John
- 2006-08-11
Just to add reinforcement - I first came to China and worked for a while in a "small" city of 3,500,000 people. I only saw two other foreigners in the few months I worked there but it was a very nice place neverthless.
My next job was in a small town about 30km away. I was the only foreigner in the town and when I walked to the supermarket, the whole place came to a stop as everyone stared at me. On the three occasions I went to the only park in town, it was as if I had just arrived from the planet,"Zargon" Crowds surrounded me, clearly waiting for me to perform some miracle, little kids who had never seen a foreigner before gazed up at me in awe. Even the dogs stared at me.
Fortunately I had Chinese friends in the nearby city and was able to spend my weekends there.
I would also say that I have worked overseas for almost 30 years and I am accustomed to living alone and in foreign parts. So being stared at and not having a crowd of foreign friends on hand is nothing new to me and it doesn't bother me greatly. But if it sounds like it might bother you, then it probably will.
My present job is in a much bigger city with better and more numerous facilities but still nothing like Beijing, which is just a few hours away by bus or train. I have been to Beijing and can see the advantages of it in comparison to smaller places.
The advice to start in a smaller place and move up to a bigger place - Shanghai for example - is very sound and I recommend that you plan your Chinese career with that in mind.
As for finding work - contacting those schools on your friend's list is by far the best approach. If a school wants a foreign teacher, they usually advertise or go to a recruiter. Thus if you turn up in person you may save them the trouble and get yourself the job. As Mr Duke says - the worst they can do is tell you they have no vacancy.
Good Luck
John
Frank
- 2006-08-10
Dusty,
As I was reading your original post regarding your Shanghai-to-smaller-place Plan, I was thinking, Oh, geez, please dont do that, Louise!
Raoul Duke is right, and I really feel the need to reinforce what he said about your theory (and by the way, AsiaXPAT.com is absolutely the best site for jobs in Shanghai and the surrounding area).
No matter where you begin in your new working life in China, therell be lots of cultural adjustments to be made. In Shanghai (never lived there myself, but visited numerous times) the adjustments will, in many ways, be easier. You will see many more foreigners in the crowd, and a high volume of signage in English -- especially compared with the rest of mainland China (even other large cities). There will also be a much higher volume of people in service jobs that can conduct business with you in English, etc.
Once youve adjusted to working in Shanghai, as well as the comforts of Shanghai (availability of western goods, etc.), and of course, Shanghai-level wages, it will be almost impossible for you, in my opinion, to accept conditions that are far less elsewhere. Do you think after Shanghai you could live in place where you are but one of only a handful of foreigners (constantly being stared at by the locals)? Adjust to and accept perhaps much lesser living and working conditions? And of course, be content earning likely 25-30% of the salary you were getting in Shanghai? I doubt that I could!
My first job was in a small city (more than one million in the core part of the city) near Shanghai. There were some wonderful aspects to the place, and for the most part, I will always have fond memories of the local people there, but ultimately, it was not for me (for numerous reasons). Soon, I made my way to a much larger city four hours away (Nanjing approx. 7 million, and counting), adjustments were still quite challenging, but I have remained here since 2003 -- except for one very brief, and misguided trial experience in western China. Oops!
Remember, every time you relocate, new adjustments are required, and social networks must be built from scratch.
I love teaching in China, but living and working here can be very exasperating at times!!!
Good luck!
Raoul Duke
- 2006-08-10
Hey Dusty,
Definitely contact those schools yourself. Worst thing that happens is you'll be told "no thanks". Most likely they'll be happy to see you...or will know someone who will be.
But do go straight to the schools...as I wrote in your other thread, recruiters are bad news and usually unnecessary anyway.
For the small city/Shanghai thing, might actually be best to do it the other way around. After some time in a smaller city, Shanghai is going to seem wonderful and amazing. But once you've become accustomed to the comforts the Shanghai area has to offer, it's going to be reeeeeaaal hard to retreat back to a small city in the hinterlands.
I lived in Shanghai a good while, I'm still in the area, and I am convinced that this is THE area to be in in China. But I do cherish my experiences elsewhere and I'm glad I got them first.
Raoul Duke
- 2006-08-10
BTW, Dusty, if you're set on Shanghai you should be using AsiaXpat in your job search. It's the biggest list of jobs for Shanghai, and has a lot of listings that are better than those seen in the big worldwide listing sites.
Start with http://www.asiaxpat.com and follow the link for Shanghai.
Thanks for your help folks. I was the one who posted the querry about Campus Earth/Tang Yuan (the Shanghai placement agency).
The thing is, Shanghai is where I want to go to start with. Then I'd like to go somewhere smaller for the next school term. For one thing, Shanghai, I am told by many Chinese, is a place that I, as a foreigner, could be fairly comfortable. And this fact seems that it would allow for a smoother transition between the US and a smaller town or city further inland (e.g., more traditional, if such a place is even left in China...).
So I am wondering about an alternative approach...
I have a friend from Inner Mongolia, and she just returned from a 45 day trip in China. Part of her time was spent in Shanghai, where she collected for me a list of over 20 schools and institutions in Shanghai that may need teachers. And I suspect this is only a partial list of those available.
Anyway, I realize that it couldn't hurt to contact these schools directly, but the question is: Is it profitable? Can anything come of me contacting them directly? Or should I just wait for them to post their vacancies?
So,
1. Is my idea of a transition from Shaghai to a smaller town reasonable?
2. Is contacting those Shanghai schools going to work?
Regards,
Dusty