Job Discussion Forums

[Cubism]

Hi. Or -- any factories in the neighborhood? Constant construction? Horrid interferences by admin.? Unbearable climate? Do they pay their teachers? (Their contract has some loop-holes.) Anything you can tell me, any advice about them. The area's lovely, not sure they are, though.Thanks. Cubism

[lensman]

I was there in 2004-5. It was my first ESL job. Things may have changed a bit since then, but they are not the most progressive uni in China.

� No dirty dealings, but the standard advice for anywhere applies, i.e. make sure that everything agreed to, is written down, and be firm but friendly in any negotiations.

� There are no factories or anything else in the neighbourhood. It�s a little bit out of town but the buses run regularly and taxis are cheap.

� There was a lot of construction going on when I was there, not sure about now.

� Definitely no interference...also no curriculum, textbooks, or involvement of any kind. I wrote and delivered all my own lessons. In the whole year I was there, no one asked to see a teaching plan or even observe a class.

They picked me up at the airport, took me to my apartment, and introduced me to a student with very good English. Her job was to show me round the campus and make me feel welcome. A task she performed exceedingly well. After that they seemingly forgot all about me. Towards the end of the year they learned that this newly founded English Major Course was to be audited, and they asked me to write a summary of the lessons I delivered. That was it.

They may have got their act together a bit now. Prior to me the only native speakers the students had seen were a few missionary types. You will probably see a few of them around.

� Climate: I chose Fuzhou because it is at roughly the same latitude as Brisbane where I live. For some reason Fuzhou is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. But not unbearable.

� I always got paid on time. (What loopholes?)

� The FAO are typical Chinese, can�t make a decision. If you ask for a change to schedules or class numbers they will automatically say no, then a week later send you a note advising of the same change you suggested. I negotiated a three day weekend, but it will depend on the number of students FTs they have now.

� Most of the students are very friendly, but many lack motivation. FAFU, and English, is quite often the student�s second or third choice of uni and major.

It is a nice area, and I enjoyed my time there. You could do a lot worse.

[raclyn72]

I agree with some of the above response. I worked there from 2005-2007 and agree-
-it''s kind of out of the way but buses are frequent. taxi's are maybe gonna run 20-30rmb/trip
-u can get to Metro- to keep you stocked up on some western foods.

My biggest problem with this place was the "ayi" the chinese woman in charge of the foreigners apartments. she would enter your apartment when you weren't there. when you complain to the school they will placate you by saying "they want to fire her" (but she's been there for years.) the FAO has apparently "talked to her" about her entering the FT's apartments but she continues to do it. other FT's also knew she was going into their apartments when they weren't there.
-your apartment is probably going to be right beside the basketball court so you will hear them playing basketball almost 24/7.

-paid on time and the fao was about the usual level of efficiency here in china.

hope this helps.

[Cubism]

They did change -- they might be unconcerned, but it sure sounds like they keep their eyes on you. Really creepy. I am very glad to know about the lady who goes into people's places. That doesn't seem to be common in the prc, and I can't imagine why they allow it.

I think somebody got ahold of them and made them aware of contracts and words. I have seldom seen such sneaky, bombastic, prissy language in a Chinese contract.

The whole setup was designed to snare you, wrap you up in zillions of details, belittle you and your freedom.

The loop-holes: might not bother some people, but made me furious. Puts an ft on the level of hired cleaning help (praise it all, I'm not cleaning help in China!): 60 rmb deducted per class hour that your classes have been perceived as not completing the class's program. Ie, you're supposed to write up a lesson plan before scohol starts. If they decide you didn't fulfill their expectations, poof! 6o rmb per hr... After the sem., you write summaries, too. Plus extra-curricular stuff like contests.

I'm afraid I exploded at them, but they took it well. Replied that they'd not interfere, etc. and would change some things, but couldn't delete the 60 rmb cash clause. (What's a reverse-incentive clause called?) Since I am not a vacuum cleaner salesman, thank the lord, that's curtains for them. This, mind you, for a 4500/mo. gig!

I detest hot weather, too, so have decided to go, with my possibly unrealistic ideas of personal freedom, up the northeastern coast. I hope I'm not near the basketball court. Thanks so much! Keep in touch. Pm me. Cubism

[evaforsure]

[Ariadne]

Not really on topic, but.. re people going into apartments uninvited.. Put a padlock on your door. Doesn't cost much and it should solve the problem of uninvited guests. Don't ask the school to do it, just hire a local worker to put it in. Make sure all the nails/sc rews are inaccessible when the door is closed.

.

[Sef]

[Cubism]

The last 3 unis where I've taught didn't do this, and this one doesn't do it at all. The first one just had a lot of FAO interference in general, so I learned how to act so that admin. wouldn't see me as a target so much. Oh, that's bad luck, people coming into your place, and I'll keep all that in mind. I wonder what you do if it's a heavy Chinese metal door?

Lord, I've lived a sheltered life for a few years, and may it continue! Thank you for waking me up...

Cubism

[Hansen]

A local Chinese in your flat, even when you are there, can mean theft. Of course, I had a local FT in my flat and never found a computer game and a "Rough Guide to Chinese" after he left.

No accusation, just an observation.

[DosEquisX]

Has anybody been at this university since 2009? I have an interview with them soon.

Not sure I will be up for handling cleaning duty and invasions of privacy. Anyone I can PM for further information about any recent experience at this university?

Normally, only bad things are posted about unis on the internet. I guess this one is a pretty typical, middle of the line uni in China.

[Hayden05]

Hi, has anyone recently worked there? I'd like to ask a few questions. Thanks.

[RunItTwice]

I finished my contract and moved on. I was paid on time and my bosses didn't try to screw me over. The classes were a mixed bag and as mentioned it is pretty far away from the city of Fuzhou itself. I received no interference from anybody at the uni regarding my teaching.

From a social standpoint, I was pretty bored. My colleagues had their own things or weren't particularly sociable people. So it was kind of lonely. On the other hand, the environment was much cleaner than the center of the country.

If you aren't an overly experienced teacher, you can definitely do worse than this uni.

[Hayden05]

I got in touch with them in the meantime. I just didn't like the foreign woman working in foreign affairs I got in touch with. She seemed weird. Regarding the location, University Town in Fuzhou is further away that FAFU. However, there are more things going on over there and they are getting a metro line within 2 years. There is nothing around FAFU and they will need to wait at least 3 years for the metro. Add a really poor salary for 2018 standards, I passed up the opportunity.