|
Baddog posted:Two bucks for a pack of norfloxacin, crazy. What's bad is its 4 pills per dose and 10 pills per pack, so you know most people here are loving up the course of treatment. Get them a bucket.
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 13:39
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 07:37 |
|
|
I have an interview with Education First for an English Teaching position in China. What are some things I should know about this company, and some things I should ask? Any goons currently working with them?
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 14:21
|
|
|
YF19pilot posted:I have an interview with Education First for an English Teaching position in China. What are some things I should know about this company, and some things I should ask? Any goons currently working with them? I've heard that the franchises vary a lot in quality, as you might expect. If at all possible, find out where they'd want to put you and try to get ahold of teachers who have worked there before.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 14:32
|
|
|
Yeah, EF schools (and basically all big franchises like Disney, Web, Wall Street, etc...) are basically dependent on your franchise owner and manager. Some are real terrible places where they'll underpay you, try to get you do to extra stuff for free and generally treat you like crap... others aren't so bad. I know a lot of people who have worked at EF and it ranges from the worst deals in China to pretty OK situations, even within the same city at different schools. Find people who work there or have worked there and try to get the inside scoop. e: You should ask things related to overtime pay, stuff like office hours and if they require you to take part in English corners (which generally require you to mull around not be paid for your time), payment relating those, things about what kind of apartment or housing stipend they'll be provided (They're required to provide one or the other, and it's pretty situational on which is better), and what sorts of classes you'll actually be teaching. EF does everything from kindergarten to adult classes to 1 to 1's with students of any age, so best figure out what they'll be using you for. Also, and this might just be jaded cynicism from the time I spent as a teacher at a smaller chain school and interviewing teachers at schools like these for other research purposes, but the managers will generally try to pull the wool over your eyes if you're doing a skype interview from overseas. They'll say you'll never teach young kids/kindergarten/etc, but you will; they'll make grand claims about paying overtime... but they won't unless you really argue and fight about it. Basically come in with the mindset that they're trying to screw you over, and things will go a bit better. Chances are they aren't trying THAT hard to screw you over, but it's still a good market for teachers and you have a lot more negotiating power than you might think. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Sep 29, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 18:03
|
|
|
Currently (and until next Saturday evening) in Shanghai, in the Langham at Xintiandi. Visited my best friend's grandmother (whom I have called Wei Po since I was about 10 and she visited us in Australia) this morning, got stared at a lot by her neighbours, and had the greatest dumplings ever fried/steamed for breakfast. Shanghai is a lot nicer, cleaner, and less crowded than I imagined. I'm almost disappointed, but in a good way. This city rules. If anybody is around, or has suggestions of stuff to do, hit me up in this thread or on PMs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 18:12
|
|
|
Wednesday night come to boxing cat with me and some goons. I'm (my company is) buying the first $200 of whatever the evening costs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 18:23
|
|
|
Also bonus drink for you because of Bertie avatar
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 18:26
|
|
|
BadAstronaut posted:Also bonus drink for you because of Bertie avatar Ahahaha that's a bitch because Wednesday night is the only night I have something inescapably planned: an absurd, over-the-top Chinese wedding, which is the ostensible reason why I'm here.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 18:33
|
|
|
So I'm just about ready to book a flight to Beijing, hoping to take the train from there to Harbin. How much downtime should I put between the arrival and departure in order to be able to get to the train-station on time/out of the airport? Or should I just buy a ticket on arrival (not my first instinct). Also, anyone have any experience with luggage/baggage on the train network? I can't wait to begin my happy everyday.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 19:45
|
|
|
Ceciltron posted:So I'm just about ready to book a flight to Beijing, hoping to take the train from there to Harbin. Getting from the Beijing airport to the train station is easy. Unless you have an obnoxious amount of baggage, take the airport express train -- 25 RMB -- to Dongzhimen. I love this thing and used to take it all the time when I lived in the city and flew in or out for business. It'll put you right on subway line 2, and from there it's just a few stops to the rail station. Those rides together take under an hour, but of course you never know how long immigration, baggage claim, etc. will eat up. Err on the side of caution and give yourself way more time than you need. As for train tickets, try to get that arranged before you get here. Lines at the station can be insanely long and slow, and trains do sell out. I've never taken the Harbin train, but I'm sure goons here have.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2013 20:16
|
|
|
Magna Kaser posted:Yeah, EF schools (and basically all big franchises like Disney, Web, Wall Street, etc...) are basically dependent on your franchise owner and manager. Some are real terrible places where they'll underpay you, try to get you do to extra stuff for free and generally treat you like crap... others aren't so bad. Funny you mention it, I'm doing a Skype interview. Otherwise, I take it to be careful about what they promise and expect them to do the opposite if I end up at a lovely franchise. Interview is in 10 minutes, I'll take notes, ask questions, and get back with you guys about it in an hour or so. Looking forward to my happy everyday in the 5000 year history of China.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 01:55
|
|
|
Ceciltron posted:So I'm just about ready to book a flight to Beijing, hoping to take the train from there to Harbin. It's kind of a long ride from Beijing to Harbin and even more stressful with a lot of luggage. Why not just fly?
