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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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 Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2003 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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Don't let people here get you down. I work in China. You will not live a squalid life. For Steven Jones money may be happiness. But in China, which has lower wages then Japan or Korea, you make enough to live a quite comfortable life, and even save some money. I'm single, but I also spend more. If married, you may actually spend less.
Who sets out to make this their career. I initially meant to spend only one year here. Doesn't mean I wasn't prepared or willing to do a good job. Why should you need to make it your carer. That said, there are some scum "teachers" who come here and make a mockery of the teaching profession. At my last school, they hired a MA recent grad from the UK. He was so bad and lazy, they stopped having him teach, and just paid him, counting on the days for him to leave.
Welcome to China, welcome to Henan. People will be curious about your foreign fiance/wife, but in a healthy, natural way (in China). Bad experiences are possible anywhere, but it is not an oppressive life by any stretch of the imagination.
If you are interested in henan China, feel free to e-mail me. Not the cultural center of the world, though, even though it is the home to many of China's ancient capitals.
Chris |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2003 1:57 pm Post subject: poverty |
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| What you see as poverty is unimaginable wealth in much of the world. Library access ? What percentage of the world's population have access to a decent library ? What percentage have access to a telephone, never mind the internet. |
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Alobar
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 28
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:12 am Post subject: |
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| arioch36 wrote: |
| Don't let people here get you down. |
I won't. I'm made of pretty stern stuff.
| Quote: |
| I work in China. You will not live a squalid life. For Steven Jones money may be happiness. But in China, which has lower wages then Japan or Korea, you make enough to live a quite comfortable life, and even save some money. I'm single, but I also spend more. If married, you may actually spend less. |
This is what I'm thinking. The incremental cost of a spouse is zero for housing, minimal for utilities and, if we eat in, modest for food. Our entertainment needs are quite modest; both of us need little other than books.
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| Who sets out to make this their career. I initially meant to spend only one year here. Doesn't mean I wasn't prepared or willing to do a good job. Why should you need to make it your carer. That said, there are some scum "teachers" who come here and make a mockery of the teaching profession. |
Sturgeon's law: 90% of everything is junk. Me? I'm a serious person and I have a professional attitide. Even if I'm mopping floors (and I've done that, and worse, to live), I do as good a job as I'm capable of.
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| At my last school, they hired a MA recent grad from the UK. He was so bad and lazy, they stopped having him teach, and just paid him, counting on the days for him to leave. |
I remember the guy with an MA in computer science who couldn't fix a pointer bug (akin to having never heard of a modal auxiliary verb).
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| Welcome to China, welcome to Henan. People will be curious about your foreign fiance/wife, but in a healthy, natural way (in China). Bad experiences are possible anywhere, but it is not an oppressive life by any stretch of the imagination. |
I lived in Hong Kong for a time in the mid-80s, and I've travelled a fair fraction of the world. People are people, good and bad. And there's a lot that's tolerable when you're a guest that would be hard to swallow in one's own home.
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If you are interested in henan China, feel free to e-mail me. Not the cultural center of the world, though, even though it is the home to many of China's ancient capitals.
Chris |
I shall! Thank you, Chris!
Last edited by Alobar on Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Alobar
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 28
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:19 am Post subject: Re: poverty |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| What you see as poverty is unimaginable wealth in much of the world. Library access ? What percentage of the world's population have access to a decent library ? What percentage have access to a telephone, never mind the internet. |
Millions of people in the world are living in mud huts and drinking from sewers. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands die of starvation. Indeed, I do not wish to live that way.
I would like library and internet access. The question is not how many people have such access but rather, is this a reasonable expectation as a EFL teacher?
Last edited by Alobar on Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:24 am Post subject: poverty |
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Library access could be problematic. It seems now that most places can offer some kind of internet access, but how much will you have to pay for this ? What percentage of a day's salary will you pay to access the internet ?
Anyway it seems that the consensus is that you will be able to work in the PR of C. Go for it. |
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Alobar
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 28
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 11:38 am Post subject: Re: poverty |
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| scot47 wrote: |
| Library access could be problematic. It seems now that most places can offer some kind of internet access, but how much will you have to pay for this ? What percentage of a day's salary will you pay to access the internet ? |
All of these are good questions!
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| Anyway it seems that the consensus is that you will be able to work in the PR of C. Go for it. |
The PRC is one possibility. Are there others? I'd like to have as many options as possible. |
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Paul G
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 125
Location: China & USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Alobar"]
| Alobar wrote: |
| My apologies. I've confused refugee status with asylum. Looking at the criteria, it does seem worth a shot. Thanks for the tip! |
That's ok. I wrote refugee but I was thinking asylum. I recently read about some changes in the asylum rules.
You might want to check out Vietnam. The wages are decent and the cost of living is low.
If you are going to go to TEFL Int'l for training, send a letter to Bruce, the school director, and ask him some questions. He's a real nice guy and very knowledgeable about that neck of the woods. |
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Alobar
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 28
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Paul G wrote: |
| That's ok. I wrote refugee but I was thinking asylum. I recently read about some changes in the asylum rules. |
Asylum is indeed very difficult. However, my fiancee appears to meet the criteria for refugee status. It might not get her into the US quickly, but it could well get us someplace where we can both work.
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| You might want to check out Vietnam. The wages are decent and the cost of living is low. |
Good idea. Is a degree necessary to teach there?
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| If you are going to go to TEFL Int'l for training, send a letter to Bruce, the school director, and ask him some questions. He's a real nice guy and very knowledgeable about that neck of the woods. |
I'll do that. I'm actually going to Thailand about a month before classes start, so I might be able to talk to him directly as well. |
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arioch36
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 3589
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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Internet is a standard part of the teacher package in China. Have yet to talk to a school that didn't offer it. And there are plenty of net bars. It has gotten to the point where ADSL is commonly offered to the foreign teachers in Henan, a little faster, and you are not tying up your phone line, though it's still through the phone company.
Books....bring a lot. There is a severe shortage of books in English in China |
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Alobar
Joined: 04 Apr 2003
Posts: 28
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2003 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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| arioch36 wrote: |
| Books....bring a lot. There is a severe shortage of books in English in China |
Happily, my primary interest (philosophy) and my fiancee's (English Literature) are well-satisfied on the Internet. |
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