I got a phone call from a college in Changsha, Hunan this morning. Again, it's about this gentleman who landed a job at the school through us. He contacted us in late August for possible teaching opportunities in China. When I told him about the college in Changsha, he seemed to be very
excited and jumped at the opportunity because he "loved" the city.He talked to the the FAO director and teachers working there, visited their website, got the offer, had a signed letter of invitation from the school and local government, booked the air ticket and arrived.

Things took a 180 degree turn upon his arrival at the school. The FAO director called me the third day, telling me that the person refused to talk to
anyone in the school and telling the students who tried to befriend him "don't waste my f***king time." The confused FAO director asked him what
went wrong and didn't get any response. I contacted him and his response was that the school breached the contract. The reason? The school said there will be broadband Internet access in the dorminatory but it turned out that it's not real broadband, not 10 mb/second.

Get real! I almost heard myself shouting. You are in China. And you HAVE BEEN IN CHINA FOR SIX YEARS! Don't be so naive! I soon found out that he has his hidden agenda. He is not naive. He think other people are naive. Before he got in touch with me and the school, he had tried to land a job in Shanghai and received favorable response from a German chemical company in Shanghai. That company wants to have him but the problem is that the company can't handle his visa issue. What a shame!

This is an unusual case. On the other hand, I do know some people who initially wanted to experience China but changed their mind after they came to China. They want to stay in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. They want to stay away from the rest of China. I am not in a position to tell

people where to live. But I am just curious, if you can't live without KFC or Big Mac for a single day, why bother to come to China or any other

country? Of course, everyone has a REAL reason and a dozen other reasons to cover that reason for going to other country. Probably it's just our

human nature. Many of us are just like the poor dragon-loving guy in the old Chinese tale. A guy called Mr Ye loves dragon so much that he paints

the images of dragon everywhere: on the walls, on his clothes, on his shoes, cups... everywhere. A dragon hears about Mr Ye and decides to pay

him a visit. At the sight of the dragon, Mr Ye passes out and never wakes up.

I feel that many of those who come to China from other countries are misled by the surreal description of China. So are Chinese who leave China
for another country. Yes, China is not like what it was like 100 years ago. Men don't wear pig tails and women don't wear Golden Lotus shoes.

Yes, China is going to hold 2008 Olympics. Yes, some of the most expensive cars are sold in China. But remember, China is still a developing country. That means that everyone in it is developing. So are you and I. So let's get real. Enjoy what we have while we can.

Jeff Lee
Consultant of Beijing Wellgo Consulting Services, a professional placement company based in China
bjwellgo8@yahoo.com.cn