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Ravendas posted:Everybody wings it. It's expected. Being white means 2/3 of your job is done. Your main job is to keep the kids happy, and get them learning enough English so that their parents can see "My kid likes it, my kid speaks English" and continue giving money to your school. Oh, okay. I think it's just that little bit of skepticism from not having been to Taiwan to see a buxiban for myself yet. I'm definitely okay with the "being white and a native English speaker as a business" concept. I just still want to do a good job while I'm in it. I don't like to half-rear end things. Will I make enough at a single buxiban to afford living in Taipei, assuming I find a small apartment with room mates? All accounts seem to point towards yes, but I really want to find work and live in Taipei out of any city in Taiwan starting out. [EDIT]: Actually, scanning through Tealit, sharing an apartment with three room mates is almost exactly the same price as my apartment right now in a rural college town with three room mates (even cheaper when some places actually have utilities included). That is pretty crazy to me (and by crazy I mean wonderful). Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 04:50 on Apr 28, 2012 |
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Apr 28, 2012 04:40
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OrangeGuy posted:Oh, okay. I think it's just that little bit of skepticism from not having been to Taiwan to see a buxiban for myself yet. You'd only need one school. The average hours at Hess are 20 teaching hours a week, maybe 4 hours a day Mon-Fri. My schedule is basically 2-4, 4:40-6:40 Mon-Fri, getting there an hour beforehand to grade and prep, then leaving as the bell rings. Base Hess pay is $580nt/hour (only teaching time is paid). Say that's 80 hours a month which comes to $46,400 pre-tax, ~$38,000 after the 18% tax. That's maybe 1,300us a month to live on. My first single room apartment in Taipei was 9,500/month, but you could get way better and cheaper out in the smaller towns for that. Some of the other posters in here make me really really envious of their living situations. If you don't have any debt back home, it's easy to live on.
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Apr 28, 2012 04:47
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Yeah, I live in a 2 bedroom apartment by myself in a nice Western style neighborhood with wood floors, a kitchen, living room, and a washing machine. Total cost? $8,000 a month. Life outside of Taipei is MUCH cheaper. As for teaching tips, I'd recommend looking around Google for some simple classroom games. Most interviews I've been on basically come down to your classroom demo. Demo's are generally 15 minutes long, and can effectively be broken down to: 7-8 minutes presenting/reviewing the material 7-8 minutes game time Time management is also key so do your best to not take to long, and definitely don't finish early with no way to fill the remaining time.
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Apr 28, 2012 05:58
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Is it possible to get a job teaching English to adults or older learners compared to teaching kids right off the plane? I definitely like kids and would find it enjoyable teaching to kids, but something tells me I might enjoy teaching English to adults even more, at least given my experience teaching English to monks in their 30s and 40s. For example, I'd enjoy coming up with Mad Libs and other ways to help kids learn, but it would be even more fun IMO to help adults with English in the context of international affairs (as I saw one posting for private tutoring on Tealit indicate) or business or another subject. Would it be better to start with kids in a buxiban first just to get more comfortable teaching English as a job/advocate job experience to adult learners? Or does it not matter much?
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Apr 28, 2012 06:11
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OrangeGuy posted:Is it possible to get a job teaching English to adults or older learners compared to teaching kids right off the plane? I definitely like kids and would find it enjoyable teaching to kids, but something tells me I might enjoy teaching English to adults even more, at least given my experience teaching English to monks in their 30s and 40s. I don't know about better but it's certainly much easier to find a job with kids, there's just so many more. That would then buy you the time to leisurely find an adult job and network, knowing you're making money and your visa is secure. If you fly into Taiwan and are zeroed in only on adult jobs, it's fairly likely you'd need to make a visa run. But again maybe not, luck is a factor with vacancies and timing. As to being worth it, it depends how much you really want to work with adults vs. kids; if you're going to be miserable every day teaching snot machines of course looking for the adult job is worth it, but if you only derive 10% more 'job enjoyment' or whatever then perhaps don't waste the time and headaches. The adults will definitely feel more like real teaching at least. At Hess last year I felt like what I was doing only qualified as true teaching in a few of my 10 classes, and they were all fairly high levels where the wheat had been separated from the chaff, so to speak.