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 02:11
|
|
|
Smudgie Buggler posted:Currently (and until next Saturday evening) in Shanghai, in the Langham at Xintiandi. Visited my best friend's grandmother (whom I have called Wei Po since I was about 10 and she visited us in Australia) this morning, got stared at a lot by her neighbours, and had the greatest dumplings ever fried/steamed for breakfast. I agree Shanghai rules, there's a sizable goon crowd in Shanghai so either post here or post in the LAN thread. Ceciltron posted:So I'm just about ready to book a flight to Beijing, hoping to take the train from there to Harbin. Are you going to be working/studying in Harbin? If you are flying in during the national holidays, train tickets will be hard to book. Better make arrangements! YF19pilot posted:Funny you mention it, I'm doing a Skype interview. Otherwise, I take it to be careful about what they promise and expect them to do the opposite if I end up at a lovely franchise. Interview is in 10 minutes, I'll take notes, ask questions, and get back with you guys about it in an hour or so. Looking forward to my happy everyday in the 5000 year history of China. The YF-21 is way cooler, just saying  Where in China are you planning to go?
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 02:13
|
|
|
caberham posted:The YF-21 is way cooler, just saying Forward swept wings make everything better. Not sure yet, it was a general posting/multiple locations on their website. The interviewer is in Shanghai. If I get to choose, I've got Tianjin on my short list because goldboilermark has been secretly trying to convince me to go there.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 02:16
|
|
|
Don't listen to goldboilermark, he's just missing Worst Muslim and no one can replace the Worst Muslim  I would recommend Shanghai/Beijing/Chengdu and of course Hong Kong. There are a lot more things to do, the pay is better and cooler goon crowd 
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 02:24
|
|
|
Is there a big school called "Education First?" Because that seems to come up a lot when people talk about "English First," and people talking about interviewing with them seem to be confused a lot of the time. I'm wondering if people are just getting the name wrong. Anyhow, I interviewed (in person) with English First once. The person I spoke with clearly didn't know anything about the curriculum, wouldn't commit to anything regarding hours, and was just generally obviously lying to me. Scratch that one. I was looking to escape Best Learning at the time. That's another one to avoid. They put everyone on F visas. They'll tell people it's legal. In my case, they had a convincing excuse for my particular circumstances (I was applying on very short notice), but they do it for everyone. The first time I went to the embassy in Tokyo, my application was rejected outright. BEFORE the 2012 crackdown they were raided by police over the visa thing. They had a couple of token sacrificial deportations, and continued on more or less as before, except after being told that they must have at least three legal visas per center, the head of HR interpreted it as they can ONLY have a maximum of 3. Regardless they never reached that level. Meanwhile, while we were all on illegal visas that didn't allow them to collect Chinese income taxes, the company was deducting "tax" from our pay. The head of my center let it slip that this deduction was specifically set aside for paying bribes. The head of HR, when I asked him WTF, was like "it's the same amount you'd be paying in taxes, what does it matter?" What matters is I'm not on a legal visa and I might get deported...I'm not getting what I expect to get for paying taxes. Also none of the money is going to, you know, tax stuff. Then there's the possibility that it's putting teachers afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the CERTAINTY that the few foreigners directly involved in paying the bribes were violating it. Granted, the amounts involved were a little lower than the feds usually bother prosecuting. Still, that kind of makes the worst case scenario a lot worse. Last I checked (about 6 or 8 months ago) they were still dicking around on the visas. They had months of warning about visa changes even before the raids, which were 3 months before the official immigration crackdown. They were also withholding some people's last paychecks for various reasons. That's why I stole a poo poo ton of proprietary software before