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Circle English in Korla, Xinjiang
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go_ABs



Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 507

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:27 am    Post subject: Circle English in Korla, Xinjiang Reply with quote

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has been to Korla/Kuerle in Xinjiang Province?

I was looking at the website for a school there called Circle English (www.circleenglish.com). The job involves some teaching on site, and some being farmed out to local schools.

The pay is only 4,500 - I'm earning more than that now, but hoping the cost of living will be a bit cheaper.

I've had a look at lots of the posts here, and it seems there must be quite a few foreigners in Urumqi; has anyone been south to visit Korla and have opinions?

Thanks!
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Sinobear



Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 1269
Location: Purgatory

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 5:41 am    Post subject: Briefly Reply with quote

Yes, you can do better than 4500K, and you can do better than Urumqi.
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go_ABs



Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 507

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe I wasn't clear...

Urumqi is 10 hours north by train from the little city, Korla, where I am thinking of going. Small enough to not even get a mention in Lonely Planet Sad
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Sinobear



Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 1269
Location: Purgatory

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Then I would wonder if they can legally hire you. Small towns are nice, but what about food, shopping, entertainment?

Being farmed out between schools seems like a drag.

Good luck with your choice.
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Roger



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I once passed through Ku'er'la or Korla in East Turkestan a.k.a. Xinjiang, and found it to be a typical Chinese-style dump.

There wasn't anything of interest. Urumqi, while not e3xactly a Paris of Central Asia, positively seemed like Atlantis left behind on my way to Gulja a.k.a. Yilin.

In all of Xinjiang, I would think only three locations merit your attention: Kashgar, Urumqi and Turpan.
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Madmaxola



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 238

PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Roger is wrong, sorta

In the city central it is pretty chinesey. But if you just restrict yourself to that you miss everything that is awesome about Xinjiang.

Basically your living in the wild west, a land of ancient coolness. There are many abandoned millenia-old cities around Korla (some near turpan) and there are also a lot of buddhist grottoes and things out that way.

That being said, Korla is VERY isolated from the world. Unless your ready to be living in the middle of nowhere, you better think about it. However, this could be one of the coolest middle�s of nowhere there are.

There is a lot to see. There are really high quality rugs you can buy out there for nothing, and if you like hashish it�s basically open social custom to smoke it on the street, bus wherever (not entirely sure about this in Korla, but in Kashgar and Turpan).

It�s a heavy thing to consider.

Now Urumqi is a giant polluted super-stalinist mess. IT gets super cold. I had a bad experience in that city. But on the streets there are countless urchins offering stolen phones and hashish (again) and whatever else, probably.

I would rather be in Korla near the country, with Uighur farms, ancient buildings, grapes in the summer, nice non-chinese people, hash.
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go_ABs



Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 507

PostPosted: Wed Oct 06, 2004 1:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

Quote:
Quote:
That being said, Korla is VERY isolated from the world


I'm not concerned about being isolated, AS LONG AS I've got a working internet connection. E-mail has been a life saver this year, just keeping in contact with the family back home. So when you say that Korla's isolated, do you mean that there's no internet? Or do you mean in the broader sense?

My girlfriend and I are considering going together, as we did to our job this year. What will the locals think? One job we were offered last year said they'd tell everyone we were a married couple, so as they didn't think we were living in sin (or some such). Same deal in Xinjiang?

Hashish isn't high on my priorities list (if at all), but I guess is a general indicator of a laid-back lifestyle?

Madmaxola, you make a very different picture from Roger. I'll keep you both in mind. Smile Thanks.
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Roger



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138

PostPosted: Wed Oct 06, 2004 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, Uighur settlements are interesting, to be sure; ask the Chinese - they consider them quaint and have them perform "tribal dances". I am all in favour of Uighurs though I must say you can also easily be misled by romantic notions of ancient customs, culture and social structures...
To me, they came across as potentially rather rough. Very nimble fingers that easily pry in your pockets! Surely the CHinese drive them to despair.
They take their land, and thus their livelihooods.

That's a reason why there is some tangible ethnic tension in the air.

As for your girlfriend, I must say you two should be careful when travelling in Xinjiang! This is Central Asia, it borders on Afghanistan and is not far off Iran and Uzbekistan. I have often heard that scantily-dressed western women got harrassed and mugged. I can well imagine that! Not that I am saying all Uighurs are Islamist fanatics! But some are!

As for Internet connections: it might be your only connection to the rest of the world. But it's a way that's ieasily interrupted. The authorities frequently clamp down on the Internet traffic, suspecting it of harbouring illicit messages.
This is even true in all other parts of China, but no doubt far more so in the NW!
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J9



Joined: 09 Oct 2004
Posts: 12
Location: Guangzhou, China

PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 1:53 am    Post subject: Circle English, Korla Reply with quote

Hey,

I too was interested in working at Circle English. Had a couple of phone interviews and the guy running the show there sounded pretty cool and laid back. For various reasons I didn't take the job, but while travelling around Xinjiang last month I decided to check Korla out and see what might have been.

