When I moved to Australia from the UK a couple of lifetimes ago I was almost greeted with the phrase 'Oh no, another whinging Pom'
For those that don't know, the word 'Pom' is what the Aussies call us Brits (same as 'Septic' for Americans and 'Canuck' for Canadians etc)
'Poms' earned themselves the reputation for whinging very early on in the days of assisted migration. 'Too many flies' - 'It's too bloody hot' etc etc In fact, they didn't seem happy unless they had something to moan or complain about.
While catching up on the recent postings here, I had to wonder how many contributors are 'bloody Poms' ?
Everyone loves a good old moan and whinge - and where better to do it than here? People sitting at home in the west, contemplating a future in teaching kids in China, deserve to be told the TRUTH about the teaching industry here and what to look out for.
China is NOT the same as the west and there are many 'problems' and 'issues' with just about everything. But that said, a Laowai's experiences in places such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing are likely to be totally different from experience gained in some little country town in the middle of Sichuan province for example.
China is a HUGE country with a HUGE population but it's the diversity of the country that makes it so damn interesting (for me, anyway)
There is a public transport system that should be the envy of the world along with state-of-the-art technology and architecture. Yet at the same time I have seen goats being slaughtered-to-order at the side of the road with blood and guts being mixed with little kids taking a piss in the streams-of-blood. State-of-the-art on one hand - yet medieval on the other.
China is certainly not 'utopia' and it has many, many things for us Laowai to complain about - but it's not ALL bad!
Potential teachers need to have the opportunity to read 'fair opinions' of China and when I see people being berated on this site and labelled 'Wumao' simply for writing something positive about China, then I do sometimes feel the urge to stick up for them (but not always)
There's an old cliché that goes 'Learn from other people's mistakes, you cannot live long enough to make them all yourself'. Perfectly true in my opinion and the word 'mistakes' can be changed for 'experiences' too. Hence sites like this are invaluable
We all have our 'reasons' for living and working in China and whether you are just here to enjoy the culture or running away from the tax-man, I really don't care - but we're all HERE and we're all working in the same (often lousy) industry - but I think it's important to remember one thing - we are CONTRACTORS - nothing more!
Whether you are working for the lowest-of-the-low, shitty, scumbag training centre (why does EF spring to mind - lol) or a prestigious university - you will never be anything other than a sub-contractor. If your employer tries to 'screw you', then my advice is to screw back even harder. There's a shortage of teachers in China and your employer needs YOU far more than you need THEM !
When you get stared at - stare back!
When some idiot pushes in front of you in the queue to buy a train ticket - push him out of the way.....and when some old-timer invades your space in the supermarket check-out line, then lean back a couple of times and they'll soon get the message......
Most of these people are not rude and ignorant deliberately. Many don't even have a basic education and appear to be rude and discourteous because it's all they have ever known. We have our 'culture' and they have theirs - no matter how terrible it may seem at times.........
Don't let the bastards grind you down !