Job Discussion Forums

[odysseus]

I am interested in teaching in Shanhai or even Guandong province. I know my question is quite broad, but I would appreciate any insight about these areas from someone who is teaching there or has taught there. Even if you have not taught there some 2nd hand info would be beneficial.

Thanks~

[Roger]

My answer is in the newbie forum.

[fat_chris]

[bluey]

I taught in a company in Guangdong for a few months, near Shenzhen. It's a great way to break your fall as you land in China, I think. The pervading HK culture shields you a bit and lets the stark reality of this weird country arrive a little more gently. At least that's the way it was for me. I was told it would be expensive, boring, culturally dead.... Blah blah blah. Rubbish innit. I loved it. I actually thought they were putting something in the water for the first few weeks... aware that I was perpetually fascinated by everything. The energy of the people there is, frankly, alarming.

But it's hot. Damn hot. Hot and wet. I was there over the summer, and I was a sweaty wreck if I had to walk more than 5 minutes in the daytime, or think about something puzzling like where my keys were. I eventually ended up wearing a vest under my shirt to stop the sweat soaking through. Mmm, lavley.

I was in a small "industrial village" of about 100,000 people, with four other foreigners altogether, about a half hour from Shenzhen. Eventually, knowing I wanted to stay in China for a long time, and beginning to tire of the village (but not the province) I decided to try and find a city which I'd feel at home in (something permanent rather than novel). I dabbled in Shenzhen, which I thought was quite nice from some angles, but essentially lacked soul, and Guangzhou, which I found to be pretty filthy and a bit of a concrete jungle, before I decided to bite the bullet and come to...

Shanghai.

Right now I'm living in Pu Dong (East side Shanghai), and I'm quite chuffed with the move. In fact, I'll admit, I'm actually more than a little pleased with myself, and on the occasions I get off the Metro at the riverside station to walk home past the city's most impressive, buildings, or take the ferry across the water, or stand at the bay window of my apartment looking out at the city, or go to a local bar for a bit of friendly banter and a Becks, I sometimes - just sometimes - have to concede to feeling a bit smug. Shanghai is theee s.hit.

Guangdong was a great first stop in China for me. All those warnings about China in general, and about Guangdong specifically (you won't learn Mandarin, you won't be able to afford to live well, there's no culture, terrible pollution) were either inaccurate or irrelevant. I learnt survival Putonghua inside a few months. The influx of migrant workers in Guangdong has necessitated the embrace of Mandarin at most levels save for top management. On top of that, those migrants are foreign too, in their own way (far from homes in different provinces with different dialects). That, to a small but noticeable degree, offsets your own alienation. I've never been a great fan of folkdancing, dusty museums, opera and stuff, so the culture thing never really bothered me. I had enough money to never, ever worry about it (about 8.6K RMB + housing), and despite travelling, I saved some by accident.

Then Shanghai - well, it turned out nice again. I was already in China which I think helped a lot (A LOT) when I was job-hunting (I came up for a couple of days to do interviews). Now I'm making a gradual transition to freelance work, which will be my bread and butter by next Summer (visa issues aside).

So I'd recommend either place - only based on my own experience. I think I was quite lucky on both counts, but once you're in China you can begin making your own luck here - something that's not so easy in a lot of "developed" countries. Guangdong's quite pleasant outside of the high Summer months, but Shanghai, IMHO, is a totaly world-class city, and full-to-bursting with opportunities to make filthy lucre, and ways to spend it - from a decent three-kwai dinner to a 600-buck bar-bill, depending on your tastes and means. PM me if you want any more specific info on specific questions, and read the Job Info Journal for schools or employers to avoid.

I used an agy - China Connections Education Services - to get my first job in Guangdong. They were fine. Their site's here...

www.teachenglishinchina.com