|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
solobanana
Joined: 04 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:54 pm Post subject: Taking the big leap forward ( pun intended) |
 |
|
Hey Guys!
I've been lurking on this forum for awhile now and I finally registered yesterday. I just want to say "hi" to you all. I'm still here in Canada, but I'm hoping that I will be in China in September. No specific question, but does anyone have any tips or comments about living and working in Southern part of China, more specifically the Guangdong area.This is where I'm hoping to get a contract. This will be my first ever teaching gig. Thanks!
Cheers!  |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Steppenwolf
Joined: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 1769
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Might we ask why you have selected Guangdong?
Your answer could be useful in deciding how to address the question above. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
latefordinner
Joined: 19 Aug 2003
Posts: 973
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
From Canada to Guangdong? Couldn't you have picked a destination a little less warm and humid in summer, like maybe Havana?
Sincerely wish you well, but if you want some tips it helps to get down and dirty and ask specific questions. Hope you do, hope you ask, get answers, sift through those answers, mull them over and make the most of your new life in this most muddled of kingdoms. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
BiancaT
Joined: 15 Feb 2007
Posts: 74
Location: Toronto
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Yeah, I'm also in the same situation as the OP. I figure Guangdong is a nice change from the chold winters here in Canada. I'd be more interested in Guangzhou since it is a larger city, but not as big as Beijing or Shanghai, from what I've heard. I personally would prefer to stay as close to a city as I can to maintain a certain comfort level with large masses. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
solobanana
Joined: 04 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| BiancaT wrote: |
| Yeah, I'm also in the same situation as the OP. I figure Guangdong is a nice change from the chold winters here in Canada. I'd be more interested in Guangzhou since it is a larger city, but not as big as Beijing or Shanghai, from what I've heard. I personally would prefer to stay as close to a city as I can to maintain a certain comfort level with large masses. |
This past winter we had here was brutal- the snow, ice and windchill. It started in early-mid October and it did not let up until the first week of May. So that's one of the reasons why I chose Guangdong. I also speak Cantonese, so I thought it would nice to learn Mandarin, but I can still get around town with less communication problems.
Pretty much the same reasons as BiancaT as why I chose Guangdong. The warm weather and smaller cities with some conveniences and comforts. No, I don't expect it to be like Canada. I've been to China before- Shanghai, Hangzhou, Souzhou, Nanjing area and that's why I want to explore the sourthern part of the country.
I guess some of the questions I have are: Is it difficult to find an ESL teaching job? Overall, what are the smaller Guangdong cities like? Expensive? Overly polluted? Friendly( friendly as a Chinese city can be)? Amenities? Things to do? Getting around in and around the cities. How the schools treat CBCs like me in general. I'm asking about any of the cities in general, but I would like to teach in Maoming the most. I only know that there is an university there, they grow and transport a lot of tropical fruits and they speak some Cantonese there. I'm open to tips and suggestions about the other cities in Guangdong for jobs and living.
I'm only looking for an one year contract because I have to come back home. I don't think my husband wants me to stay in China for years on end!  I'm only teaching for some experience of living and teaching abroad, I know I won't be taking home a sack of money home, so I want this to be the best experience as possible- taking the good, the bad and the ugly.  Thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| solobanana wrote: |
| How the schools treat CBCs like me in general. |
A Chinese Canadian who can speak both English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) fluently? The students will love you and the schools will avoid you.
-- A Chinadian
Last edited by tw on Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| Pretty much the same reasons as BiancaT as why I chose Guangdong. The warm weather and |
You don't want to romanticize it - - the weather for a majority of the year is hot, HOT, HOT . . . and sticky, the humidity will eat you alive! Your main goal is to make it from one airconditioned place to the next. The winters will be quite mild though. Esp. compared to Canadian winters! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
solobanana
Joined: 04 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:44 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| tw wrote: |
| solobanana wrote: |
| How the schools treat CBCs like me in general. |
A Chinese Canadian who can speak both English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) fluently? The students will love you and the schools will avoid you.
-- A Chinadian |
Hi TW,
Yep, I've been reading the archived posts from the other CBCs, ABCs and BBCs, and so forth. I think you've been giving great advice and comments. Thank you for your insights.
I knew this was coming. My mum, my other mixed or CBC friends who have taught in Taiwan and China and my TESOL instructor have warned me. I know I'm up against an uphill battle. I actually feel a little crazy about doing this and I thought maybe I should just do the JET program in Japan ( I do have a BA from U of A). But I'm also a little bit strong willed too ( yeah, I guess that will come in handy in China?). So I'm going to give it a try anyways.
