Job Discussion Forums

SoulTourist · Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Posts: 9

I taught in China for a year and I am not a thin person. I did, however, walk and exercise a lot before I went over to teach. I think the only thing a heavy person would have to consider is walking, climbing stairs and standing while teaching all day. For over-weight people this can be a lot more difficult. There were days when I taught for five hours (no chair was provided) then walked about five or six miles, round-trip, to dinner and back. Then I had to climb five flights of stairs to my apartment. If you can do this...go for it. Don't let your weight keep you from following your dreams. Anyhow, if anyone was commenting on my weight, they were speaking Manadarin and I could understand them anyway!

SoulTourist
Read: Teaching in China - Seven Dog Years

Dinah606 · Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Location: China

I know I'm a bit late, but I wanted to chime in anyway. I'm a significantly overweight woman (US size 22 in jeans, unsure of my exact weight because I don't make a habit of weighing myself), and I've been teaching at the same school in China for four years now, and I'm going to be starting my fifth year in September. It hasn't interfered with my primary school job. I work very hard, and the administration seems to acknowledge that. I get asked back each year, and given a decent raise each time. I've done TV spots and numerous show lessons and things at my school -- most likely for no reason other than that I just sort of smile and do what is asked of me without complaint (even bizarre things like singing opera solos for visiting people of mysterious importance because... well, the boss said so, I guess?), but at any rate the school seems to be doing the very opposite of trying to hide my disgusting fattiness in the deepest darkest corners of foreign teacher shame.

I definitely get comments when I'm outside of my house. I understand enough Chinese to know what people are saying about me, and things like people pointing and laughing, or old ladies making that tsk tsk tsk sound as I go by are pretty universally understandable. I've also had fun moments like a woman at an outdoor market grabbing my butt cheeks, kind of swinging them around, and telling me in Chinese that they were the biggest she'd ever seen.

My first two years here it didn't bother me that much. I just considered it part of my overall differentness, along with the blue eyes and blonde hair. My third year I went through a slump where it really bothered me a lot. My thought process that year was basically that the only way I could be a worthwhile human being was if I excelled at teaching and at learning Chinese. If I made the slightest misstep in either I considered myself little more than a worthless lump of fat. These days I think I'm back to having a mostly cheerful outlook on things. I try to focus on what my body can do (teach little children for six hours a day, walk all over the city whenever I need to get anywhere, and climb the four flights of stairs to my apartment with ease). I do my best to eat mostly healthy food, and I've been trying to be more conscious of what I put in my mouth. I joined a gym, something I was afraid of, because I thought if people were willing to mock me on the street certainly the mockery at the gym would be twenty times worse, but as it turns out, it isn't. In fact, nobody has ever made a single comment about my size there. A lot of random people come up to me on the street and try to sell me diet pills, which used to be sort of upsetting, but they need to make money just like everybody else, and I'm sure I appear a likely candidate.

And that's all really. I will leave off by saying that prior to coming to China I worried that I shouldn't go abroad because of my weight, but overall I've been very happy here, and I don't for an instant regret coming.

LongShiKong · Joined: 28 May 2007 Posts: 1082 Location: China

Isn't the fat buddha uniquely Chinese and worshiped far more than any other deity? We've got one in our backroom.

Thin is no longer in. Just the other day, I noticed the type of snacks my 5-yr old students were shoving into their mouths are starting to affect their weight. I guess their parents want to turn them into buddhas too.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Obesity is a health issue. I for one would NEVER hire someone who is morbidly obese !

Dinah606 · Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 23 Location: China

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:37 pm Post subject:

Yogita · Joined: 17 Jun 2012 Posts: 53 Location: Turkey

majestic58 appearance matters when going for a job interview but skill & qualifications means much more ... the World is big, where would you like to teach?? Please don't let that get in your way. You can dress real smart & neat by spending some extra$ on a good wardrobe to suite your shape & size.

funkyging · Joined: 06 Jan 2011 Posts: 45

I worked in China for a year, im male, 5'6 and 15 stone(200ish pounds) Some people would call that obese.

I would get told all the time by my student "teacher, you are fat!" with which i would reply "im what?....* look down* ahhh where did the fat come from?, thank you for noticing" usually the kid would walk off with a satisfied smile on his face as if he got top marks on a test. Take it with a pinch of salt and try make humor out of it.

A teaching assistant once told me its good to be fat. "if you are fat it means you are wealthy and enjoy food. happy life"

Gringo Greg · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:17 pm Post subject:

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:10 pm Post subject:

Coke? Forget that. Go with vodka - pure purity!

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

johnslat · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:12 pm Post subject:

Dear coledavis,

"With respect, the health definition is debatable, so such a recruitment practice is not strictly legal nor is it reasonable>"

In what countries (besides the US) would such a practice not be legal? And regarding recruitment, in my experience, all too often, reasonableness is not a major component.

Regards,
John

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

In Britain, if you use somebody's health against them, you just might contravene the Disabilities Discrimination Act. I would imagine that more comprehensive employment laws would be in place in other parts of the European Union, as the UK opted out of some of the EU employment legislation.

Wherever you are, there is also the moral point. Should people be excluded on aesthetic grounds? How about older people too? They are more likely to die on you...

If neither external constraints nor your conscience play a part, how about the pragmatic argument? Superficial judgments may mean missing out on a really good teacher. You may not have noticed, but after a few weeks, most students become less and less taken with the teacher's place of birth and his or her physical attributes. Then skills, personality and often experience become the valuable assets.

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

"And regarding recruitment, in my experience, all too often, reasonableness is not a major component." Apart from the observation that those who go along with prevailing norms are guilty too, I would also ask you to look at this from a personal perspective. When the unreasonable is applied to you, do you approve? If you are still in the comfort zone (own hair, good health, etc.), do remember that it doesn't all last forever.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:57 pm Post subject:

Fellas, just have a sip of vodka, and all will seem so much rosier...