I left in case they tried that on me; I'd set up a torrent. I think they knew what I was planning, though, so they paid me without any complaint. Also the head of my center was firing the lowest-performing salesperson every month, while simultaneously poaching all the easiest and biggest commissions for herself. (As a result, she fired one salesperson, and had another quit every month.) This was causing not just stress within the sales staff, but a lot of friction between them and the teachers as they were resorting to some BULLSHIT to get people to sign up. (Bringing demo kids into classes unannounced, having unscheduled demos, placing kids in classes that had the space but were too advanced or not advanced enough for them...) Pay was relatively high for foreigners, but not worth it. For the Chinese staff it's pretty bad. There were Chinese teachers earning as little as 3000 kuai a month. Every Chinese person I know who left that company found a better-paying job immediately. Ceciltron posted:So I'm just about ready to book a flight to Beijing, hoping to take the train from there to Harbin. If you aren't coming during a big travel holiday (spring festival, national day, mid-autumn festival, etc.; any multi-day holiday) then you can just go buy a train ticket and go. If you are, well you can still do it, but you might not be able to get a seat just any time you want. VideoTapir fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 02:33
|
|
|
^^^^^ Pretty much what was meant by every franchise is different. The "good" thing about really big chains like EF and its ilk is that they have no issues getting legal working visas for people and usually handle your taxes for you which could be a good/bad thing. Especially if you're an overseas hire they'll get you a Z and a Residence Permit, it's more the part timers who come over on L's or X's they tend to screw over more because they can. The requirements for English teaching have and always will be low on the visa front. A teacher needs "2 years of experience" which just means "at least two years since the date on your university diploma". Even after the new regulations, this hasn't changed. The new visa stuff was targeted at different people than ESL teachers, so getting foreign experts in other fields over is now much harder. My company had to let two people who had worked here legally for a decent amount of time go because the new regulations make the bar way higher for non-ESL foreign workers in China and they couldn't find a way to guanxi up new visas for them. YF19pilot posted:Forward swept wings make everything better. If you end up in Shanghai make sure the salary is high, like at least 13-15k a month with an apartment tacked on as part of your contract or a nice housing allowance of 4-5k. Shanghai is probably the most expensive place to live in the whole country in regards to food, living, utilities, etc... My office was thinking about relocating me to Shanghai and I started looking at apartments and junk and found that a place that's 1500-2000 in Chengdu or other Tier 2 cities is like 6-8k in Shanghai when judging by size, proximity to the subway/etc. Other sort of pricy cities include Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and parts of Guangzhou and Qingdao. Places like Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi'an, Chongqing and Wuhan seem to be pretty cheap comparatively. I've no idea where Tianjin falls in to this, guessing cheaper than BJ and SH but pricier than Chengdu and its tier 2 bros. Basically a 10k salary in Chengdu or Xi'an is worth a ton more than even 15k in Shanghai. This is stuff most buxiban's don't expect you to know; and while they'll never put you into abject poverty, I do know people who have gotten raw deals just cause they assume things about the cost of living in China. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:24
|
|
|
Can you get those 15K+ jobs in Wuhan or is that Shanghai/Beijing only kind of pay? There's a small possibility of moving there specifically, but I need to be making 15K minimum because I have a student loan to pay.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:29
