Thanks a ton for posting that recruiter's e-mail address. I contacted her, and she got back to me fast with a couple of good job offers in line with my requirements. The only thing is, she wouldn't give me the actual names of either of the two prospective employers until I had signed a contract with her, but she did specify the cities and provinces where they were located. Both of them were willing to employ me after having viewed my resume, etcetera. Anne did discuss with them some minor amendments I'd asked her to mention concerning the drafts of the contracts, but only one employer was willing to alter the draft accordingly. I was sent pictures of the campuses, the cities and the accommodation pertaining to both jobs before I made my choice. And I've been in touch with both employers on MSN Messenger and on Skype after having made my choice. End of job hunt, I feel great about that. I should also say that the reason I wasn't given the names of the employers until I had signed a final draft of the contract was that some foreigners in the past have done dirty deals with employers brhind the recruiter's back, causing her to be cheated out of her introduction fee. When I googled the name of my new employer, there were no links to any advertisements he had ever placed on the net. But maybe he chooses to advertise his job vacancies through Anne rather than direct. Probably, many public sector employers in China are doing the same.

CSS,

First, thank you for the reply and the advice.

I do venture throughout NYC (Flushing, China Town) to practice Mandarin and meet new people. I get the full spectrum of responses when I speak Mandarin. Some are surprised and very nice and want to talk, others look at me like I'm some kind of weirdo when my tones or pronunciations are off. Then, probably the most embarrassing, "I'm not Chinese". So I try to use the language as much as I can. The problem is that I am not constantly being sensitized to the Mandarin language. I am not put in do or die situations where I would be forced to use Mandarin to survive. From living in China my language ability would exponentially increase due to this rather than staying in the states. As far as the 217 dialects; for now I am only interested in 1, putonghua. To say 1 year of study would not necessarily help improve language ability is illogical. If a specific activity is engaged for one year guided by a definite plan backed by a burning desire the participator of that activity will get better at that activity or at least be better than s/he were a year ago.

Could you recommend any place where I could find one of these internships you inferred? As my quest to find a job in China continues the prospect of legally teaching English gets dimmer and dimmer. Could I get a Z visa if I was labeled a foreign expert? Would you mind if I asked you about some leads that I have drummed up?

To chime in on what Turnoi said, many of the students in my Mandarin class speak Cantonese fluently. The professor is always correcting their pronunciation.

Take care and thanks

I get the sense that just mentioning the word recruiter on this site leaves a bad taste but is there any somewhat reputable companies out there?

Recruiters in China vary from absolute bottom feeders to those who will do their best to place foreigners in reasonable jobs that pay quite well.
Though they've got a bad name generally speaking, you should be aware that direct employers vary in quality just as much. I can recommend the following recruiter to you.
Contact name: Anne
Email: teachingjobs@163.com

Turnoi,

I have read many of your posts and it seems that you are a straight shooter. For that reason I am asking if you could give me some advice on finding a job in China. I am currently a student at Baruch College, NYC and I am majoring in International Business and am also pursuing a double minor in Mandarin and Finance. My plan is to sacrifice 1 year of my life to live in China and continue the long road to fluency. I have been studying Mandarin for about 2 years. I do have an AS in Accounting but no BA. The only profitable attribute that I have relevant in China is that I speak English. My plan is to use English teaching in China to subsidize for language study. I have been on the hunt for about two months and have had some success in getting contract proposals from different companies and schools but through due diligence they all became fodder. I appreciate sites like this and others because it gives a good perspective of whats out there in China. Most, if not all, opinions are inherently biased but they all are still good food for thought. I get the sense that just mentioning the word recruiter on this site leaves a bad taste but is there any somewhat reputable companies out there? or could you just point me in a good direction? Any insight in this matter would be a great help.

Thanks,
Michael