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Apr 28, 2012 08:20
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drat dude I don't know anyone who's been so fixated on getting all the details before arriving in Taiwan. poo poo, when I decided to move here I couldn't even place Taiwan on a map. I honestly thought it was what is actually Hainan.
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Apr 28, 2012 09:09
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TetsuoTW posted:drat dude I don't know anyone who's been so fixated on getting all the details before arriving in Taiwan. poo poo, when I decided to move here I couldn't even place Taiwan on a map. I honestly thought it was what is actually Hainan.
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Apr 28, 2012 09:51
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Someone has to set the bar, and by setting it nice and low I help other people feel more accomplished.
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Apr 28, 2012 10:36
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TetsuoTW posted:drat dude I don't know anyone who's been so fixated on getting all the details before arriving in Taiwan. poo poo, when I decided to move here I couldn't even place Taiwan on a map. I honestly thought it was what is actually Hainan.  Sorry about that, I'm just a little excited (more like really excited) and thrilled about going and can't really wait. Plus, it's my first time doing this kind of thing (i.e. going abroad to support myself financially and to live totally independently there), so it can be a little intimidating. I can pull back on the posting about it, though. Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Apr 28, 2012 |
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Apr 28, 2012 13:46
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TetsuoTW posted:drat dude I don't know anyone who's been so fixated on getting all the details before arriving in Taiwan. poo poo, when I decided to move here I couldn't even place Taiwan on a map. I honestly thought it was what is actually Hainan. Hahahaha, this is amazing
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Apr 28, 2012 13:47
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hitension posted:Hahahaha, this is amazing At least it wasn't Taiwan=Thailand. Honestly, I do believe every American I've met over here has an anecdote of friends/relatives/anyone mistaking the two. When I told my bank I was going to be in Taiwan, I got a response wishing me well on my studies in Thailand.  OrangeGuy I don't think anyone here actually cares about post volume as long as it's on topic and not repeating poo poo answered in the OP. And god knows I for one have the time to respond. edit- Not that Americans can be the only ones bad at geography, but I have to say after coming here I've been convinced of our stereotype. USDA Choice fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Apr 28, 2012 |
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Apr 28, 2012 14:40
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USDA Choice posted:At least it wasn't Taiwan=Thailand. I think the Taiwan/Thailand thing is pretty universal among idiots around the world. America is no better or worse than anywhere else in that regard because fact is most people don't care no matter which nationality. OrangeGuy posted:
Like USDA said don't worry about all the questions. We were all just as nervous as you are when we came here. You already applied for HESS right? That is the easiest way to come here. Otherwise choose a city you think you might like start blanketing Tealit with resumes, and plan on hitting the ground running with trying to find a job.
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Apr 28, 2012 14:58
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Thanks for the reassurance! I really appreciate the feedback.  That being said: 1.) Is it okay for teachers to have a beard when they apply for jobs or would it be an issue? Do employers prefer teachers clean-shaven or does it not matter? I'm not talking about anything bushy at all, just a full beard very closely trimmed to the face and kept well-groomed. 2.) Would a suit and tie help when dropping off resumes and talking to (and interviewing with) the management at buxibans or would a business casual/button-up shirt/collared shirt look suffice? 3.) Is it possible to request where you are assigned through HESS or is it more arbitrary like I've heard with the JET program in Japan? I really would prefer to work in Taipei my first year in Taiwan, if at all possible. On the other hand, I think I could really use the training and supervision through HESS even if I were to be assigned to a school in a different city. Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Apr 28, 2012 |
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Apr 28, 2012 17:42
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OrangeGuy posted:3.) Is it possible to request where you are assigned through HESS or is it more arbitrary like I've heard with the JET program in Japan? I really would prefer to work in Taipei my first year in Taiwan, if at all possible. On the other hand, I think I could really use the training and supervision through HESS even if I were to be assigned to a school in a different city. I just got accepted by Hess and you tell them a) what city you'd prefer to be placed at, b) what contract (20-hr, 25-hr, young learners or regular buxiban) you'd prefer, and c) whether contract or location has priority for you. As far as I can tell, if you wanna work in Taipei they should be able to place you in Taipei, because there are a ton of jobs there and there's a high turnover rate among teachers. Initial training at Hess is 9 days and it's in Taipei, then they shuffle you off to your branch. I'm a bit confused as to when I will know what branch I'll be placed at; I'm pretty sure they tell you at the end of the training session.