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:Is there a big school called "Education First?" Because that seems to come up a lot when people talk about "English First," and people talking about interviewing with them seem to be confused a lot of the time. I'm wondering if people are just getting the name wrong. Apparently, "Education First" is the parent company of "English First". I applied at the English First website, but the materials and everything came with Education First under the same logo. Apparently Education First has a "world wide" presence according to the recruiter I spoke with. "World Wide" meaning Russia and Indonesia according to the web site, but I think they have offices state side, too. caberham posted:Don't listen to goldboilermark, he's just missing Worst Muslim and no one can replace the Worst Muslim Aw, but he's been so nice. Shanghai and Beijing are apparently "primary cities" which require that I already have a TEFL and two years of post-graduate teaching experience. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are in the same boat (there is no Hong Kong proper, apparently). Everything else I'm qualified for, so I'll be at the mercies of the various franchises in these "remote" and "rural" secondary cities like Chengdu and Tianjin. The recruiter seemed nice, but doing a voice-only Skype interview felt awkward. Most of the questions you guys told me to ask he couldn't answer because "that's up the the individual locations." He also seemed a little disappointed in those questions. Magna Kaser posted:If you end up in Shanghai make sure the salary is high, like at least 13-15k a month with an apartment tacked on as part of your contract or a nice housing allowance of 4-5k. Shanghai is probably the most expensive place to live in the whole country in regards to food, living, utilities, etc... I will keep this in mind. Out of curiosity, though, what would be an "acceptable" salary for a no-experience scrub like myself in a Tier 2 city? Also what is the difference between a tier 1 and tier 2 city? Is this something arbitrarily set by each company or something China has defined for itself? CovfefeCatCafe fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:31
|
|
|
Grand Fromage posted:Can you get those 15K+ jobs in Wuhan or is that Shanghai/Beijing only kind of pay? There's a small possibility of moving there specifically, but I need to be making 15K minimum because I have a student loan to pay. Jayzus that's one fucker of a loan. YF19pilot posted:The recruiter seemed nice, but doing a voice-only Skype interview felt awkward. Most of the questions you guys told me to ask he couldn't answer because "that's up the the individual locations." He also seemed a little disappointed in those questions. Well, if you don't know poo poo about poo poo going into the interview his job's a lot easier. VideoTapir fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:33
|
|
|
VideoTapir posted:Jayzus that's one fucker of a loan. That it is. It's not like it'd take the entire 15K but that's roughly what I make a month in Korea now, and it's just barely enough to cover loan plus my life.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:37
|
|
|
My minimum monthly student loan payments are almost as much as we pay interns.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:41
|
|
|
Grand Fromage posted:Can you get those 15K+ jobs in Wuhan or is that Shanghai/Beijing only kind of pay? There's a small possibility of moving there specifically, but I need to be making 15K minimum because I have a student loan to pay. I know teachers in Chengdu who make 15k-20k+ but they're at private schools and have MA's and stuff in education and not buxibans. Buxiban wages tend to be between 8 and 12 or so from what I hear, but rent here is 2000 if your splurge on your own place next to the subway in the center of town with no roommates so that goes a ways. I used to share a 2 story, 2 bathroom, 100m^2+ sky mansion in the fancy part of town with 2 people and we each paid 1000rmb a month for rent. YF19pilot posted:Shanghai and Beijing are apparently "primary cities" which require that I already have a TEFL and two years of post-graduate teaching experience. