Job Discussion Forums

[lumberjackej]

Hi everyone,

It's certainly been a long time since I last posted here.

I am a US teacher on summer break, going to China from July 3rd to August 15th with the intent to see old friends, do some traveling, but mainly work on my Chinese skills.

I am tentatively planning on teaching at a summer camp in Yangshuo, named the Omeca English School. First, I wanted to ask if anyone has heard anything good/bad about this school.

I haven't officially signed any contract with the school and am coming in on a tourist visa. The visa issue doesn't bother me as much as the fact as that I don't have any sort of contract or comittment from my employer that I will actually have a job when I arrive in town. Should I expect some sort of agreement beforehand, or is this normal for short term summer work? The job I'll take, after all, is only a 3 or 4 week job.

I was wondering if anyone has any other advice about spending a summer in China to learn the language. I feel that I'm at a high enough point where self-study, both in the street and in a study, would help me out a lot, and I figure that have a job would make the trip easier financially and give me something to do every day (after all, if I just studied by myself in a room all day, it would suck and be kind of lonely, I'd think).

If any of you have ever done this, or if you have any experience with working at any summer camps, I'd appreciate any advice you could offer.

Thank you.

EJ

[kev7161]

Some (many?) summer camps offer jobs to TONS of people even though they don't need that many. Then the first to arrive get the job. I guess some of these organizations expect a lot of no-shows or last minute mind changers. I'd probably pester them via email until they absolutely 100% confirm that you have the job. A contract? They may not even have one to give you since it is only a summer camp job. If you're buying a RT ticket, I'd make sure it's flexible in case you have to fly back earlier than you expect.

I applied for a summer job in March or April. The lady in charge of recruitment immediately replied that I had the job so I then sent her an email asking specifics. I never got a reply so I figured they weren't interested. Then I made other plans for travel and ultimately decided I didn't want to work this summer anyway. After I had made bookings and what-not, then I get a call from her in early June to TELL me when I should be there - - as if we had an agreement all along!! I told her to go fly a kite which she readily agreed to since that is a hobby of hers. (not really!)

[SheZook]

I'm familiar with Omeca, having spent a lot of time in Yangshuo over the last 2 years, and I'd suggest you keep looking in the meantime. I'm not entirely sure of what Omeca offers but it is exactly like kev says - first in, first served. Yangshuo is a like Mecca for foreigners in summer - they are in abundance and many backpackers head there specifically to try and pick up a bit of work. The pay is much lower than other areas due to the high demand for jobs, and being a bit of a "party" town you might find yourself blowing through your earnings at an alarming rate.
Omeca's a language training centre so I don't think you'll actually be doing "summer camp" work as such - it will probably be regular classes. Yangshuo's also not the best place to practice your standard Chinese in daily situations as so many people speak the local dialect. That being said, there is a guy there who gives Chinese lessons at a reasonable rate and he's quite good. Just can't remember his name - he works out of his apartment down near the river. You could easily find someone to teach you - in fact, Omeca might offer that to you - they might also do Gongfu, Taijie and calligraphy lessons. However I could be confusing them with the OMEDA school which is also based in Yangshuo. One or the other of them has a not-so-great reputation and I can never remember which.
You'll beat me to Yangshuo this summer as I won't arrive until July 11th - I'm moving back there for a couple more years. There's a good chance you'll be able to pick up other work on top of the Omeca job if you're so inclined. PM Steppenwolf - he's there now and will probably have a better idea. And if you do get there, PM me and we'll go grab a beer! I'll be running a summer camp for V.E.T but it's a volunteer program so may not interest you. You can have a look at the website though if you like - http://www.guilin-yangshuo.com/VET/index.html

[InTime]

Welcome back to China, bro'.
You visited my class at Yangshuo 2 years ago, yes?

Check out a special project I'm involved with...
...and Mandarin learning will be a key elelment for those interested...
...using Chinese movies/Role Play

[upchuckles]

First, Id have a backup plan.. Any school still looking to hire at this point simply means they havent found a teacher who is already in China.. Or the deal they've been peddling hasn't mustered up to the general standards of the ESL teaching community.

Its not uncommon to come to China than find out your school already hired someone else.. Contract or no contract.. Summer program admins are usually unorganized, profit minded, and look out for A # 1.

[lumberjackej]

Everyone who replied:

Thanks for the great advice. On second thought, Yangshuo is probably not the best part of the country to learn Putonghua, which is basically Beijinghua...I might end up volunteering somewhere closer to Beijing. Who knows, though.

Thanks again for the help!

EJ