Job Discussion Forums

american_inchina · Joined: 26 Apr 2011 Posts: 11

Ok. So I know this is going to get some of the usual mixed responses, but I am very torn so its worth it. I am contemplating leaving my contract early for several reasons. Mainly, it all boils down to the city being very small and there is only one other foreigner here, whom I don't care for because of the way he treats the students. Its awful and the school does nothing. I was told before coming here there would be more foreigners, and there is no one else. My city is not easy to travel to or from, making traveling even within China difficult. I even gave my school notice, but they are saying if I leave early they will cancel my residence permit and I will be illegal if I remain in China. I thought I had read that this is not true; that as long as I have my passport that they can't do anything to me. I also know they will not give me the letter of release. I just want to know if I have any possible way to stay in China and work for another term at least if I breach the contract??

johntpartee · Joined: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 3258

The only way you can stay is to get a tourist visa and then get a Z visa from another school. They CAN (and will, probably) cancel the residency permit. Actually, (you probably don't want to hear this) you're leaving because you're in Dullsville? As long as the living and working conditions are tolerable, you might consider toughing it out until the end of the contract. Avoid the teacher who bugs you; if he's as bad as you say, he'll probably self-destruct anyway (people like that usually do).

JamesD · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:00 am Post subject:

Don't know where you could have read that but it should read - 'As long as you have your passport and a valid visa or residence permit they can't do anything to you.'
And even that doesn't really mean much if the local boys in blue and the guanxi squad want you out. Once your permit is canceled you're in the country illegally. Same as in our home countries; if a foreigner wants to stay they have to have the right paperwork.

I'd second toughing it out as long as the school is abiding by the contract.

rogerwilco · Joined: 10 Jun 2010 Posts: 1549

I survived a year in a very small city in Anhui by making Chinese friends. Every weekend and several times a week I had offers to dinner and other activities.
The best Chinese friends that I ever made in China were in Anhui because I made the effort to get to know them.

I also made the most money that I have made in China in Anhui because there were no other foreigners in that city and I could charge 300RMB an hour for tutoring.

So, my advice is to make more Chinese friends, and also keep busy by making more money.

I survived, and so can you Smile

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

Assuming your contract runs through the end of June, why quit now and deal with all the hassles? Why not tough it out for about 4.5 more months and then take off? That's my two jiao.

sistercream · Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 497 Location: Pearl River Delta

I second the advice to tough it out - you've survived most of the school year already Smile

and it will look better on your resume to have completed the contract.

And definitely take the effort to make local friends. If you haven't yet started learning Chinese, find someone to help you as your first "in" to the community.

Babala · Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 1303 Location: Henan

I really understand how you are feeling. About five years ago I ended up in a small city with very few foreigners and ones who were there were not people I wanted to spend time with. I will agree with the other posters and say for you to try and make some Chinese friends and tough it out. I know how hard it can be but take advantage of living in a small city in China. After you finish your contact you can move to a bigger city here and meet many foreign friends but know when you do, the foreigners tend to stick together and you miss out on some of the more Chinese culture. I say finish your contract and then move on with a release letter.

Guerciotti · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2012 1:08 pm Post subject:

Why not finish? They pay you? Have a place to live? Why not finish?
Ask the locals how to download movies, meet some Chinese people and befriend them. It sounds like the town is too small and you want more foreigners around but what if you go to a different place and all the other foreigners are self destructive jerks? It's all too possible; some might say likely.

I agree they'll find a way to cancel your RP if you leave early, legal or not. Sorry, but if you go I would not blame them.

I say finish and move on.

The Great Wall of Whiner · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 4946 Location: Blabbing

milkweedma · Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 151

If severe isolation was not mentioned in the contract then leaving whenever you see fit is fine by me.
Until the Chinese start being real about living conditions (and I mean staying sane) by providing true accounts of the amount of foreigners in your location then they get what they deserve.

Miles Smiles · Joined: 07 Jun 2010 Posts: 1294 Location: Heebee Jeebee

Finish the contract. Do a good job. Throw yourself into your work since there's not enough in the outer world to make you happy. Be the best teacher you can be; finish your contract knowing that you probably left the school a better place than when you arrived.

Then move to a city with a larger expat community and feel the difference. Sometimes it's easier to deal with just one western FT than a couple dozen.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

choudoufu · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 3325 Location: Mao-berry, PRC

is your wife still living at the school with you? whereabouts are y'all?
there must be something in the area you can do. maybe once a week
head down to the bus station and jump on a bus at random (well....
random-ish, after confirming the return schedule...). visit the
surrounding villages and countryside and see the 'real' china with
no hordes of foreign tourists. ask your students or the teachers
for suggestions of places to visit. rather stay inside? you got internet.
order dvd's or english books online. still bored? you've got twenty
weeks to learn chinese or earn an online certificate.

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

As to the passport thing, I've read posts here before telling people that their work permit/visa can't be cancelled unless they hand over their passport to the school to have it physically stamped as invalid. That's not true. The school can cancel it with a phone call. Your passport will still contain what looks like a valid resident permit, but as soon as you try to leave the country and they scan it or if you give it to another employer and they hand it over to the authorities for a new permit you'll be flagged as being here illegally. Either way they'll probably detain you until you�ve paid the relevant fine, and it will make it harder, if not impossible, to get another job or get back into the country.

I agree with the others. Tough it out. It sounds like your main problem is with isolation and you don't like the only other foreigner. I live in a city that is awash with foreigners but I don't spend much time with them. There are a lot of people out there, and while you can't have a conversation with most of them, there must be a handful that you can spend some time with at least until your contract ends and you can find a new job without all the hassle of leaving early.

RonHex · Joined: 10 Nov 2009 Posts: 243

if you leave be prepared for hard times and make sure you have enough cash for a flight home.