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are in the same boat (there is no Hong Kong proper, apparently). Everything else I'm qualified for, so I'll be at the mercies of the various franchises in these "remote" and "rural" secondary cities like Chengdu and Tianjin. Uh... Chengdu has FOUR Burger Kings? We're not rural at all  YF19pilot posted:The recruiter seemed nice, but doing a voice-only Skype interview felt awkward. Most of the questions you guys told me to ask he couldn't answer because "that's up the the individual locations." He also seemed a little disappointed in those questions. Well, he's being honest. It IS all up to the individual locations. Sucks he doesn't know anything, though. YF19pilot posted:I will keep this in mind. Out of curiosity, though, what would be an "acceptable" salary for a no-experience scrub like myself in a Tier 2 city? Also what is the difference between a tier 1 and tier 2 city? Is this something arbitrarily set by each company or something China has defined for itself? Like I said, I know people at EF's in Chengdu who make around or just over 10k a month. I know Web pays the most in Chengdu and they're closer to 13 on average. It kind of depends on the market and to be honest I've been out of ESL for like three years now. When I taught in 2009-2010 I made 8k+Free apartment+some random 1.5k a month for some reason I never questioned in Hangzhou which was above average, but I think that's low as hell now, especially in HZ which is pretty darned pricy.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
MK's sky mansion was great, I think he was a little weirded out by how much all the goons wanted to come inside and marvel at it and then never leave.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 04:23
|
|
|
Lesson learned. NEVER read China thread while eating Korean school lunch. Now I feel sick and need to drink hot water.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 04:45
|
|
|
YF19pilot posted:Apparently, "Education First" is the parent company of "English First". I applied at the English First website, but the materials and everything came with Education First under the same logo. Apparently Education First has a "world wide" presence according to the recruiter I spoke with. "World Wide" meaning Russia and Indonesia according to the web site, but I think they have offices state side, too. I know a few people that work for Education First here, one is a dude from New Zealand that I have beers with off and on, he is cool as hell. It's like the more professional of the jobs, I guess you could say, a step up higher than English First. Not that English First is bad, but Education First like YF said is the parent company. YF19pilot posted:Aw, but goldboilermark's been so nice.  YF19pilot posted:Shanghai and Beijing are apparently "primary cities" which require that I already have a TEFL and two years of post-graduate teaching experience. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are in the same boat (there is no Hong Kong proper, apparently). Everything else I'm qualified for, so I'll be at the mercies of the various franchises in these "remote" and "rural" secondary cities like Chengdu and Tianjin. Tianjin is a secondary city but it doesn't mean it is remote or rural. I know with the  you might have meant something else but we have like 25 Starbucks and more Burger Kings than Chengdu. We are 30 minutes away from Beijing by high speed rail. A few years ago EF kind of sucked here but it's really been good the past year plus, almost all of the people that work there now I consider mates and they are all really good people here, which is a far cry from 2010. YF19pilot posted:I will keep this in mind. Out of curiosity, though, what would be an "acceptable" salary for a no-experience scrub like myself in a Tier 2 city? Also what is the difference between a tier 1 and tier 2 city? Is this something arbitrarily set by each company or something China has defined for itself? Depends on taxes and such but anything north of 10k a month I would have to assume is good to go.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 04:56
|
|
|
The city tiers are arbitrary to the point of meaninglessness. The only references to official definitions determine it by a combination of GDP and whether it's a capital or not, but some non-capitals are as big and well-appointed as capitals, but end up being third tier instead of second. For instance: Hefei sucks but it is a 2nd tier city by that definition because it is the provincial capital; while Wuhu, right next to it, is kind of nice, about the same size, about the same per capita GDP, but is 3rd tier. Various do-business-in-china blogs and such write about city tiers by other criteria, so the margins of what city is in what tier are really fuzzy. Also, some smaller cities that people really like aren't really in any tier. About the only thing you'll find universal agreement on is that Beijing and Shanghai are first-tier.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 06:11
|
|
|
