Job Discussion Forums

[deepteeth]

I'm in my first year of EFL teaching abroad, and I want to know where I stand. I've read the forums extensively the last year or so and so I have a general idea (which I'll give at the end of the post) but I'd really like an expert opinion from others.

About my job:
I'm teaching in the Russian Far East. I don't want to mention any school- or coworker-specific details until I've decided to move on. I make about 350 rubles ($12.33) post Russian tax per academic hour and I teach 25-35 academic hours per week. I work six days a week, but for example on Tuesday I only have one class and my Russian class (where I'm a student). Some days are long - 9:00am to 9:00pm - while some are short - 4:30pm to 8:10pm.

It's a private school, catering mostly to the well-off in the area. I teach students from 10 to adult; all of them have at least a pre-intermediate knowledge of English (Russian teachers take the very young and beginner students). Most students come to the school three times per week; I see them once and my Russian co-teacher sees them the other two times. Class sizes are never larger than 12, and some are 6 or less students. Classes are either 1:20 or 2:00 long. I get paid for class time and there is no required in-office time other than a meeting once a month or so.

The Russian teachers are a very mixed bag. Some of them have been around for a while and they seem well-organized and good teachers. The vast majority (I feel) are grossly lacking in self-confidence and are more concerned with being liked by the students than actually teaching. Some of their English levels are very low.

We use Cambridge textbooks, which seem really good. There are dozens of other resources in the office, and no limits on the number of copies/prints.

So far, there has been very little in terms of pressure to perform or any type of performance checks - though this could be because the other native speaker decided to leave en media contract.

About the perks:
Roundtrip airfare from the USA (about $1750), my apartment (expensive in this area), coffee/tea/snacks at work, and taxi rides home when working at night are all: free.

About the school:
The school has about a dozen small classrooms, each with a computer, window, whiteboard, and coatrack. There is an office area, all open, where we share about 10 seats in a small room. There are two computers with internet access that we share. Adjacent to the office is a small "kitchen" with a microwave, espresso machine, and electric kettle. There is no fridge.

Nearby the school is a public school, where I can buy a fairly delicious school lunch for about 100 rubles ($3.33).

About me:
I am a young (23), American, recent (2009) college graduate from a slightly above average school. However, my degree is in English Literature, though I did take some linguistics classes and have serious exposure to French and Spanish. Experience-wise I've tutored a foreign graduate student for about two years (paid) and also taught children in Ecuador for about two months (volunteer). I've traveled extensively.

I'm very into healthy eating, and I'm actually okay with Russia's availability of healthy food.

However, I enjoy writing and the arts and conversation, and there's not really a community for any of that here. There are quite a few expats here, but I haven't met anyone under 33 yet. Most are here with families or they are trying to make families. Few are Americans. One of the reasons I didn't want to give school details is because I'm teaching at the only EFL school with native speakers within a few hundred klicks. There are two other American teachers here, but they are much older and more interested in pursuing their own religious agenda than my idea of socializing (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

This summer I'm going to try to get CELTA in SE Asia, so keep that in mind for all questions re: contract renewal and payment.

About my life here:
Yes, it's cold, but not as cold as most of Russia. It won't get any worse than -25C. There's snowboarding available nearby and I'm trying to learn. I've got a girlfriend, but not too many other friends, especially not male. So far I enjoy Russian personalities from a distance, but those I've made friends with have been disappointing. There are few creative minds here; most people play video games and get drunk. Strangely, it was difficult to get the two groups of friends to even play cards while drinking; they just wanted to drink. When I told them I like to paint and write they thought I was crazy.

My apartment is MASSIVE - I have two completely unused rooms - and very centrally located. However it is very old, no one's lived here for a couple of years, and it has many problems which are (obviously) not fixed very promptly or professionally.

In general, the cost of living here is about the same as in the USA. I was extremely pleased to discover the adjacent school's cafeteria and I eat there nearly every day, at least when I'm busy. There is a total of zero moderately cheap restaurants - trust me, I've looked and asked.

EDIT: After seeing Norby's thread (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=87386) I wanted to add another section of my own here:


After my first year, using my salary PLUS selling my computer for about $1000, I will have been able to pay for:

A CELTA course (this includes accommodation and living expenses, in addition to course fee and travel costs.)
Absolutely no holidays or breaks outside the country except for 2.5 months in summer 11, which will include one month of Celta, above.
Absolutely no �mini-breaks� because my schedule (Sundays off only) doesn't allow for it really.
About three times snowboarding until I realized I couldn't afford it
I haven�t flown back home yet.

Am I starving? No. But I think I live muuuch cheaper than most.

My Questions!:

1. Greed: Am I getting paid enough? Specifically, what are some rough equivalents of [$12/hr + airfare + apartment (in Russia)] = [$?/hr + no air + no apt (in Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia/Malaysia/S America)]?

[LH123]

I have never been to Russia, much less worked there. So, I am not best qualified to answer your questions. But, I've been around - I can offer my thoughts and interpretations, but please don't take this as anything close to authoritative.

[oxi]

You'll probably get more detailed advice if you put this in the Russia forum.
As a starter job, it seems ok to me. Haven't really spent much time in Russia. Did similar work in other C.I.S. with similar qualifications.

[JordanX]

If you want to eat fresh, healthy food, don't go to China.

[naturegirl321]

[deepteeth]

I've heard some seriously mixed things on Chinese food. Unless they are keeping all the good stuff there and exporting everything else, I can't believe the quality is very high at all.

I've met a few people mostly through CouchSurfing. They are okay, some are great, but really I'm having a hard time connecting with Russian guys as friends. I'm an artsy type who has trouble connecting with most US guys, so I guess I should be expecting this. I've met some really great people, but many of them are uni students who have already left the city and only come back to visit family during holidays.

I'm working on talking to a few of the ex-teachers directly. From what I gather, there haven't been many others in the past (school is just now expanding) and they have left because of the high cost of living and little chance for growth elsewhere.

It's not that I'm being ageist really with the older teachers. I have some friends at home who are in their sixties and I really love them. However, personally the other teachers and I just don't really get along. They are quite religious and I am not, but this is only the beginning. In my opinion, older people generally do have more wisdom. But I firmly believe that if someone talks daily about their wisdom, they absolutely cannot be a wise man.

I wasn't talking about teachers playing video games, but rather young people in general. This is rampant in the US too, but really it wasn't hard to find alternative types. Here, I'm afraid it might be, but I also know it might take longer than a year.

I've just asked for a large raise (500 rub/hr up from 350), assuming it will be negotiated down. In this process I'll also ask for a different flat. I'm pretty sure that with the same pay and flat and hours, I will not come back.

[naturegirl321]

[deepteeth]

[naturegirl321]

[deepteeth]

[shenyanggerry]

I found the fruits, vegetables and fresh meat available in North-East China to be fresh and tasty. I didn't do a chemical analysis of what, if any impurities they contained. I did like the markets where you selected the piece of meat to be turned into hamburger after the fat was cut off.