Job Discussion Forums

[7969]

my flat is damn hot these days (highs at or above 30C) i have no air con unit. it also had no fan till last week when i bought one and gave the school the bill. now, i cant really open my windows either. i have a major construction site on one side, and no screens on the windows on the other side.

i asked the school about an air con unit at the end of april. they told me someone would bring it to the appropriate department to discuss it. i asked two weeks after that. same story. i asked again today, and was told that the english department has no authority to buy a single air con unit, and instead has to put a plan forth to the president or some other honcho who will approve major purchases in bulk.

now my contract goes till end of july here, but i hope to be out of here in one month after exams. but i'm not willing to accept these excuses, since i look around and see most other apartments with air con units attached.

i'm not happy with this. any solutions? any ideas on what i can say to get an air con unit in this place? as an alternative, i may propose that they replace the ages old windows in my kitchen so i can open them without hordes of bugs flying in. i know i'm leaving soon but it could be a very long month.....

[Leon Purvis]

I hope that you didn't arrive at the school only to find that there was no western toilet either.

Take a look at what the Chinese teachers have in their quarters. If they don't have A/C, chances are that you won't get much sympathy from anybody.

[Malsol]

In Wuhan, one of China's ovens, the locals sit outside until 11:30 p.m. when the house is cooled down enough to sleep.

Remember, no matter how bad you have it, someone is worse off than you.

[pandasteak]

I'd cut my losses and buy a big ol' electric fan.
Keep the receipt and ask/hope they reimburse.

[Super Mario]

Useless
advice I know, but to others coming to China, make sure you have AT LEAST one R/C aircon, preferably 2, with one in the bedroom. In many places, night time temperatures don't drop below 30c.
And get it in writing.

[7969]

good advice mario. yeah, the apartment i'm in wasnt ready till one month after i arrived at this job. that was the first sign i was going to have problems with the school admin here. i knew it would take ages to get an air con unit installed hence the reason i asked in april. however, i obviously didnt pressure these people enough. it wont happen again.... my new school for next term seems to be much more proactive in sorting things out. check the apartment out beforehand and get anything in writing. just part of the learning curve in china.

[China.Pete]

Only chance of getting an air conditioner is to manufacture a crisis. For some reason that is beyond my comprehension, Chinese people seem to thrive on a really good crisis. You could call them from the hospital, telling them you cannot teach because you are suffering from heat exhaustion. Or, arrange to be sprawled out on the floor unconscious just when the FAO is coming over to see how hot it is. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that the FAO or anyone else in China - with the possible exception of your Chinese wife, if you have one - gives a fig whether you die or not. It's just that they'll have to arrange with your consulate to ship you back home. This may take some time, and lots of paperwork. In this kind of heat... well, you get the idea!

[7969]

it doesnt seem that i'll be getting an air con unit. its too much of a hassle so i'm dropping it. as an alternative, i asked the school to repair or replace my windows (put some screens in) so that at least i can open them to let some air flow thru without inviting all the insects that come with open windows. they seemingly arent going to do that either.

[Gorak]

I ask FTs complaining about what is or is not provided by their Chinese employers for their apartments - do Western employers provide such things? I know we can go on and on about what the contract says...blah blah blah...Unless, there are Real Problems (and believe me, I have faced them) with university accomodations - spend a couple of hundred bucks (U.S. dollars) and quit the part or full-time job of hassling FAO (been there, done that). For years, I never had an air conditioner in my town, in China, where pineapples, watermelons, bananas are growing outside my door (its hot!) - I found other things to complain about that did not involve FAO.

[kev7161]

Most job offers I've seen online offer a "fully furnished, western style apartment" and then tend to list several features such as a microwave oven, hot water heater, AIR CONDITIONER, television, etc.