Guangzhou is supposed to be a first-tier city but it pales in comparison to Shanghai and Beijing. Shenzhen is supposed to be a second tier city but to me it's still a gigantic poo poo hole. Well more like a hole that can randomly open up and swallow you whole. Ok beijing goons, I will be coming in 17-20 October. You guys know any good places in Wu Dao Kou? I will probably spend a night near there, if you guys got any recommendations for restaurants that would be great. And just for hilarity, some time in propaganda bar.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 09:26
|
|
|
I haven't been to Shanghai yet, but Guangzhou is cooler than Beijing and Shenzhen is pretty nice.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 09:28
|
|
|
caberham posted:Guangzhou is supposed to be a first-tier city but it pales in comparison to Shanghai and Beijing. Shenzhen is supposed to be a second tier city but to me it's still a gigantic poo poo hole. Well more like a hole that can randomly open up and swallow you whole. Like I said, Propaganda is where dreams go to get STDs. I love it. Anyway, Lush and Pyro offer good American fare. Helen's is a backpacker/student hangout that sells decently strong drinks and offers fried mashed potato balls. Bridge Cafe is overpriced for pasta but has excellent deserts. There is a place above Pryo's that has been Laowai's/Grills/Steps/Whatever, but normally has super cheap food and a poor Chinese student outside BEGGING you to go inside. La Bamba has decent-ish Mexican food but watery drinks. Falahfel looks outwardly shady (and has the weirdest reviews online, as an exfriend of the owners decided to pretend to BE the owner and posted a lot of terrorist-ish threats to complaints of "well the lamb was a bit dry..." on the beijinger) but has delicious food and hookah. Across the street from all of this is Club Global, which you should never, ever go in unless you like smelling like vomit. However directly above that hellpit of middle aged white dudes (on the 3rd floor) is a fantastic Korean bbq place. Seriously, I would sell a baby for a meal there. Around the corner from that whole complex (it has a giant "LION KING" lion on it, can't miss it) is a decent curry shop that is very, very cheap. Do not eat anywhere in the UCenter; there is a decent sushi place but that's about it. Within the Tuspark (giant black behemoth near Tsinghua's East Gate) are Ricci Cafe (really good deserts and tea) and Quanjude, which has long lines but very good roast duck. On Tsinghua's campus there is a coffee shop run by the art students, which is located around the corner from their theater. The espresso is actually really good and they have cheesecake. But the real winner there is QingQingKuaiDan, referred to by students and faculty as QQ. While I'm not sure anything served in this McD's rip-off was ever actually food, it's worth it to check out ice cream that will never melt. If you're willing to walk away from the subway area, go to the string of food stalls near Beida's West Gate. There is a noodle place there called "Happiness Workshop" that is really good. ed: if you're craving Korean food at all, just ask the people inside the Green Tree convenience store for recommendations. They never let me down. FearCotton fucked around with this message at 10:42 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 10:38
|
|
|
FearCotton posted:On Tsinghua's campus there is a coffee shop run by the art students, which is located around the corner from their theater. The espresso is actually really good and they have cheesecake. But the real winner there is QingQingKuaiDan, referred to by students and faculty as QQ. While I'm not sure anything served in this McD's rip-off was ever actually food, it's worth it to check out ice cream that will never melt. The art student coffee shop is really good. Expensive, but good. Good old QQ. One of those places in China that's just terrible but you have tons of nostalgia for anyway. Also, now that we live in Yuyao, I miss that Korean BBQ place Fearcotton mentioned almost more than anything else, along with Lush (chicken strips and potato wedges!) and Pyro, whose workers knew my goony self far too well by the end.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 10:44
|
|
|
goldboilermark posted:Tianjin is a secondary city but it doesn't mean it is remote or rural. I know with the Yeah, the recruiter/interviewer used those terms, made it seem like going to a 2nd tier city would be like going to a Jamestown, NoDak, instead of a Minneapolis. That going to a "second tier" city would be getting into the "nitty gritty" and experiencing the "real China".
