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MO39

I have just been short-listed for a position at the above school, the contract running from October 1, 2004 till next July. I have never been to China, though I do have many years of experience teaching English in the US, Mexico, and Spain. So I would really appreciate comments from anyone who is working there now, has worked there in recent years, and/or who has lived in Zuhai or nearby. The contact person is Wayne Smith, Coordinator of the Faculty of Foreign Languages.

Many thanks,

Marsha

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

The campus is a very long way from the 'city' which is several towns spread over a large area. It takes over an hour by bus to get to the Macau border, for example. The school doesn't provide any transportation for shopping excursions or the like. Bus service is pretty good, but to go to lots of places you have to take two busses. Taxis aren't a good option cause the school is so far out. Zhuhai is new and really quite beautiful. There are miles and miles and miles of beautifully landscaped roadways. Things are clean and pollution isn't a problem.

The school provides apartments that are quite comfortable. Plan to spend quite a bit of money getting yourself set up. You will need to pay a deposit for the apartment (500 yuan) and telephone. You will need a mealcard for the cafeteria. Towels, cleaning supplies, (and you WILL want to clean) dishes, cookware, glasses, etc. You have to pay for the medical check (about 300 yuan) and the Z Visa (which will be about 1000 yuan if you're from the US).

The pay is a little better than lots of schools, so that sort of off-sets some of the up front costs. The apartments are convenient to the cafeteria and the school store. The store sells most of what you'll need unless you plan to do your own cooking. There are stores accessible by bus that sell anything you might want.

The school itself is new. This is the 3rd year. They are still working out some of the kinks. The English teachers suffer a bit from benign neglect.
The internet gets hinky sometimes. Bring any materials you might want, all you'll get will be the textbooks. The classes aren't huge, that helps. The classrooms don't all have aircon, but there are lots of fans. Don't expect to do handouts except in very limited numbers. If you have a picture file, bring it. The students aren't very good at pair or group work. Expect to work at it.

The campus has green everywhere and it's surrounded by hills. It is lovely. Don't forget your umbrella. That green requires lots of rain.

Anything I missed?

MO39 · Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2004 7:16 pm Post subject: Thanks!!

Ariadne,

You answered questions I hadn't even thought of - thanks so much for taking the time to write. Are you currently working at this school? I do have one question - what is the exchange rate these days for yuans in US dollars?

Cheers,

Marsha

Ludwig · Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 1:00 am Post subject:

"Short-listed'? Do not get too excited. The term has a slightly different interpretation on the grim Mainland. It means you and another 500 souls have been "short-listed".

Ludwig · Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2004 3:17 am Post subject:

Also, it is usually spelt as 'Zhuhai'.

Do not be led astray by advertisements you may see that quote high salaries (by Mainland standards). You will not attract half that once you are actually stuck there in the Mainland section. The 'high' amounts they quote are for HK teachers who work (part-time) for HK Space at this establishment:

http://hkuspace.hku.hk/academic_units/au.php?action=spacezhuhai

Of course, you would not discover that till you were actually there. And, before you ask, no you can not 'switch over' to a HK-based post once you are there; the teachers for this role, unlike those for the Mainland university, were recruited last year so you are too late.

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Hi Marsha,

The exchange is around 8 to 1, but check 'convert money' on google or somewhere and they will tell you exactly.

A correction to my earlier post... the Z Visa for a US passport is 1442 yuan.

The money here is nothing like Ludwig's Hong Kong big bucks, but it's better than lots of universities in China. 6 for 16, 7 for 18, and 8 for 20.

I'm here now, and I'm very pleased to be here. There are certainly some irritations, but there would be some irritations anywhere.

Hope to see you soon.