Job Discussion Forums

Voyeur · Joined: 03 Jul 2012 Posts: 431

I just got here from Hong Kong, and that very day someone from the school helped me look at two apartments supposedly near the school (30 min and 40 min away, combined walk and bus).

I was informed I wouldn't like any of the apartments near the school as the other two teachers didn't like them. Th girl from the school is very nice, but seems to feel the apartment 30 min away from school is really good and is pushing me to take it fast (it is at 1900 RMB and our stipend is 2,000 RMB).

On a tip from another poster, I have been trying to use the web with google translate:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com.hk&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://fz.ganji.com/fang1/shangsanlu/p3/&usg=ALkJrhj5o0w8y5tmsEgTqkILPhm7TJri3Q

I'm looking for a place near Fujian Normal University. In fact, if you put in "Affiliated High School of Fujian Normal University", you will see even more closely where I work. If anyone who has better chinese than I, or who lives in Fuzhou, wants to take a minute and see if one can get decent studio apartments for less than 2,000 RMB within walking distance of my work, I'd really appreciate it. From what I have been able to see, there seem to be some options. But I`m having trouble navigating the maps for individual apartments as they are in Chinese. I know I want to be in Cangshan district, and based on a sketchy process of elimination, I think I I want to be near the `Three way`or `Three Road`area.

sui jin · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 184 Location: near the yangtze

Renting a place 30 minutes away from your workplace sounds like a hassle to me , and 1900 RMB for a studio apartment sounds expensive. The girl may be pushing you towards it, because it is an easy solution for her .

I suggest you walk around the school with your Chinese contact, who can negotiate for you. If it's a residential area there are sure to be lots of real estate agents with apartments for rent. Some landlords may be unwilling to rent out to foreigners, but Fuzhou is a fairly modern , developed city with an international presence. If you are renting for a year , and accompanied by a local school employee, there should not be a problem.

zactherat · Joined: 24 Aug 2011 Posts: 295

I would say ~2000 for a studio in Fuzhou is just a little expensive, and also that personally I prefer to live close to work, provided the local area is not unpleasant. If that studio is in a central location, it might be an OK deal. Sounds like your helper is reflecting on experience, which is good. Although when I read the OP I kind of thought that the helper might be getting a kickback from the rental contract.

ChinaPRO tip:
if you want to gauge real estate values, go to 58.com, baixing.com and/or ganji.com, all of which are classified listings sties. You can navigate to your city of choice, then the real estate rental section, then filter your search to show only listings from property owners (as opposed to agent listings, which are invariably illegitimate).
You can run those sites through gtranslate, but its output can be misleading so I would say some Chinese language ability (including character recognition) is required. Also bear in mind that prices vary wildly from one district to another, so it's important to to specify which one you want to focus on.

Voyeur · Joined: 03 Jul 2012 Posts: 431

Thanks guys. I put a hold on the apartment search until Monday.

Those were the sites I had been looking at--though as you said, without chinese, Google translate only goes so far. It does seem like my school, which is basically part of the University, is located in one of the more expensive areas. But it does seem like I can do better.

Anyone have any experience finding and hiring an English-speaking Chinese university student as a freelance interpreter? I'd like to get someone to help me find things at stores, and just do odd jobs when I need language help. I think being more independent from the school-assigned helper would make me look better, and feel better too. I don't like taking too much of their time.

Any idea how much a Uni student would charge per hour? I'd have to get them past the idea that I am some rich, American businessman putting it all on the corporate expense account...

Javelin of Radiance · Joined: 01 Jul 2009 Posts: 1187 Location: The West

Ask someone from your school to put you in touch with a student who has good English. Students are usually happy to help you out. You can offer to pay them but my experience is they usually refuse money and are happy to accept a few nice dinners along the way instead. But if you do end up paying them, 20-25 an hour is fair.

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

Best thing to do would be offer flat fee[100-200 for half a day say] OR, as JoR said, just meet at say 9-10am, get things done[phone, apartment etc.] then lunch time treat them to a nice western lunch, and don't be too stingy, let them get dessert, coffee etc.

Voyeur · Joined: 03 Jul 2012 Posts: 431

I'm teaching at a High School that is affiliated with the University, and basically on campus. But I'll need a university student. Hopefully someone at my school can make a recommendation.

20 Yuan an hour--is that good money in this part of China? Just average? What kind of salary does the average worker make? Just trying to get an idea of how happy they will be with that kind of pay.

I'm not sure of the best way to pay them. But I want to be able to call them up and get help on the phone, as well as in person. And I won't be doing everything in one afternoon--dribs and drabs, calls and short excursions, all over the next few weeks. And I'd like to keep them on the payroll for the year--who knows when you might need them.

In terms of getting around, it seems like I either need a smart phone with a big screen that connects to my computer, or a printer. Basically you need to be able to show taxi drivers your destination address and your home address. I used to be able to transcribe Korean, or memorize the words, but I'm finding Chinese a lot harder. The $15 Nokia crap phone I bought in HK just isn't gonna cut it. Wonder what the cheapest acceptable smart phone is.

By the by, just got a paid VPN and it made a world of difference to my internet access. I couldn't call phones using Skype, or use Gmail voice chat. And every second e-mail I sent on Gmail caused a server error. Now it is all smooth again.

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

Average workers probably get 5/6 RMB an hour, so 20 is plenty.

And remember they still have classes, I think asking them to do many small tasks is taking advantage a bit, just use one day[say sat/sun] that they'll help you for a couple hours.

Might be better to say 4 hours on a weekend x 4 weekends = 16 x 20 = 320, throw them 350 to be safe.

350 in a wad is better than giving them say 30 rmb here and there

roadwalker · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 1750 Location: Ch

Some of your new Chinese English teaching colleagues might be happy to spend time with you and to help you navigate your new surroundings. They might want to spend time with you to keep their English sharp or have an expert on slang, pronunciation etc. handy. Don't be afraid to ask them for help.

Voyeur · Joined: 03 Jul 2012 Posts: 431

Good advice. But I'm in town 2 weeks before school starts, and need a Chinese/English speaking "fixer" this week. I'm going to ask my school-provided helper to try to find me someone. She should be motivated, since it means I'll bug her less!

I do agree that batching my requests to a college student seems best--though sometimes they will need to do one-off, quick phone calls. 20 RMB an hour actually seems like a lot for a university student. On the other hand, I know there may be an expectation when doing translating work that you are working for a wealthy foreigner and are supposed to make big money. I'll ask my helper what she thinks is a fair amount.