Tales of a Chatteris Alumnus
February 28, 2025
Nearly two decades on, ex-CNET Joshua Bennett reminisces about his journey with Chatteris in Hong Kong.
Late one September night in 2008, I stood in Hong Kong International Airport, exhausted after eighteen hours in the air. Stretching my legs at baggage claim, I watched for my suitcase as the other passengers silently collected their bags. But the night grew later and I grew uneasy. My exhaustion wasn’t entirely replaced by panic until the conveyor belt finally clicked off, emptied – my suitcase was simply not coming.
I’d finished college (or ‘uni’ as my predominantly British coworkers eventually had me saying) a little over a year prior with a double major in English and Philosophy. I’d graduated with honours and a sense of optimism; but, as a fruitless job hunt stretched from weeks to months, it became clear that my shiny new college degree was not opening the doors that I’d been so confident it would. I eventually found myself back in my mother’s house, and soon began questioning not just my job prospects but my larger ambitions. What kind of life did I actually want? The answer was clear: something adventurous, something intellectually fulfilling. Teaching abroad had never been on my radar, but when I stumbled across the job searching website and forum ‘Dave’s ESL Cafe’, it suddenly made perfect sense. With my university experience still fresh in my mind, I knew that the academic environment was one that I found vital and inspiring.
My application process to the Chatteris Educational Foundation was a whirlwind. I’d applied very late in the process and was only accepted when an applicant dropped out last minute. In what seemed like no time at all, I was collecting visa documents, packing a bag, and begging my grandparents to loan me enough money to afford a laptop so I could stay in touch with everyone.
A panorama taken from Lantau Island, home to Hong Kong International Airport
Soon, I found myself in Hong Kong, my suitcase missing. Luckily I’d packed a few important items in my carry-on: I was still equipped with my laptop, a coat, a paperback of On the Road, some toiletries, plus my documents and ID. I hopelessly filled out a lost bag report and boarded my bus. Streets and city lights that would eventually become familiar flew by. The journey ended with me dashing off a quick email home and collapsing onto an unfamiliar bed.
The following afternoon, I met my temporary roommate: a British CNET with an impossibly posh, hyphenated surname who kindly offered to let me borrow a clean shirt. Then there was orientation, and a pins-and-needles period of anticipation waiting to find out what school and age group I would be teaching. Despite being a consummate introvert, I made fast friends. As it turned out, telling the story of my lost luggage was a fine icebreaker; I still vividly remember my elation upon finally receiving a call notifying me that my bag had been located.
Chatteris 2008 Orientation
As I found roommates, toured a series of tiny apartments, and familiarised myself with the incredible Hong Kong MTR system, my new life took shape. I was placed at Morrison Hill Institute of Vocational Education, a post-secondary school where I worked with students almost my age.
I ended up in an apartment in North Point with the slimmest view of the water and Kowloon beyond
My days were spent building curriculum and lesson plans, guerrilla marketing English workshops to students in the quad, and hosting cheesy English-themed events. I organised English karaoke contests, got to know hundreds of amazing students and even recruited a small group of eager volunteers to become my ‘English Activity Team’. They stuck with me for the duration of the academic year which I am still grateful for, as well as for the heartwarming presents and interesting snacks they would periodically bring in. If you are a prospective Chatteris employee reading this, I can’t overstate how fulfilling and engaging the work was. If you are a current CNET, then you already know what I mean.
My English Activity Team (EAT Team, appropriately) kept me in a steady supply of snacks
The Big Buddha is a must-visit
Outside of work, my evenings and weekends were filled with camaraderie and exploration. I simply have too many memories to share, but to mention a few:
I went on dozens of hikes to gorgeous destinations, summits, and waterfalls. I fell in love with another Chatteris Tutor who I later moved away with to South Korea for another year in the education sector, and with whom I am still on great terms to this day. I was regularly and ceremonially catcalled by the bakery employees I passed by on my way home after my workday ended. By the end of my contract, a city that felt like an adventure had grown to feel like home, with goodbyes that ached in the best way possible.
Outside of work, my evenings and weekends were filled with camaraderie and exploration. I simply have too many memories to share, but to mention a few:
I went on dozens of hikes to gorgeous destinations, summits, and waterfalls. I fell in love with another Chatteris Tutor who I later moved away with to South Korea for another year in the education sector, and with whom I am still on great terms to this day. I was regularly and ceremonially catcalled by the bakery employees I passed by on my way home after my workday ended. By the end of my contract, a city that felt like an adventure had grown to feel like home, with goodbyes that ached in the best way possible.
Sometimes you go looking for adventure and sometimes it comes looking for you
Every single year of my post-college life, if you’d asked me where I would be in five years, I would invariably have been wrong yet pleasantly surprised by the answer. Within five years of finishing the Chatteris programme, I went on to found a startup, shepherding a new business into a successful international brand; the first full-time contributor on a passion project to an executive at a company with dozens of employees. Now I am recently retired at 39, living in Los Angeles, and have started to look forward to the next chapter of my life. I find that looking forward is often complimented and informed by looking backward, so I find it easy to reminisce with a lasting warmth about my time in Hong Kong.
I will be turning forty in just a few months. Chatteris CEO Ben Weetman may or may not be inclined to confirm that 40 does not feel old, but I can’t shake the sense that it sounds old. It also feels like I should have accumulated a surplus of wisdom to share. Candidly, the advice I would offer young adults at the outset of their career would be this: if you don’t have anything else lined up, please try to travel, work abroad, and see the world before you find yourself with roots that, hopefully happily, preclude it.
Applying to Chatteris remains one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Back in that airport, exhausted and missing my luggage, I hadn’t imagined how much Hong Kong would shape me, professionally and personally. But I’ve learned that the best adventures rarely announce themselves, but when they do, sometimes it’s with lost luggage.
Egrets on the rocks, Tai O Fishing Village, Hong Kong
Everyone’s journey as a Chatteris Tutor is a unique experience, but it’s hard not to be left with a lasting impression of such an iconic city, and such an engaging career. Click here to apply for the Chatteris International Graduate Programme to see for yourself!