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Apr 28, 2012 18:12
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You're probably going to get a wide range of answers on those questions. OrangeGuy posted:1.) Is it okay for teachers to have a beard when they apply for jobs or would it be an issue? This shouldn't be an issue. I've known lots of teachers with beards. I don't think this is nearly as big a thing as it is in Korea. As long as it's well maintained, I can't see it blocking job opportunities. At the same time, any place that wouldn't hire you because of facial hair isn't a place that I would want to work. quote:2.) Would a suit and tie help when dropping off resumes and talking to (and interviewing with) the management at buxibans or would a business casual/button-up shirt/collared shirt look suffice? Taiwanese fashion is a bizarre animal practically deserving of its own thread and most certainly of a well written post. I am dumbfounded by what they consider to be appropriate attire. In any case, business casual will suffice and a suit will likely be total overkill. Dress smart and neat, but you probably don't even need a tie and the guy interviewing you sure as gently caress won't have one. quote:3.) Is it possible to request where you are assigned through HESS or is it more arbitrary like I've heard with the JET program in Japan? When I applied a few years ago, you got to rank preferences and that was it. I assume that the more willing you are to work outside of Taipei, the more likely you are to get hired. Almost everyone wants to be in Taipei. USDA Choice posted:Honestly, I do believe every American I've met over here has an anecdote of friends/relatives/anyone mistaking the two. I met my girlfriend at a really loud nightclub in Korea. When she told me she wasn't Korean, I couldn't really hear what she said, just the "Thai" part. I asked, "Thailand?" and she rolled her eyes and started to explain that it wasn't the same country. Fortunately, my political science degree paid off and I gave her a condensed 100 year history of the island and got a date out of it.
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Apr 28, 2012 18:17
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How could you possibly think someone from Taiwan was from Thailand. All Asians look alike to you?
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Apr 28, 2012 18:47
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Poorly lit club after several bottles of soju and I had never knowingly met someone from Taiwan or Thailand before.
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Apr 28, 2012 19:25
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Haraksha posted:Poorly lit club after several bottles of soju and I had never knowingly met someone from Taiwan or Thailand before. Haha, having been in Seoul in Hongdae district and drunk a lot of soju way past a reasonable hour myself, I can attest that this would be easier to do than you think.
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Apr 28, 2012 20:55
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OrangeGuy posted:
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Apr 28, 2012 22:39
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OrangeGuy posted:Haha, having been in Seoul in Hongdae district and drunk a lot of soju way past a reasonable hour myself, I can attest that this would be easier to do than you think. The fact that I actually met someone at M2 inside that writhing mass of people undulating to techno wizardry still amazes me.
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Apr 29, 2012 03:48
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My friend came back to Taiwan a few months ago, Hess hired him. He told them he used to live in Taipei, would need to get a job in Taipei, and they said "Yeah! No problem!" Arrived for the first day of training, they placed him in some little town outside of Taichung or something. He just said "Welp, cya" and found a different job elsewhere. It's not assured that you'll get to go where you want when coming through Hess. Edit: If he stuck through the training, I would have helped train his group on the final day. Heh!
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Apr 29, 2012 11:50
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I'm in mainland China now, and have been entertaining the idea of going to Taiwan. It sounds like everything that's great about China with very little of what isn't. There's a complication, however: How hard would it be for my girlfriend, a PRC citizen, to go there?
