Job Discussion Forums

Dilton · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 68

I've noticed that there are certain provinces you don't often see mentioned on the China ESL boards. I guess it's because they don't have larger cities or aren't economically developed. I'm interested in what it's like to work in these places. Has anyone spent time in the following? Please share your experiences!

Ningxia

Qinghai

Jiangxi

Taiwan

Gansu

Guizhou

xjgirl · Joined: 02 Feb 2010 Posts: 242

plenty of jobs in those places

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

Songbird · Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:46 pm Post subject:

I have worked in both Gansu & Jiangxi. Blah. I was in a village in my first year in Gansu which was a 8-12 hour bus ride to the nearest city (Xian). In Jiangxi I worked in Ganzhou, a supposed city with NOTHING western (not even McDonalds).

For 6 years I lived & worked in the countryside, slowly working my way up in experience etc. I am now FINALLY living in downtown Shenzhen, a world away from where I've been!!!

The Great Wall of Whiner · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Posts: 4946 Location: Blabbing

dean_a_jones · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 1151 Location: Wuhan, China

Dilton · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 68

I specified "provinces" because I figured if I just said "you never hear about these 'places,'" newbies might not know what I was referring to. For example, they might not know if Ningxia is a city, province, county, region etc.

W.V. Orman · Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 69

East Turkestan

Dilton · Joined: 12 Aug 2011 Posts: 68

Can we please keep politics out of it and just discuss living/working in these provinces?

wangdaning · Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 3154

If you wanted to keep politics out you wouldn't have mentioned Taiwan. Taiwan the country has its own forum, as mentioned. Taiwan province doesn't exist as a place for EFL teachers in China to comment on. Maybe that is why there are no comments.

For the others, I would hazard a guess that they are less traveled. I would also guess that posting on the internet is not that easy. Lack of internet service. Also, the personality of people who chose to go to remote areas to teach doesn't really fit with someone who posts on an internet forum.

To summarize, they probably are not interested in posting on internet forums and/or have limited internet access.

If you try google you might find some personal experiences.

askiptochina · Joined: 26 Feb 2010 Posts: 488 Location: Beijing

Lobster · Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:44 am Post subject:

Telling your Chinese students that TW is an independnt country is a mistake you'll probably only make once. A a guest, you should know when to stay away from sensitive issues This doesn't just apply to China. You can get a lot of people riled up by stating the following:

N. Ireland is part of Britain (or not)
Israel is part of Palestine (or not)
Cyprus is part of Greece (or not)
Kashmir is part of India (or not)

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

funnily enough i was discussing Taiwan with a friend of mine just yesterday. I explained that there are a small number of foreign governments and many people around the world who officially/unofficially regard Taiwan as an independent country. I tried to make clear that these weren't necessarily my feelings (because frankly speaking I don't really care) but those of some people outside of China.

PandaPandemonium · Joined: 01 Oct 2011 Posts: 54

Songbird · Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 12:44 am Post subject:

Panda, I was there 3 years ago, boring place. The airport was my saviour!