To me that is one of the saddest damn things to see. What you describe as more long-term FTs in China who feel some need to pull this 'old hand' badmouthing and denigrating any new people. Surely its part jealousy, they can do it because Chinese fall for it (in fact they are being played themselves) and I have a theory its because some of them remember the 'good old days' and have some sort of resentment about it. They want it to be 2008 again when they arrived and it was a fresh golden world?

A foreigner once told me about this other phenom which he referred to by an older British comedy show sketch but its "The Only Gay in the Village" syndrome. which made me laugh.

The reference is to a character in a small UK town who had some obsessive need to be unique and so special and decided to become a flamboyant gay man who delighted in being noticed and given both good and bad attention. Other villagers assumed he'd be so thankful to be introduced to another gay man so they'd bring their gay cousin to the village hoping the two would certainly bond together, support each other etc. No! The gay villager was absolutely offended to a point of outright hostility and insisting the newly introduced gay was a phoney, a false gay and would then ignore him entirely at all times even crossing the street to avoid the 'usurper' lol

I actually experienced this when we first moved to a little neighbourhood in our new city and a local who'd been there for something like 8 years literally would ignore me on the street. Some foreigners give a little wave or nod. He seemed to almost 'scorn' at me then 'scoff' loud enough I could hear it. Finally, I got him in a lineup and tried chatting. He was all but offended some 'usurper' was trying to take his title or something. Eventually he'd speak to me but ONLY on the condition it was the context of him condescending, telling me 'how it is', establishing he was 'the only foreigner' and i guess king of the street.

He finally seemed to meet his match when (gasp) a foreigner and chinese wife moved in with not one but TWO mixed babies. It seemed like 2 weeks later he moved. Apparently vanquished and undoubtedly finding a new neighbourhood where he could once again be 'the only gay in the village' ughhh.

Anyways, I'm also in the phase where I have no other mission now but getting out.

Unfortunately, ESL in China can bring one into contact with the strangest, most messed up human beings that one can possibly imagine. Much is said about the dishonest people that happen to be Chinese; yet the foreigners that you are likely to encounter are often far worse. It can make one lose their faith in humanity and become less trusting of others, you have to be careful not to become one of these people yourself. If you are ever unlucky enough to work in a private training centre (actually, public universities are sometimes not much better); you may find it not quite unlike working in a mental asylum and it really can drive you insane...

I wouldn't ever suggest shunning contact with absolutely all FTs; but avoiding the general foreign teacher crowd in a city, maybe.

Part of the problem is that it is often hard to prove these slurs as there is a lack of real evidence, especially in regards to drinking.

Not to mention that some of those teachers that like to take the moral high ground; forget that in some cultures, drinking isn't considered to be some evil thing, in Germany, the U.K, Australia, it is not that unusual to go for a beer straight after work and at weekends; we tend to overdo it. There is an unrealistic expectation for teachers to be perfect role models; when they are simply human beings like anybody else in a different profession. Teaching can be a wonderful, but very stressful job, sometimes we need to relax.

As for womanising... Maybe we often do to an extent, but we are a bit more honest (and excessively emotional) about such similar topics here (the kind that offend feminists), especially in regards to prostitution (which is legal in many countries and is therefore not some kind of horrendous crime!). Regardless, many of those discussions are valid, especially those that regard cultural differences in dating habits (which have a great effect upon the daily lives of FTs!). Many of those making accusations about inappropriate behaviour are also not so open about their own behaviour.

However, just like outside in the real world; if you try too hard to damage the reputation of others without anything real to refer to; people will start to ask questions about yourself, rather than the person that you are accusing. Whenever a crap school tries to place blame upon a FT, it always backfires, but they never learn...

yes, i dont know why some people here (who arent' qualified accredited degreed english teachers themselves) are talking seriously about how this and that ought to be done and talking like they are a principal who's standing with the authorities on this one lol

no, nobody cares. the standards themselves are 'fake' in the sense they are for 'show' and to match the 'shown' standards of other countries.

Holy hell some here acting all serious about this is too funny

Having to produce original documents won't stop use of fake degrees. Nobody seems to care here anyway.. People will just use original copies of fake documents. Many Chinese have fake credentials anyway, they can't really expect foreigners to have real degrees. As for verifying degrees, the Chinese will never do that, they are far too lazy. The PSB will do nothing. they only care if you have the correct visa, degree documents are of no concern to them. Your crusade to stop fake degrees is a waste of time.