Job Discussion Forums

[spicykimchi]

Is there anyone at the school now who you can talk with? That way, you can find out if everything's kosher. You can also find out where you'll be living. You'll be teaching in Zhongshan Park (that's where I teach, by the way), but maybe they'll have you living in the middle of nowhere. Check a subway map. If you're one station to the west on the green line (Loushanguan Road), you're okay. But anything west of that . . .

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

[Non Sequitur]

I feel you should have at least two other conversations going on with other schools.
The strongest negotiating ploy you have is withdrawing your labour.
Is the extra shuttle run if classes are more than 4 hours apart a break issue with you? If so, are you going to start over as the hiring season starts to wind down?
It's your thread but IMHO you're getting too caught up in non-essentials like internet blocking.
Believe me you'll be a lot more pissed by day to day, hour to hour issues like overflowing toilets near your classroom, planned but unannounced power and water shutdowns, short notice appearances at functions etc

[spicykimchi]

If they're paying for your apartment, I guarantee that you won't be living east of Zhongshan Park. Areas like Jing'an Temple are expensive! Yeah, I like Lousanguan Road a lot; that's where I live now. And I know a real estate agent who knows a little English. (Keyword: little)

If you don't believe me about going west, just wait until you have your health check up. You'll go to this hospital on Songhong Road, it's only 4 stops west of Zhongshan Park. There's nothing out there! I'm sure your school can get a cheap apt. there and with good reason!

Lines 3/4/2 all meet at Zhongshan. I don't like anything north of that, but that's just me. I lived one stop north for a few months, but (surprise, surprise) I got cheated by a landlord. There are some really good restaurants on Jinshajiang Road, but that's about it. If you go south a couple/few stations on line 3/4, it looks pretty nice, but I don't know anything about that area.

Also, if you are living in Zhongshan Park, your school won't shell out the money for you to live in a tall apartment building, you'll be in those smaller ones that are about 5 or so stories. I saw a few around there, and I wasn't impressed at all.

I got Strong VPN before coming over here, but I haven't had too much luck with it. I can get to youtube and facebook if I bring my laptop to school or to Starbucks, but it was really difficult to get to those site from my apartment. I chatted with the tech support quite a few times, but they weren't too helpful.

Yeah, I'll send out an P.M. later.

Best of luck!

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

Well, it appears that negotiations for this position have broken down over concerns over the housing situation -- I had requested clarifications of the whole "shared apartment" thing and Bond were unwilling / unable to offer that clarity.

[Non Sequitur]

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

I acknowledge that your post was meant to be helpful.

But its lack of any actually helpful information rather negates that.

Had you had specific knowledge or suggestions, *that* might have been helpful.

[choudoufu]

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

While *I* wonder, given that several posters have taken the time to offer helpful suggestions, in what way the posts regarding me being back whining (when the whole point of the thread was to become better informed to avoid anything of the sort), talking about my being "chewed up and spit out" with no indication of how I might avoid that, or speculations as to my identity contribute in any useful way to the board or comply with the forum's policy on civility -- nor how my plain requests for information indicate a "know it all" attitude.

non sequitur, rogerwilco and opiate: have you something *helpful* for this newbie? Because your last couple posts in this thread do not seem to offer anything more than criticism of me as an individual, without actually offering any ways in which I might improve.

I apologize if my response (not decontruction) of n.s's post was considered by a few to be rude, but what I read was "I think other things are more important" without the slightest hint of how I might better address those more important things.

If I am wrong, and such hints were offered, I stand ready to be corrected. I freely admit to being "clueless" and thought this was someplace I might get some help, but the three of you, anyway, don't seem interested in doing so.

For example, let's start with how one can determine from plain text and with no experience with someone's turn of phrase that they were being sarcastic and not helpfully supportive in the face of an attack?

[7969]

[ESL.Professor.Roger]

[Mr. Kalgukshi]

Several inappropriate postings have been deleted.

Anyone desirous of leaving our community will continue posting in the same vein.