。”她说。很多学生都曾从她的故事中受到激励与启发。

新学年，她将继续担任人文部组长，这是一个很好的机会，让她有机会与同事们分享关于学习社区和与英文科建立跨学科合作教学的想法。

立秋，是二十四节气中的第13个节气，更是秋天的第一个节气，标志着孟秋时节的正式开始：“秋”就是指暑去凉来。立秋时，北斗指向西南。从这一天起秋天开始，秋高气爽，月明风清。

本学年，Edge女士将作为中学部主管，与Jonathan Mellen先生合作，共同负责管理中学部以及10-11年级的IGCSE学习社区。（Mellen先生将负责管理IBDP学习社区。）“我希望我能对所有学生产生积极的影响，不止是我班上的学生或中学部的学生，而是所有耀中的学生。”她说。

在过去3个月里，Edge女士把首尔当成了自己的家。除了报名参加了一家当地的健身房，平时，她经常会与朋友和学生聊天。她已经准备好回到北京。她说:“我已经迫不及待想吃北京的煎饼了。我非常怀念以前每周五与同事一起订煎饼的日子。“我期待着和北京的朋友们见面，也期待着亲眼见到我们的学生们。” Edge女士说道。

尽管北京首尔两地相距较远，但Edge女士已经和同事们紧锣密鼓的投入新学年的准备工作当中。Edge女士将于8月20日返回北京，在经过两周的隔离后，她将结束数月的流浪生活回到自己舒适的家中，也回到耀中的校园，迎接新学年的挑战。