If they advertised that when you were inquiring about the job, it shouldn't have to be stated in your contract (I mean, every little thing that should be in your apartment), rather a checklist is usually the norm. If summers run as hot as you are saying, then there's no reason why you shouldn't have expected an A/C in your apartment. I'm sorry, comparing our situation with our nearby Chinese neighbors is about the same as comparing our salary with theirs. We all know the inconsistencies are great and I've mentioned every chance I can that my fellow CTs deserve more pay . . . but that's all I can give them: my sympathies. However, that doesn't mean the OP should have to suffer just because the neighbors do. If the school told him from the beginning he'd get an A/C, then he should have one. If they didn't promise him one, then he's right, he's probably fighting a losing battle at this point in time.

[7969]

i know this isnt a life or death situation and isnt in the same category as not being paid, however it does go to the heart of the fact that we should expect decent living conditions. we always see posters on this forum saying we shouldnt accept below average salaries (whatever those may be). i also think we shouldnt accept below standard living conditions. and in a climate where the late spring/summer temps are well above 30C an air con unit is pretty much a necessity. (i'm on the top floor as well facing the sun). like i said, i look around and i see air con in most other flats.

kev, my flat wasnt ready when i got here (unknown to me or i may not have come in the first place), and one month after arriving i moved in. at the time i was so happy to get out of the temp accommodation i was in that i didnt raise the point of air con/heating when i did move in. that, and it was almost november and it wasnt hot then. however, when it began to get warm i asked about air-con and was obviously just being strung along with a story, until now, and it appears its just too late to bother with it any longer. just looking for opinions, and it looks like i got some.

i do want to emphasize, this isnt being done just for my benefit, if this school manages to get another FT for next year, this issue will already be resolved for that person when they move in here.

as i've discovered, you learn something new at every job. at this place, i learned that one shouldnt take a job unless the flat is COMPLETELY ready for you the day you arrive.

[tofuman]

For some people, heat can be truly debilitating. There is a condition commonly called prickly heat (?) that occurs when the bodies sweat glands malfunction, trapping perspiration under the skin. This results in a uncomfortable and unsightly rash.

It can be quite serious as it impairs the bodies ability to regulate its temperature. Only treatments are a cooler climate or air conditioning. Hot showers may help some cases.

You can mention the possibility of contracting this illness as a medical reason for getting air conditioning.

[tofuman]

[shatov]

It is very true that employers in the west wouldn't provide a/c for us - but in the west we would be earning enough to buy an a/c unit without starving for a month.

When I was in Japan I bought almost all of the furniture for my flat, including a good a/c unit. But I was paid enough to be able to do that, *and* travel a lot, *and* save a bit of money.

In China my job simply does not provide that money. So my employer should pick up some of the short fall.

When the Chinese goverment draws up recommendations about salaries for foreigners, it explicitly includes the perks such as accommodation in the salary calculation - better accommodation is seen as one of those things that brings our salary more in line with what we would earn abroad.


Spend a long time with your school, explaining just how much the heat is bad for you; how the sweat is dripping onto that shiny computer they provided you; how you fall asleep in class because you can't sleep at night; etc.
Then, tell the person that you are complaining to that you don't blame *them*, but they are the only person in the school who you can talk directly to. Tell them that you like them, and don't want to cause any trouble for them, but this is the only choice that you have.
And tell them that the SAFEA contract lists non-provision of necessary "living conditions" as one of the permissable reasons to finish your contract. Of course you don't *want* to do it, but you would *have* to do it, because of how much you are suffering without an a/c. After all, you are only a *weak* foreigner, not like the strong Chinese who have grown up with the heat and can stand it.

After months of faffing around and intermittently whining, I spent 90 solid minutes going through this process with the FAO at my university, and got a new internet connection (new company, and new money spent, the works) the next day.
It does work.

[brsmith15]

Break down and buy a "water fan." They're fairly cheap and can cut the temp a bit, but not the humidity which might be the real problem.

I sympathise. Before coming to China some years ago I spent 25 years in New Hampshire and Vermont which have cold winters and only warm summers. We used to have a joke in Vermont. Someone tourist ask, "How was it last summer?: we'd respond with, "It came on a Tuesday in July."

Summers here are brutal for me and I'm not in one of "4 furnaces."