You've been giving such great advice and tips, so I have one question to ask: should I lie about my fluency? I'm not bilingual, I'm not Chinese literate, but I've been told that I have a great HK accent ( I was told this by my HK relatives and other HK people) and I have a great command of Cantonese. Should I pretend that I don't know the language? I'm not putting it on my resume. ( I'm still looking for a contract.)
Thanks! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
solobanana
Joined: 04 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
| kev7161 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Pretty much the same reasons as BiancaT as why I chose Guangdong. The warm weather and |
You don't want to romanticize it - - the weather for a majority of the year is hot, HOT, HOT . . . and sticky, the humidity will eat you alive! Your main goal is to make it from one airconditioned place to the next. The winters will be quite mild though. Esp. compared to Canadian winters! |
I know it's HOT, HOT, HOT,HOT & swimming in humidity. I've been to Hong Kong and Thailand. I know it's different to live with it year round, but can I tell you a little about this year's winter where I live? If you're Canadian or have lived anywhere near the North Pole, you'll understand why I'm choosing such a hot place and you can skip my description of this year's winter in the prairies. If you are Canadian and have forgotten about our great white winters, please read on for sentiment's sake.
We had snow come down starting a week before Halloween. Not just the fall-and-melt-kind-of-snow, but the we're-here-and-we're staying-until-May snow. Our snowbanks hit about just under 5 feet ( if you're not sure what a snowbank is google image it), I'm 5'1 on a good day. Average snowfall was about anywhere from 1 inch to 5 inches every other day. Don't start me on blowing wind & snow. The mean temperature was -20 celsius before windchill ( if you're not sure what a windchill is, look it up in the Oxford!). Average windchill was -30 to -32 celsius. The short and dark days where you rarely see sun if you worked a 8-4 day job. Ice, not the great Canadian polar diamonds, but the inches of ice that we had to chip off our sidewalk on a semi-regular basis after the snow shovelling ( we get fined in our city if you don't do it within 48hours of snowfall.) And the layers & layers of clothes underneath the downfill jackets.( long thermal, anyone?)Argh! I don't want to think about that again! And then we just had our last snowfall in our province on the Victoria Day long weekend in May. We only hoped that the greenhouse effect wasn't a hoax this winter!
So you tell me. Wouldn't you want to spend one year without that? Just to know that the whole planet isn't frozen over?  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
BiancaT
Joined: 15 Feb 2007
Posts: 74
Location: Toronto
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Yeah, I live in Toronto and even though we're not as bad as solobanana, the winters are cold. Both my parents are Carribean and we visit the West Indies (i.e. Jamaica, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Florida) on a regular to get our fix. I was born in Montreal, Quebec, so I know cold and I know HOT, and I'll take the HOT any day of the cold. Besides, it's so much easier to take off rather than put on under the conditions. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Ahchoo
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 606
Location: Earth
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
| I'm 5'1 on a good day |
And on a bad day? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
tw
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
Posts: 3898
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 3:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
| solobanana wrote: |
| You've been giving such great advice and tips, so I have one question to ask: should I lie about my fluency? I'm not bilingual, I'm not Chinese literate, but I've been told that I have a great HK accent ( I was told this by my HK relatives and other HK people) and I have a great command of Cantonese. Should I pretend that I don't know the language? I'm not putting it on my resume. ( I'm still looking for a contract.) |
Since I don't speak Cantonese, I wouldn't know the difference between the HK accent and the GZ accent. However, I can tell you that it'll be damn hard to pretend if you eat or shop on campus. Sooner or later you will give it away or people will find out.
Back to your question and the answer is no -- do NOT mention anything that you can understand Cantonese. Use that to your advantage in the classrooms and when meeting school leaders etc. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Steppenwolf
Joined: 30 Jul 2006
Posts: 1769
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
IT's difficult not to parody those enquirers! In the age of the INternet, people are so damn lazy and never read potted descriptions of places any more - word of mouth suffices, best via the Internet...
So, the heat will not discourage these Canucks? No it doesn't - but it will wear most of them down. IT's not the temperature alone - it's the damn humidity. Even machines made of stainless steel start rusting!
CUrrently the night temperature hovers above 26, a few days earlier above that (in Hong Kong 27 degees). The worst is when the wind dies down after sunset.
A poster thought Guangzhou was not as big as Beijing and Shanghai but a big enough city for her taste...
Interesting! Why does a difference of 2 or 3 million to the population make your decision easier? Officially, Guangzhou may have 7 or ten million (I forgot!); for those covering downtown streets on foot or by car there is no difference to Nanjing Lu in Shanghai! It's teeming with bipeds and motorised travellers and there is conflict in the air everywhere.
I will say that the weather is FINE starting at around October, and lasting until around March or April the following year.
