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yellow earth
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 41
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 Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:09 am Post subject: American TPR and Zhuhai |
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2 questions. Has anyone ever heard of "American TPR English School" in Zhuhai? I have an offer from them.
also
The job pays 5000rmb a month. Is this enough to live comfortably in Zhuhai? I've heard Zhuhai is nice, so I wasn't sure if that meant expensive, too, like Beijing and Shanghai.
thanks everyone |
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theincredibleegg
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Weird name.
The only time i've heard TPR is in context of English teaching is "total physical response". If that's what they mean with TPR, then it's really weird to have it in the name of a company. |
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thefuzz
Joined: 10 Aug 2009
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:58 am Post subject: |
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They have a website...which is good...and it's in English...which is even better. I don't know about the school, but Zhuhai is a great little city and just on the border with Macau. The salary seems to be quite low, but if you don't have much experience or good qualifications you'll probably won't squeeze out much more from them. The 5K a month salary plus housing would be good is a small town somewhere...in Zhuhai I would say is a slap in the face. But, again, if this is your first job in China and you don't have much experience and qualifications it could be a good start...from their website I gathered that they give teachers training which is good if you're starting out in this business.
FYI: When I first came to China 8 years ago my first job paid me a salary of 5000 RMB + housing...and back in those years China was a MUCH cheaper place to live in (talking about daily living costs). |
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Ahchoo
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 606
Location: Earth
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| Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:38 am Post subject: |
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They're well known in Zhuhai, never heard anything bad about them. They're big, 3 schools, experienced (15 years or so) so they have the visa experience and know what foreigners expect. (and Zhuhai's a pretty good place to land in China).
5000 will do you OK if you've got accommodation thrown in. |
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Jayray
Joined: 28 Feb 2009
Posts: 373
Location: Back East
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:13 am Post subject: |
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| Five grand and how many hours? |
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Lei Feng
Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 59
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:20 am Post subject: Been There |
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Zhuhai is nice, but small and boring after awhile.
TPR sucks. It is a normal mill, but they will nickel and dime you to death especially if you take there housing. Without free housing, the salary makes no sense.
Also, expect some truly unruly and uncontrollable kids. Really tough, but normal.
TPR will mess with your money and in Zhuhai you don't have a lot of other teaching options, but it is a good place to land, good place to start out. |
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yellow earth
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| contract says up to 21 teaching hours a week. what is the population of zhuhai? also, what about public transportation? i heard there is no train system there. it looks like a cool spot, close to macao, hongkong and shenzhen, but what am i looking at? bus? |
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thefuzz
Joined: 10 Aug 2009
Posts: 271
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:40 am Post subject: |
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| yellow earth wrote: |
| contract says up to 21 teaching hours a week. what is the population of zhuhai? also, what about public transportation? i heard there is no train system there. it looks like a cool spot, close to macao, hongkong and shenzhen, but what am i looking at? bus? |
With 5K a month don't count on many trips to Macau or Hong Kong...both places are way more expensive than Zhuhai.
It's a small town so no subways or trains, you can just get around on a bicycle or by bus. From their website TPR says you'll be living close to the school anyway, so probably within walking distance, which will save both time and money. There are daily high speed boats to Shenzhen if you want to visit for a day trip, but overall the place is small and can get boring. Population is about 1.5 million so very small by Chinese standards.
Just Google "Zhuhai" for more info...easy. |
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Ahchoo
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 606
Location: Earth
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:44 am Post subject: |
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Bus is fine in Zhuhai, plenty of buses going everywhere, it's small enough that you don't need a metro.
It's getting bigger, there are many foreign restaurants and coffee shops here, loads of pizza shops, bars, and you are right, just walk across the border to Macau or 1 hour very pleasant ferry ride to Hong Kong. |
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yellow earth
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 1:50 am Post subject: |
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how do the locals in zhuhai react to foreigners? are they friendly?
ever been refused enterance at any bars, restaurants?
I'm in Japan right now. Unfortunately, there is a US Marine base in my city! It's put a dark cloud over my social life. I know it's tough being a foreigner in any country but what about zhuhai? friendly? safe? |
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The Ever-changing Cleric
Joined: 19 Feb 2009
Posts: 1523
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 2:01 am Post subject: |
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| yellow earth wrote: |
how do the locals in zhuhai react to foreigners? are they friendly?
ever been refused enterance at any bars, restaurants? |
you might come across some chinese that dont like you, or glare at you, but i've never been refused entry anywhere in my six years in china. i've read about the places foreigners arent allowed in japan (onsen for example) and it doesnt happen here. if someone on here says they've been refused entry to some place (outside of a military base or other govt installation) in china based on their nationality, i'd ask them to prove it somehow.
| yellow earth wrote: |
| I'm in Japan right now. Unfortunately, there is a US Marine base in my city! It's put a dark cloud over my social life. I know it's tough being a foreigner in any country but what about zhuhai? friendly? safe? |
you wont find any US marine bases in china, so the attitude towards foreigners has developed differently. i think you'd find zhuhai to be a decent place to live. |
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Ahchoo
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 606
Location: Earth
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:10 am Post subject: |
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| yellow earth wrote: |
how do the locals in zhuhai react to foreigners? are they friendly?
ever been refused enterance at any bars, restaurants?
I'm in Japan right now. Unfortunately, there is a US Marine base in my city! It's put a dark cloud over my social life. I know it's tough being a foreigner in any country but what about zhuhai? friendly? safe? |
Friendly and safe, welcoming even. |
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pandatealoaf
Joined: 31 Jan 2009
Posts: 2
Location: Zhuhai, China
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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Yellow Earth,
If you plan on saving, that is not enough money. I struggle month to month. Do you have any experience teaching? |
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yellow earth
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| yes, but in Japan. I'm not familiar at all with cost of living in China. My first thought was that 5000rmb/month is a little low, but people are always telling me about how cheap china is so I don't know. thanks |
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The Ever-changing Cleric
Joined: 19 Feb 2009
Posts: 1523
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| Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:08 am Post subject: |
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| pandatealoaf wrote: |
| Yellow Earth, If you plan on saving, that is not enough money. I struggle month to month. |
| yellow earth wrote: |
| yes, but in Japan. I'm not familiar at all with cost of living in China. My first thought was that 5000rmb/month is a little low, but people are always telling me about how cheap china is so I don't know. thanks |
noone on this forum can tell you what you can or cant save. prices vary in different places and all of us have different spending habits. i make less than some of my friends but i save more, and we live in the same city.
5000 for 21 hours is a bit low, most of those contracts offering 5000 have only 16-18 teaching hours per week, but still loads of free time for you regardless.
many FTs in china, as we all know, supplement their income with part time work, which is usually very easy to find. there are lots of threads/posts on this topic. with a couple of private students on weekends or some work at a company one or two nights a week, you can easily add 2000-3000 to your income per month. |
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