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[Miles Smiles]

Except on three occasions, I was paid at least ten days late (I worked for the school for three terms), and when I couldn't drop everything I was doing to pick up my pay, the FAO lackey had hysterics. He'd call and demand that I go to the FAO NOW, which was often impossible for me to do on occasion because I was out of town at the time.

I could live with the late pay as long as it was reliably late by no more than two weeks. (Chinese teachers were paid on the same scheduled day--- the 15th of the month-- and as far as i could tell, they were all paid on time).

The FAO regularly gossiped with a foreign teacher who moved on to something else in my city. I learned through that FT AND the FAO that three of my predecessors left with the stigma of either having gotten involved with their own students, students at other schools, or some other moral offense. One that I know of was discharged directly because of such accusations. I could find NO ONE in the expat community who could prove these allegations, nor could I find anyone who had actually SEEN anything that suggested that the FTs were engaged in these activities-- neither FTs nor students. Only the former FT and the FAO knew anything, and even then, the FAO admitted that she had no direct knowledge to base the charges, only hearsay. Form your own conclusions.

Then, one day, a conversation with the FAO turned toward my alleged young Chinese girlfriends. I nipped that one in the bud immediately.

My school turned off the central air when it became too expensive to run on hot days, saying that the a/c was broken and the school couldn't afford to fix it. In winter, the heat wasn't turned on until the weather dropped to near zero degrees, even then the heater produced heat that was only a few degrees above existing room temperature.

At the same time, the school threw large parties for faculty and family at a nearby four-star hotel. FTs weren't invited. I thought it interesting that the school could afford to throw parties attended by so many people that their automobiles filled the parking lot, and there were so many e-bikes that they had to park them in front of my apartment (which was owned by the hotel management). Strangely, the school couldn't afford to fix the a/c or heating or compel the hotel to do so. The school owned the hotel building, but the hotel business was a separate entity.

During the summer, when I returned from the U.S. (all FTs were required to vacate the apartments for the summer) I found that my bottom-floor apartment and the apartment next door had been flooded. There was a two-inch waterline on the walls. The apartment above mine was flooded too. The other three apartments in the building (upstairs and downstairs) were unscathed. My apartment was covered with mold, my shoes were ruined, my mattress and pillows were ruined, and most of my clothes had to be washed several times to get the mildew out. I made the mistake of leaving a $300.00 camera lens behind in a closet. That got moldy too. Anything electronic seemed to have been seriously affected by the high humidity. I never watched TV, so i don't know if that was affected. The school-provided boat anchor--- I mean computer--- quit working completely. I didn't care because i carried my own computer with me.

The school claimed no responsibility and wouldn't cover the cost of replacing ruined shoes, clothing, camera lens or anything. Worse, when I returned, I had to check into a fleabag hotel because my apartment was uninhabitable. The FAO's lackey checked me in at his insistence. I paid.

In fact, the FAO's lackey couldn't get the FAO to answer her phone when I returned from the summer vacation and discovered the disaster. (The FAO never answered my emails or phone calls throughout the year anyway, so I wasn't surprised when she wouldn't respond to her lackey's calls). Meanwhile, after the school got the mold off the walls and all of the furniture (I had to continue the cleaning process for two more months because the mold continued to return), I asked to be reimbursed for the hotel. I was refused.

Then there was a fire in my apartment caused by the crummy microwave. I reported the fire and the fact that the microwave needed to be replaced. The FAO sent no one to investigate the fire. (It scorched the tile on the kitchen wall). The FAO refused to replace the microwave, so I replaced it myself. No big deal.

The only thing that I really squawked about was the a/c because opening the windows meant letting in swarms of mosquitoes. I lived in a mosquito net tent until it turned cold.

When I collected my last salary (cash), about a dozen 100 rmb notes were ripped up and sloppily taped together with China Post tape. That was a cute parting shot.

And just think: I signed a second contract at the FAO's request. The first year was okay, despite the late pay. After I signed the second year's contract, the situation went to h3ll fast. Everything was as good as one can expect until then.

So what do I think of the administration at my school? The dean was nice. I met him once. The FT liaison was nice and helpful. The FAO? Well, she was interesting. Her lackey helper? He was interesting too.

One more thing. I had my contract terminated at mid year. (The city FAO was instrumental in getting the contract canceled after I complained about the heat). I was ready to leave sooner, but the guy who was hired to replace me went on a visa run and never came back. I told him very little about my experiences at the school. He figured that something was very wrong when the contract to which he had agreed through his recruiter was changed when he arrived at this school. My words to him were "The school has little to recommend it."

The school is Jiangsu Animal Husbandry and Veterinary College (JAHVC) in Taizhou, Jiangsu.

[milkweedma]

What a nightmare. Some parts of Miles post sound similar to what i had to put up with, especially the narking other foreign teacher who spreading all sorts of gossip around and the flooding, cold, unfriendliness of the FAO etc etc.

[rogerwilco]

[MisterButtkins]

I work at a small school where everyone minds their own business. I like it.

[Denim-Maniac]

Ive gone for B. I have no real problems or issues at all. Everything is as scheduled and promised and there are no hidden surprises. Problems with housing (if any) are dealt with quickly and promptly too.

The only thing I would like is more academic input, but in all honesty, the resistance to this is more likely to come from co-workers than the school admin and boss. Overall, I cant complain and I this is my second stint with my employer after around a year back at home.

[thebrandynabides]

They are always friendly to me and my wife, but we aren't a part of department meetings and some other functions. (Oh well, we're the only FT's and even the admin's English is minimal)
Pay isn't on time (usually just a few days late), but we still haven't been paid for January although we were assured before the holiday that we would. Since the majority of the faculty is not around, we're giving them the benefit of the doubt for now.

I like the campus, the apartment, my colleagues, and my students-and from what I read on here I know we don't have it too bad. If they do indeed pay us for January like they said, like the contract says, all will be just fine.

[roadwalker]

[igorG]

However I am unable to pick an answer out of the choices, I'll add my comments about bosses and administrations that I have knowledge of in the country.

The biggest bosses usually are invisible, inaccessible for being incompetent in the field and the smaller ones are just messengers trying to keep their jobs while carrying the companies/schools on their shoulders.

For a FT inquiring, requesting changes or support beyond the messengers' control means that there are a hell lot of bosses to conquer with the biggest kahunas usually making the blind decisions.

Remember that most of the educational sector here is run by party secretaries with standards that cannot be compromised, and therefore our calls for more open schooling are suppressible.

On a professional level, friendliness or dislikes come as necessities, so buying into such behaviors is usually a na�ve notion.