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Apr 29, 2012 12:21
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VideoTapir posted:I'm in mainland China now, and have been entertaining the idea of going to Taiwan. It sounds like everything that's great about China with very little of what isn't. This hard:  Unless they've changed something recently (and that's very possible), she needs to apply for a Taiwan pass (大陆居民往来台湾通行证) from the PRC government, then apply for a sort-of-but-not-really-visa from the Taiwanese government. I know in the past they made Mainland people come as part of a tour group (a la 老外 in Tibet), but if you had enough money (some random stuff I found said a 5万RMB would do it) you could get out of that requirement. I have no idea what having a foreign husband will do to this requirement. http://www.easytrip.com.tw/CtoT/travels/procedure.asp Here's a site explaining the details pretty well. It's from like 2010 though, so I don't know how accurate it is. I do know this is significantly less work than in like 2008-2009. I studied abroad there and they could not sent this one TA with us because she was a PRC citizen and the amount of red tape/money was just too high. Why is it so hard to go to just some province, anyway? v vIf you do end up going, depending on when and where you are it can be really, really expensive. While there are direct flights from Beijing and Shanghai, when I was entertaining the idea of heading over it was still usually cheaper to get to HK and go from there. What is probably cheapest option is actually sort of fun though, and would make for a good vacation. You can go to Xiamen (Which is a decent city, if you haven't been), then take a boat to Jinmen. Jinmen is technically part of Taiwan, but has essentially no restrictions on entry and exit and is basically a weird little tourist island. It's a neat little island that I've heard is a decent place to stay for a day or two. From there, you can get a pretty cheap plane ticket to Taipei. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Apr 29, 2012 |
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Apr 29, 2012 16:09
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Hey this seems like a good point to start posting questions, seeing as you're all in the mood to help newcomers out. I've already had some experience in teaching overseas (I did the usual stint in Korea), so I'd like to know if anyone else in the thread made the jump from Korea to Taiwan and what it was like. Also, how are foreign women treated in Taiwan? And by that I mean, is it the sort of situation where there are there women-only cars on trains.
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Apr 30, 2012 17:32
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Sisal Two-Step posted:Hey this seems like a good point to start posting questions, seeing as you're all in the mood to help newcomers out. There are plenty of people that go Korea->Taiwan, I think Haraksha did that IIRC? Whoever did can fill you in but the short of it seems to be that Taiwan is a lot more relaxed which I can definitely understand. Foreign women are treated just fine. There isn't harassment or violence or anything like that. Unless you're into rather... feminine guys the dating scene will be quite slow. Other than that you'll get the usual My own question: Anyone have experience going to the mainland from Taiwan and the visa crap that entails? Did you guys DHL passports across the strait or go to HK first or what?
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Apr 30, 2012 18:56
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Oh poo poo Haraksha! I vaguely remember that dude from the Korea thread. He was infamous although I can't remember why. And thanks for the answer. I'm not looking for special snowflake treatment or anything, but it's nice to know that I won't have to be nervous getting onto a crowded train car. And I will be the danciest monkey on the island if there's a regular paycheque in it. It beats being an unpaid
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Apr 30, 2012 21:05
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Sisal Two-Step posted:Hey this seems like a good point to start posting questions, seeing as you're all in the mood to help newcomers out. Yes, I made the jump. I'd say infamous is probably the wrong word to use. The thread was rather divided a few years back between people like me who didn't see any harm in venting about their frustrations with the country and understood that people were more interested in ranting about the bad experiences than the good and those who tried to downplay the bad experiences and spent pages fuming about people ruining the thread with whining. I've mostly cooled off on how much I disliked Korea over the last couple of years and do look back on some things fondly now. But at the time I was really unhappy there and there's no doubt in my mind that I made the correct decision. Mine is hardly a unique story though. The rule of thumb here is that the flow of English teachers only goes one way. Any specific questions, feel free to ask! But to get a few things out of the way: 1) FBI check and notarized by six different agencies? What's that? 2) School transcripts? Nope! 3) Letters of Recommendation? No one wants to read them. In short, things are way less of a hassle here. Taiwan isn't concerned with making it a massive headache to get employed. If you want to work here and meet the minimum qualifications, that's basically good enough for them.