I was expecting a dump, having taught in 3 large urban polluted sprawls, but to my amazement I was pleasantly surprized. It was a lovely little city. It was only built 25 years ago after the discovery of the precious gold-like substance known to us all as oil was discovered. So it's really clean(by Chinese standards) with wide streets and lots of new buildings.
I also walked past the school, which seemed to be in a nice central area.

I spent 4 days there and enjoyed it thoroughly. The people where friendly and the place just had a really chilled vibe. Like a lot of places in Xinjiang the Han Chinese are in the minority, heavily out numbered by the Uyghur people. And I do get what the other dude said, at first I clung to my bag for dear life because they do look shifty and I was just expecting to be pick pocketed or worse. But no problems at all.

I'm also in a similar situation, I am here teaching with my boyfriend. We've had similar situations with schools where they've not really understood the idea of not being married. Usually it's just a grey area that's not talked about in front of the students. The school accepts that were weird foreigners but they do seem to worry that we are going to corrupt the minds of their innocent little pupils. I just find the whole situation amusing and don't let it bother me.

The Uyghur people are Muslim, but the majority of them are not strict fanatics. I saw many a bottle of beer being consumed. So don't worry about your girlfriend or your lack of rings. I never felt threatened at all.

All in all I made the right choice not taking the job. It was a wonderful and facinating place but not for me. I'm too used to big city life, I need my bars, western restaurants, imported foods and other foreigners to chat to.
If things like that aren't important to you then you'll have no problems(hopefuuly) there. And don't worry about the net, I've not found a place in China yet that is THAT cut off from the outside world.

Hope I've been of some help.

Good Luck,

J
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lily



Joined: 02 Aug 2004
Posts: 200

PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 2:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

J9: thanks for that, most helpful (I'm the gf!!) I wasn't worried about being a woman there, and you confirmed that non-worry. I think the only thing on your list at the bottom that we'd like (that we don't have in our current position) is foreigners to talk to, and there are apparently going to be about 5 others teaching there next year. As far as we can tell, we are 2 of about 4 foreigners in our city. I think in the 10 months that we've been here, we've seen one other white person!

Clean exists in China?? I gotta go see this!
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go_ABs



Joined: 08 Aug 2004
Posts: 507

PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

J9: As Mrs go_ABs said, thanks! I don't feel the urge to live in a big city, but one thing I do want is a McD's. Any sign of one in Korla??
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Roger



Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 9138

PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, so it was "clean", and of course, it wasn't a traditional Uighur or CHinese town; how could it after having been under construction for just 25 years? Brand-new, that's it! If you like a "brand-new' town, then you must head for Shenzhen or Zhongshan, Dongguan or Zhuhai, Shantou, - brand-new towns, clean, with McDonald's and a lot else!

But Korla a McDonald's? I would be most surprised!

When I passed through it i9t was less than 25 years old! It was in fact a huge construction site, with hotels standing, and a few rows of residential buildings as well. Brand-new indeed! To me, that was a dump! But now it is no "dump" anymore/ fine - but it's at the world's arse! So to speak! No one wants to stay.
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bendan



Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Posts: 739
Location: North China

PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't see any McD's in Urumqi last month, so there won't be any in Korla. I think the job sounds interesting, especially for a change after you've spent time in the east.
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J9



Joined: 09 Oct 2004
Posts: 12
Location: Guangzhou, China

PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey all,

There is no Mc D's in Korla, not that I found anyway. There was a Chinese version of one though and a KFC type place round the corner from the school.

In response to Roger's message, I didn't find it to be a construction site at all, and belive me I've lived in 3 major construction sites. From what I saw it was a nice little city and a welcome break form 'China', so different from the east. And when I said it was clean I was talking about clean by Chinese standards.

Anyway while others may disagree I liked the place, and I'm a pretty fussy person.

J9
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stephw



Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 144
Location: xinjiang

PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

when i was travelling in summer, i bumped into 2 girls who had been teaching last year in korla - they had a great time!

hami is similar to korla, i would presume, in that it is a small, clean city grown up around the oil industry and is also a fair way from urumqi. i love it here (the only reason i wouldn't stay here is the waiban and the distance from europe - family and friends express horror at the length of time and cost of getting out here), but sometimes it does feel a little isolated. but that's no reason not to go, in fact i think it's a plus, as you have to rely on yourself more to get out and make friends/do things etc.

the comment that it's undergoing construction - isn't that the same for the whole of china? every day for a year, i was woken at 6am in guangdong by the building work starting...and don't even get me started on my times in chengdu and shanghai!

there is a lot of burglary from homes just here at present, but again, i think that is probably the same over china and not confined to xinjiang. i always feel safe on the streets though, and have never felt as if was about to be pickpocketed here (unlike in guangdong/xi'an).

4,500 is a pretty good wage in xinjiang - i get the same, and i can't spend it even by having big blow outs! are you there now? thinking about it - are they still looking for more teachers?!
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