They Can Do That... - Teachers Discussion

Civil liberties issues aside, the sad fact is that if you are staying in their housing, they are pretty much free to set any rules for you they want. The same would be true in other countries, too, especially in a setting like a university.

It IS a university, right? I can kind of understand them not wanting us to be up all night in their housing cavorting with a bunch of bar hookers or something. Not saying YOU'D do that, of course...but a lot of foreigners here would.

Doesn't mean it doesn't suck. I never, ever take on-campus housing.

Peter they behaved illegally I am guessing - Teachers Discussion

Trying to police the teachers in the school housing may be ilegal. You cannot have guests in your apt. after 11 pm but everybody else in China can? Are there civil liberties about free association?

I'm an old hand with this issue. Ran into it at Honam University in South Korea. They locked the residence doors at 11 pm and opened them at 7 am and we could neither get in or out. This was sprung on us after moving in. You can imagine how the foreign staff reacted....there were the milktoast quiet complainers who winpered to each other and one guy just threw a boulder through the door. I remember having to climb out a 2nd story window in a 3 piece suit to get to a a 6am early morning class. How rediculous! The fire department was contacted and they said it was not their concern....that is so Korea, and that is why they have a lot of mass deaths due to such lack of responsibility. Mass burning in subways, mass burings in bars (staff locked the doors).

At my present Chinese college I worked out the issue before I came and there has been no problem. Your apt. is your apt. for the period of the contract but a school is private property and you may have to adhere to their rules, if informed. College and university rules cannot override the law of the land so I am guessing they are acting illegally. Personally, rules or no rules, I would not put up with it. Sheep get herded, not me.

BISU - Teachers Discussion

I can indeed offer some advice. Don't bother!

I am one of 30 or so foreign teachers who have worked at Beijing International Studies University (BISU), AKA Er Wai, AKA Beijing Di Er Wai Guo Yu Xue Yuan, AKA Beijing Second Foreign Languages School since Sep 2005.

Virtually all of us are leaving over one grievance or another with the institute's needlessly stubborn and unreasonable foreign affairs department.

The main complaint is that no one is allowed to have visitors after 11pm. Only "direct family" can stay, and that, apparently, means grandparents, parents, spouses and children.

They're trying to stick me out of my return airfare. I was already in China when I began the contract. I now want to use my return airfare to go home for the summer then return to Beijing to work at a different school. They're trying to say you can only claim the airfare at the beginning of the year. They're also trying to claim that's what the contract says. It doens't.

Maybe my complaints are common but I don't think that's a reason to have to put up with them. They routinely lie, claiming the above mentioned rules relating to visitors are standard. That is BS. There have been many complaints from others. Many. My advice, give this place a miss unless you like having stomach ulcers.

hope this helps