Job Discussion Forums

[johntpartee]

Anybody know anything about this place?

[bradley]

I applied to teach there a few years ago but opted not to accept their offer. They were very polite and put me in contact with the current teachers there who were happy and said to be re-contracting. The only reason I didn't accept their offer was because I had an offer with higher pay in Shenzhen.

[dakelei]

I know a little. It's in a very backwater city in a very backwater area. It's known as the "Chaoshan" region and has its own language. (I've grown to despise it but that will be the topic for another rant.) The high school where I presently teach is maybe an hour away and often student-teachers from Hanshan do internships here. A few of our English teachers graduated from there as well. A very high percentage of the students are female. (And, if it matters, pretty easy on the eyes as well.)

The city in which Hanshan is located, Chaozhou, is small and pleasant enough but there are a goodly amount of factories and quite a few newly rich peasants who drive when they don't need to so the air quality can be dreadful at times. The college is located across the river from the "main" part of the city but I cycled pretty much everywhere when I lived there for 3 months in 2006 without too much trouble and I was 46 at the time. I taught at a nearby middle school. There are very few foreigners and you will be gawked at noticeably pretty much everywhere you go. Groups of young men will shout "HELLO" at you and laugh loudly while groups of girls will giggle profusely. You get used to this, of course. The locals are very proud of "Chaoshan" food though I find it pretty disgusting as it features a lot of seafood that is barely cooked. If you like seafood you'll love the local fare but I've never been a big fan. There are a lot of temples and older buildings to visit if you're into that sort of thing. There is not a lot to do as far as nightlife goes but that was never an issue for me anyway. Shantou is fairly close and it's pretty easy to go there on the weekends to escape. Most of the Hanshan students I've encountered were and are very nice. It's not a top-tier school or anything so they're no geniuses. The "local people" are not exactly "forward thinking," however, especially the men. The local politicians are corrupt as hell and don't expect any help at all from the police, who are usually too busy hanging out at nightclubs to do much of anything else.

Overall, it's not a bad place to be for a term or a year but any longer than that I think would grate on any Westerner's nerves.

[johntpartee]

Sounds like the place I'm at now; however, the contract they sent me was a stinker.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

John, what was the contract like? Some specifics, just for comparison.

[johntpartee]

Ten month contract. The teacher pays for all utilities, including water. To live in the apartment during the summer, the teacher pays 100 yuan PER DAY.