Avoid America; it's full of trickery. Or were you so busy licking your silver spoon that you didn't notice that? Sorry, just had to get that out of my system.

Okay, advise others to avoid China - that's your right, but clearly you're singling out China for your tongue lashing because of a sense of bitterness and a need for vindictive behavior. Sure, there are problems with contracts and etc., but wouldn't it be more logical to suggest that anyone interested in teaching in China should be well aware of their rights before doing so and just keep it as simple as that.

Ask yourself if Chinese students are deserving of the opportunity for quality education provided by native English speakers. Ok, if your answer to that is no, then you and I have no further need to communicate.

It's not that I'm incapable of sympathizing with you, though, for what must have been a, shall we say - "disagreeable" experience. I am. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Apparently you proved the old adage of a sucker being born every minute. That's a bummer. Albeit, as USMC pointed out, there is a silent majority out there who aren't moaning about their experiences. It's been stated in this forum before, perhaps by me, I can't remember, that the US Gov't estimates that approx. 30% of the Americans who have taught in China have had some form of bad experience at the hands of their employers. Ok, that's life. The other 70 percent apparently didn't have a bad experience at the hands of their employers.

Interesting isn't it that we don't hear much from those 70%? We too often feel the need to dwell on the negative side of things - maybe that's human nature, but I'm one of those who believe we can rise above that.

I would guess that a good portion of those 30 percent didn't have the life experiences to deal with the culture shock and/or had been lucky enough to have avoided the reality of business trickery at home.

Either way, my point is that we move on. We live, we learn. I've been ripped off here too. But I learned and I guarantee you it won't happen again. I came here for some very specific reasons that have a lot to do with choosing to help young people move forward. That and my personal interest in Asian cultures. Yeah,I've met with some disappointments. (Funny how life can do that to us.) But I've also met with more than my share of enjoyment, many, many fascinating experiences, numerous fantastic people and, well, I could go on, but you get the picture.

Bottom line, keep it simple Mr. Fed Up FT. Stick to the facts. An employer got the better of you. Sorry about that. Move on. Good luck in your next endeavor.

PS: I love my students. I work at a beautiful university for a great college with kind, honest and caring administrators. I've always been paid on time and fairly. I get periodic raises. My apartment is great. Problems are addressed quickly and adequately. I've never been lied to or cheated in any way. If it happens even once, I'll move on. But I don't expect it to happen and so I give it my all and will continue to do so until I'm burned out and then I'll move on to another challenge. Where will that challenge be? Right here in China - the land of opportunity.