My experiences coming to China to teach English

[Pianote]

@roddy  Sure. I started off in Taiwan in August. My first teaching job aside from my college internship. I was teaching kids between 5 and 12. The job was hell. The directors (husband and wife) were rude and I found out I didn't like little children. The older, the better. I later learned  from another recruiter that the school is notoriously chaotic and they change teachers very often. Whenever no teachers stay, bad sign! I knew it but I was running away from a bad homelife in Alabama and wanted the quickest and cheapest route out as possible as I had very little money. My immediate family didn't even know I was leaving the country. The only ones who knew were 3 of my cousins who live in different states.

Anyway, while I was in Taiwan they still hadnt hired permanent teachers which meant they burned bridges with teachers who were there previously. I got into an argument with the wife. Mind you, I was only at this school a week.

9 working days to be exact. My recruiter got me fired from the job. She told the directors I said I didn't want to be there. I had no job lined up either. She didn't even tell me about having to bring  my FBI background check. I got her to pay My apartment in Taiwan (which was 1 room, no microwave or wifi) , plane ticket to China and cab fare from my apartment to the airport in Taiwan because I had no money.

How I found this job- I was surfing the web and found a recruiting company online. The site seemed kind of hidden to me- I can't  remember where I found it. I gave my info and was hired at the school immediately. To avoid a situation like the one I was leaving I asked to speak to another foreign teacher who taught at the sister school. She was from Alabama also! I asked probably 100 questions. I didn't care if I seemed crazy. She had nothing but nice things to say about the school. So, I signed the contract. The problem is, I didnt know about how strict the Chinese government was about having a visa. So, I had to go to Hong Kong. I was terrified because I was low on money. So, I get to the airport in hk and stay overnight because I didn't know what to do. No money to get anywhere, nothing. I was on my phone with my bank and got my recruiter to wire me money to my bank account but I had to wait a few days. I thought about living in the airport a few days. The next day i was walking in the airport and a man was looking for people to take to hotels. I told him my situation and he told me he could find me a cheap guesthouse- Chunking Mansion. I got there, put my stuff up and he took me out to eat. I came back an hour later but I didnt think to take a picture of the block I lived in. I was looking and a man I recognized from my floor told me he could take me to my room. I said ok... He groped me and tried to rape me in the stairwell. I screamed help and he ran. The police came and found him a week later. I didn't want to stay in chunking mansion but I didn't think I had any other option. During the day, I  walked around outside hoping to find someone to pay for my food and housing until my recruiter's money came through. I gave up and came back to my guesthouse and there was guy at the front desk talking with his friends. He really wanted to talk to me so, I took the opportunity to tell him my situation. He gave me money for 3 nights took me out to eat that night and the next night. I will forever be thankful for him. Mind you, I never did anything sexual. Fast forward, I stayed in hk 2 weeks nervous as heck about my visa being accepted. It was, I was relieved and I flew to Guiyang that day. I have been at this school 7 months now. Next month, will be 8 months- the longest I have ever kept a job.

 

Feel free to ask any questions

 

[Admin note: Split from here.]

[roddy]

First off, this should be a new topic. 

Quote

I asked probably 100 questions.

 

Perfect. Now, imagine YOU get a phone call from someone who's in the US, interested in doing what you're doing. Answer her 100 questions.

[Pianote]

@roddy  i'd be more than happy to answer questions. 

[Lu]

What did you ask the teacher? And what were her answers? Even the questions you asked can be very helpful for other people who consider teaching in China, like you did.

[Pianote]

@Lu How the boss was, what the hours were like,  what's expected of me at the school, my apartment, etc.

[anonymoose]

11 hours ago, Pianote said:

I flew to Guiyang that day

 

How did you suddenly conjure up the funds for that?

[Pianote]

@anonymoose the recruiter's money 

[ChTTay]

 How did you find the first 2 weeks? Did the school make an effect to help you acclimatise? Or did they just drop you off and say “see you Monday!”?

 

did the school offer any induction or training? If so, how was it? If not, how did you prepare yourself for your first week?

[889]

Very hard to read long blocks of text on a phone without paragraph breaks.

[Pianote]

@ChTTay not much training was required aside from reading to the students and helping them answer the questions in the books and translating the lessons for the students. 

 

An induction? They've taken me out to eat a few times with the other teachers.

 

 

[vellocet]

Chunking Mansions is a notorious hive of scum and villainy.  

 

Just a pro tip for the future: whenever men offer to take you out, it means they're sexually interested in you.  It's not out of the kindness of their hearts.  

[Pianote]

@vellocet  I know. I had no money at the time so when offered to take me out I had to take advantage of it.

[Flickserve]

Glad you managed to survive that part of Chungking mansions.