Smaller cities in CHina offer the same amenities as big cities do but they have more quality of life to offer. Guangzhou is not a top notch city; it is a laggard in terms of sporting new trends and fashions: Shanghai and Peking always come first. STARBUCKS for eexample took 3 years longer to establish itself in Guangzhou than it did in Shanghai.
Maoming: I didn't know that eyesore of a concrete carpet has a university, but I do know it's not my cup of tea. It's an industrial wasteland, unmitigated by any sights or sites. Really and honestly!
A better choice in Guangdong might be Zhaoqing, Chaoyang, Meizhou - all too small for you folks, I suppose. Then again, you also can choose from among Dongguan, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Foshan, Shantou,l Zhanjiang... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
HunanForeignGuy
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 989
Location: Shanghai, PRC
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:00 am Post subject: GZ and Your Job |
|
|
Dear OP,
I actually like Guangzhou. It's one of my favorite Chinese cities. I enjoy living here. I am a transplated New York guy and I have been all over the planet. Frankly, I don't agree with Roger. Guangzhou does measure up in many ways. There is always something to do here in GZ and the locals are a night people, as opposed to those in other Chinese cities. If you want dinner in GZ at 23h00, you can get it with no problem and a good dinner at that.
The city has a lot of attractions, like the historic Xiamen Island, and the entire area around Beijing Lu with its small shops and out-of-the-way streets and its thoroughly 19th-century feel. The TianHe District is as modern as anything that you will find anywhere. The GZ subway is probably one of the nicest and cleanest that I have been on anywhere and it tends to double in size about 2/3 years. Most of the city buses are better than those that we have on the streets of major North American cities.
The locals practice the indirect approach in their dealings, as opposed to those in Northern China, and frankly there are days when this is great and there are days when this causes what remains of my hair to go white.
It is a nouveau riche, arriviste kind of a city; those that have it really do tend to flaunt their newly-acquired welath and yet there are numerous beggars on the street. Parts of the city are just so so nouveau riche that it will leave you aghast and parts of the city are so poor that you will be stunned. The other day I past the local Rolls Royce salesroom and I was surprised how many persons were in there -- looking at any case at a car that cost probably USD 350,000.00, if not more.
All the best,
HFG |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
solobanana
Joined: 04 Jun 2007
Posts: 7
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 4:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Steppenwolf wrote: |
IT's difficult not to parody those enquirers! In the age of the INternet, people are so damn lazy and never read potted descriptions of places any more - word of mouth suffices, best via the Internet...
So, the heat will not discourage these Canucks? No it doesn't - but it will wear most of them down. IT's not the temperature alone - it's the damn humidity. Even machines made of stainless steel start rusting!
CUrrently the night temperature hovers above 26, a few days earlier above that (in Hong Kong 27 degees). The worst is when the wind dies down after sunset.
A poster thought Guangzhou was not as big as Beijing and Shanghai but a big enough city for her taste...
Interesting! Why does a difference of 2 or 3 million to the population make your decision easier? Officially, Guangzhou may have 7 or ten million (I forgot!); for those covering downtown streets on foot or by car there is no difference to Nanjing Lu in Shanghai! It's teeming with bipeds and motorised travellers and there is conflict in the air everywhere.
I will say that the weather is FINE starting at around October, and lasting until around March or April the following year.
Smaller cities in CHina offer the same amenities as big cities do but they have more quality of life to offer. Guangzhou is not a top notch city; it is a laggard in terms of sporting new trends and fashions: Shanghai and Peking always come first. STARBUCKS for eexample took 3 years longer to establish itself in Guangzhou than it did in Shanghai.
Maoming: I didn't know that eyesore of a concrete carpet has a university, but I do know it's not my cup of tea. It's an industrial wasteland, unmitigated by any sights or sites. Really and honestly!
A better choice in Guangdong might be Zhaoqing, Chaoyang, Meizhou - all too small for you folks, I suppose. Then again, you also can choose from among Dongguan, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Foshan, Shantou,l Zhanjiang... |
I get it, you're being sarcastic and you think you're being funny. I'm not laughing because I lack a sense of humor, but it's just not funny. Hey, if you just want to read newbie threads to laugh at our naivete and ignorance, start your own thread. Don't hijack this one because you're bored and you haven't got anything else better to do. Thanks.
It's pretty obvious that I have questions and concerns about living in this part of China, otherwise why am I posting? I'm not making any decision based solely on word of mouth via internet, I'm interested in connecting with people who are willing to share their experiences with me. It is nice to hear what people have say about where they are living and teaching, but it's not my only source of information.
So you assume none of us Canucks have ever stepped out of our igloos and travelled and lived in hotter and humid countries before? Well I guess every Canadian just withers and dies when we enter a country that's hotter and more humid than our own. I guess we should stay home and never venture past our borders. Is that your advice to some of us who dare the heat and humidity of southern China? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
