Job Discussion Forums

bjwellgo8 · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 34

Get Real, this is China!!!!

I got a phone call from a college in Changsha, Hunan one morning. Again, it's about a gentleman who landed a job at the school through us. He contacted us in late August for possible teaching opportunities in China. When I told him about the college in Changsha the next day, he seemed to be very excited and jumped at the opportunity because he "loved" the city. A new school year starts in late August or early September. Most openings were filled by that time.

He talked to the the FAO director and teachers working there, visited their website, got the offer, had a letter of invitation from the school and local government, booked the air ticket and arrived.

Things took a 180 degree turn upon his arrival at the school. The FAO director called me the third day, telling me that the person refused to talk to anyone in the school and telling the students who tried to befriend him "don't waste my f***king time." The confused FAO director asked him what went wrong and didn't get any response. I contacted him and his response was that the school breached the contract. The reason? The school said there will be broadband Internet access in the dorminatory but it turned out that it's not real broadband, not 10 mb/second.

Get real! I almost heard myself shouting. You are in China. And you HAVE BEEN IN CHINA FOR SIX YEARS! Don't be so naive! I soon found out that he has his hidden agenda. He is not naive. Before he got in touch with me and the school, he had tried to land a job in Shanghai and received favorable response from a German chemical company in Shanghai. That company wants to have him but the problem is that the company can't handle his visa issue. What a shame!

This is an unusual case. On the other hand, I do know some people who initially wanted to experience China but changed their mind after they came to China. They want to stay in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. They want to stay away from the rest of China. I am not in a position to tell people where to live. But I am just curious, if you can't live without KFC or Big Mac for a single day, why bother to come to China or any other country? Of course, everyone has a REAL reason and a dozen other reasons to cover that reason for going to other country. Probably it's just our human nature. Many of us are just like the poor dragon-loving guy in the old Chinese tale. A guy called Mr Ye loves dragon so much that he paints the images of dragon everywhere: on the walls, on his clothes, on his shoes, cups... everywhere. A dragon hears about Mr Ye and decides to pay him a visit. At the sight of the dragon, Mr Ye passes out and never wakes up.

I feel that many of those who come to China from other countries are misled by the surreal description of China. So are Chinese who leave China for another country. Yes, China is not like what it was like 100 years ago. Men don't wear pig tails and women don't wear Golden Lotus shoes. Yes, China is going to hold 2008 Olympics. Yes, some of the most expensive cars are sold in China. But remember, China is still a developing country. That means that everyone in it is developing. So are you and I. So let's get real. Enjoy what we have while we can and leave everything bad aside.

Jeff Lee
MOD EDIT

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

You said it way too diplomatically, buddy! I think you are a kindhearted person and in principle I agree with you; problem is that your pleading would only be taken to heart by like-minded TEFLers; unfortunately a large number of our colleagues are in a totally different drawer! To be a little blunt: an increasing number of them don't give a hoot about what they should expect since they come to other countries with an acute entitlement attitudinal syndrome that should be surgically removed!

The market is getting swamped by people it is a dishonour to associate with.

The schools might eventually come up with an INTEGRITY TEST for newbies! I might support them!

Keath · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:

Well said Roger.. Sorry to hear you had that trouble Jeff. We've got a few very interesting stories about foreign teachers who passed our screening only to find they too had hidden agendas..

Keith

bjwellgo8 · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 34

I believe that most people are honest and decent. They are disappointed or angry for justified reasons. But there are bad apples everywhere and they tarnished the reputation of the group they belong to. The person I talked about literally threatened me that he would ask his connections at PSB to cause trouble to my company when I asked him to deal with his dipute with the school in a reasonable manner and be careful with possible legal consequences.

A foreign teacher who does recruiting in China told me lately that she was "scr..ed" by two guys who accepted the offers of a school that she got for them, arrived at the school, got the airfare reimbursement and disappeared just in time after all the paperwork was done for them. She lost not only the service fee the school was supposed to pay her but also her reputation and needless to say, time.

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

Germany held the olympics in 1936 - Watch out with the comparisons Jeff � they can let you down Rolling Eyes

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

mmm... pancakes · Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 92

Kev, do you remember back to when the double cheeseburgers were only 5 kuai??? It was bliss. Damn their evil marketing strategies that got me hooked, before raising the prices three dastardly RMB!

(I second what Kev said.)

Starry Night · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 1:36 pm Post subject:

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

some schools will go ahead and pay upon arrival but they are far and in between. My university does that but they've been lucky and have not had any bad experiences with teachers as of yet.

I'm glad that some of us understand that all teachers are not saints and that some of them have issues/hidden agendas that cannot be foreseen before they get here.

bjwellgo8 · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 34

bjwellgo8 · Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 34

[quote="kev7161"]

PamK · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:29 pm Post subject: MSG... and McD

Not to mention I react strongly to MSG, is there Chinese food without it? Food in and around an isolated Chinese campus is not the best representation of Chinese cusine! Way too much oil in all of it. I cook at home almost exclusively. It is an hour away to a double cheeseburger!

Don McChesney · Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 656

If you walk each way for the double cheeseburger, think of it as a Health Food item.

myesl · Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:09 pm Post subject:

If the contract said broadband and it doesn't have it, then the school is run by liars. When are Chinese people going to stop pretending to be surprised that the entire rest of the world thinks there is value in being truthful? Don't say broadband if it doesn't have it. For many a Laowai, this one included, broadband is important. And what's wrong with not liking the local food? Hasn't stopped me from being able to read books in Chinese. And you jeff, I think I know who you are. You tried to recruit me for a job once. I'm even more glad now that I didn't take it.

Greg

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

regarding not being able to live in china without big macs and KFC, seems that most chinese immigrants in my country head straight for chinatown (and its chinese food) when they look for a place to live. noone condemns them for that.

7969