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 14:38
|
|
|
I think Minneapolis would be considered more of a 2nd tier city itself.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 14:49
|
|
|
YF19pilot posted:Yeah, the recruiter/interviewer used those terms, made it seem like going to a 2nd tier city would be like going to a Jamestown, NoDak, instead of a Minneapolis. That going to a "second tier" city would be getting into the "nitty gritty" and experiencing the "real China". It's all "real China," of course, since it's all part of China. Major cities can just give you a different look at the country and the culture. The biggest differences are the quantity and quality of Western amenities available to you and how many other foreigners are kicking around. Obviously whether you want more or less of these things varies from person to person. My wife and I live in a small city, and there are very few other foreigners here besides us. If we were more social than we are, maybe this would be an issue, but we live quietly so it's actually pretty nice. When we do socialize, it's exclusively with our Chinese coworkers. Even here, there's a good amount of Western stuff available (hell, we had pizza at Papa John's tonight). From what I've seen across the country so far, that's becoming the norm, not the exception. I could be wrong, though -- I haven't traveled much at all in the west or extreme south yet. I can say that we really like our little city a lot more than we did Beijing. People are almost invariably super friendly and often go out of their way to make us feel welcome (except the cashiers at the best of the nearby supermarkets -- those ladies are complete bitches, though I had the same job for a while when I was younger and totally get it). It can be touching. On our way back from pizza tonight, for example, we stumbled across a new hole-in-the-wall rice-and-dumplings restaurant that wasn't around before we went home to the States for the summer. The owner saw us peeking in and ran out to greet us with a huge grin on his face. Turns out it was a guy who used to be a cook at our high school -- he'd saved enough money over the years with his family to ditch that job and open his own place. We always used to talk to him when we got lunch because he was just gregarious as hell and funny to boot. He insisted we come back tomorrow or the next day and eat for free. blinkyzero fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Sep 30, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 15:25
|
|
|
Pro PRC pizza politburo rant incoming.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 16:42
|
|
|
EF sucks. Don't worry about overtime because you'll never get it. A friend of mine was cheated out a bunch of hours because the DoS (Director of Studies) made a stink about the difference between TEACHING hours and OFFICE hours. If you do end up in SH with EF, I'll know who your trainer is going to be because he was my DoS back in the day. The dude is a huge loving piece of poo poo. I can honestly say that he is one of the top 3 most horrible people I have ever met in my life. He is the personification of everything wrong with your stereotypical expat. I could write pages about the low down dirty poo poo hes done but thats for a PM. Take everything the recruiter says with a grain of salt. They have to meet a quota of 10 new hires a month or else they won't get their bonus. They will say anything to get you signed up! While it is true that the quality of your job depends on your branch, I really wouldn't leave it up to chance. EF tends to promote the biggest rear end kissers. There is a big chance that your DoS and other managers will make your life Hell. They want to get ahead and use you as a stepping stone. Upper management has their heads up their asses. Have any of you guys sat in on a meeting with these fools? They read a handful of articles about English and they are self proclaimed English teaching experts. Every sentence started either with "I read an article in ----- magazine" or "According to the research of....." It was the worst dick measuring contest. They even started citing the exact pages of the obscure magazine articles they have read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want to rant hardcore about how lovely EF is. Listen, there are some other schools that offer better pay and don't poo poo all over you. Do your research about the schools. Ask the forums about any offers you get and chances are one of us knows something about it. IF you do go with EF, I suggest you find something else ASAP. Its a good way to get your foot into the door as they will help fake your teaching experience. Getting a Z visa through them won't be a problem, despite your lack of qualifications. It will only be a matter of time before they gently caress you over.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 18:18
|
|
|
I will certainly keep that in mind. I'm not qualified to work in Tier 1 cities with EF, so I'm sure I won't have to cross paths with this person. Otherwise, if I get on with EF, I would be looking to join a better organization once my time there would end. I have not made any commitments, formal or otherwise, with EF and am still open and looking. I also appreciate everyone's advice, and will keep asking questions up until I deliver BadAstronaut's "Coffee".
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 18:37
|
|
|
YF19pilot posted:...Jamestown, NoDak...  MY HOMETOWN!  HAVE YOU TRIED THE BUFFALO MEAT? IT IS DELISHURS!Uh, Jamestown is more akin to a really spread out village in China. MeramJert is probably more accurate, 2nd Tier is give or take a Minneapolis sized city but much more compact (there are no 45 mile drives from one suburb to another) edit: I think we covered this before, but are you a ND goon? So few of us 
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 20:52
|
|
|
SB35 posted:
I spent a year kicking around the Fargo/Cass County area. I understand what you guys mean by tier 2 cities. I was just jabbing at how the recruiter made a "2nd Tier" city sound like it was some rural nowhere place.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 21:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 30, 2024 07:37 |
|
|
I might have time for a quick getaway in China for this winter, flying from Tokyo. Is there any town you guys would recommend for winter? Basically I love cheap, good and interesting food and don't care about pandas and temples as much as just strolling around having a good time. I've always wanted to go to Harbin, is it as good as it seems? Russian food, Chinese food, and that ice festival all seem cool.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2013 21:53
|
|