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May 1, 2012 01:49
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Sisal Two-Step posted:Also, how are foreign women treated in Taiwan? And by that I mean, is it the sort of situation where there are there women-only cars on trains. No women-only train cars. The subway has a late night waiting zone for women (i.e., there's a camera pointing specifically at the zone. The subway station washrooms are apparently swept for hidden cameras from time to time. There are cameras on the subway cars and signs telling people to report groping. Most local guys will probably be somewhat intimidated by you. The whole lol you'll be lonely thing is a myth, but you might have to be a bit more outgoing than usual.
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May 1, 2012 02:44
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New to Speaking about newcomers to Taiwan, I need to burn through some air miles for a free ticket and the closest hop is Taiwan or Xian. Never been to Xian but I also haven't been to Taiwan in a million years. Since Im planning solo traveling... Can I crash at different goons couch and have a goon meet? I failed my trans American goongrilmage and was semi successful for my Japan neck beard /anime AKB 48 tour but hopefully Taiwan will be better! I will spend a week there and take a train across the island if possible! And visit your remote god knows where Minnan hua speaking town in the south if you are willing to host or come out for a drink! Just wondering if there are any fancier steak houses in Taiwan besides Ruth Chris'? It's decent steak but not a fan. Or other high end dining besides the usual street food? I do love street food too but am just curious about other choices. Will buy copious amount of beer/bring souvenirs and hand deliver some HK egg noodles. And you guys can laugh at my bad Mandarin. Or my "effeminate" HK ways. Cheer Chen is awesome, no joke. I am curious though, are Taiwan men really that effeminate? Seems more like an Island of "It's like China but without the horrible baggage and cooler than HK, because nobody lives in a shoebox". My good friend Bloodnose thinks Taipei is like LA but I guess I just got to see for myself. I'm thinking sometime after June 4th because that day makes me feel miserable being in China. So Taiwan seems like a great choice!
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May 1, 2012 09:03
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My couch is usually open. Taiwan men run are as diverse as anywhere else. You have the young and stylish Korean wanna-bes, the blue collar alcoholics, the wanna be gangsters, career driven family men, etc etc. Skinny guys with trucker hats and lenseless glasses just seem more prevalent at the moment. Also, I swear to god, every time I see an rear end in a top hat in empty plastic frames I want to poke their eyes out.
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May 1, 2012 09:14
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Haraksha posted:Also, I swear to god, every time I see an rear end in a top hat in empty plastic frames I want to poke their eyes out. glad to know I'm not the only one
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May 1, 2012 09:39
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And when girls wear them-- no matter how hot they are-- it makes them seem stupid and vapid to me. 对不对？
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May 1, 2012 13:31
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B-Rad posted:And when girls wear them-- no matter how hot they are-- it makes them seem stupid and vapid to me. What's with the dirty simplified? This is the Taiwan thread! 對不對!
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May 1, 2012 13:53
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Haraksha posted:
My favorite thing is most of em are wearing contacts behind their frame-less glasses anyway.
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May 1, 2012 15:26
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B-Rad posted:对不对？ 
sub supau fucked around with this message at 17:52 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 17:20
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Haraksha posted:3) Letters of Recommendation? No one wants to read them. Kojen wanted some letters of recommendation from me, but that's probably because I did fairly poorly on the interview. Hess didn't care.
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May 1, 2012 17:55
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quadrophrenic posted:Kojen wanted some letters of recommendation from me, but that's probably because I did fairly poorly on the interview. Hess didn't care. Hess rejects you at the end of training, after the demo classes. It's really hard though.
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May 1, 2012 18:11
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TetsuoTW posted:反共復國，人人有責，消滅共匪，捨我其誰！ 如果毛澤東是共匪，蔣中正是國匪。 No but seriously that guy was a tool. It's kind of a shame such a great place was basically founded (as we know it) by a US-backed gangster.
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May 1, 2012 18:17
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Magna Kaser posted:My favorite thing is most of em are wearing contacts behind their frame-less glasses anyway. On a somewhat related note I really hate those colored contacts some girls love to wear. They kinda creep me out.
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May 2, 2012 15:04
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Ravendas posted:What's with the dirty simplified? This is the Taiwan thread! 對不對!
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May 2, 2012 15:45
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