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#1 Parent San Migs - 2013-03-30
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Sorry for the last part of your post being edited out, forgive me, maybe I did not get your meaning. I still see you have an annoying new tagline to bait people with though, heehaw, heehaw

#2 Parent Beelzebub - 2013-03-29
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Not going to respond to your threats any more.

What threats? i got as far I believe in saying in reply to what I thought was a rude post to a newcomer with something like 'I remember you from way back...' and then the rest went missing. Forgotten what I would have gone on to say, but maybe it should have been 'you're the bloke who answers posts that the rest of the world has forgotten about..guffaw guffaw. [edited]

#3 Parent San Migs - 2013-03-29
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Not going to respond to your threats any more.

#4 Parent Dragonized - 2013-03-27
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

The thing about ESL is, you will find some rather unethical folks who will go out of their way to slander those who expected to be treated well in the first place. Some people will even try and play devil's advocate so they can perhaps "fish" more personal information out of you and try to twist it so it can be used to defame your character. Of course, sometimes these "brave" souls will only post the deviling and defaming under different aliases. Maybe they're preparing a Chinglish lesson on how to be a "spy". Lol.

#5 Parent John O'Shei - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

But really, why would anyone bother writing such a wonderful letter about a company? People tend to expect to be treated well as standard, hence they put far more effort into complaining about stuff.

I know that this can result in some dismissing ESL sites on the whole, because they can rather negative places, but I for one, don't feel the need to make a big song and dance if I am currently enjoying my work at the time. Also, some employers post fake reviews from teachers at the end of a contract. They aren't here for a holiday, they are here to work, hence real teachers don't tend to post such glorious reviews a la tripadvisor.com.

Then again, tripadvisor is know for fake reviews about hotels,why not expect some of the beautiful feedback about ESL jobs to be fake too? Then again, we usually rely upon Chinglish to spot that out.

#6 Parent Beelzebub - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

When one of my bosses did me a big favour the other day, did I write saying how great she is? No, I just treated her to a coffee, it takes far less effort.

Good gracious, you're a cool customer, I'm impressed. Let's hope you'd be consistently laid back and if she'd neglected to to have done you that favour.

#7 Parent Dragonized - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Haha you are funny!

#8 Parent John O'Shei - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

I wonder now how many of these so called foreign teachers who post saying how great China is are actual foreigners. Making half a yuan at a time for every small post you write can't be an easy living, can it?

For all I complain, I sometimes do have quite a good life in China. However I have got better things to do with my precious time than to write an essay in praise of everything, unlike those false posters from the good old wu mao brigade. When one of my bosses did me a big favour the other day, did I write saying how great she is? No, I just treated her to a coffee, it takes far less effort.

I bet these guys get paid more than half a yuan due to their above average English skills though, maybe they actually get RMB 0.7 per post or something like that. I hate to think what the French, German, or Russian language section of the wu mao brigade get paid. As for the Arabic, Korean and Japanese sections, they might even be getting a whole renminbi per false praise post.

#9 Parent Dragonized - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

I could even guess that the poster was actually Chinese as they have made that all too common assumption/false allegation (that usually comes from 19 year old Chinese nationalist, male, teenage, W.O.W enthusiast virgins) that every English teacher is fleeing from unemployment or relative poverty in their home country. Mind you, this time, the poster was quite creative I must admit. Funeral Parlour? That's a far more imaginative choice of dead end job providing employer than McDonald's or a warehouse, well done. It makes for a beautiful story. Chinese people love to write beautiful stories.

Yes, John I have found out myself I can still be a bit wet behind the ears at taking the stories of 50 cent brigadiers as well as that of old hyenas at face value all too often. Some poster using dirty argument tried to tell me off to not believe in the complaints of the bad private and public gigs in China at face value, but proceeded to go on a 2 month rant on my character on how I was on food stamps when I said no such thing about actually being on them. I do believe take the words of folks from the grovelling side too much at face value, and I thank you for pointing that out. In Mandarin Chinese this type of fantasizing about the plight of others can be called "Yi Yin" literally "Perverting Thoughts" and I translated the former character into a verbal form because it is the very action which drives these people with no life to do nothing but think that the whole world is in as dire of straits as they. I wonder now how many of these so called foreign teachers who post saying how great China is are actual foreigners. Making half a yuan at a time for every small post you write can't be an easy living, can it?

Also, a lot of training centre bosses rake in a fair bit of business in the short term, but can fail in the long term. Both teachers and more importantly students/customers see through the flaws of the business model and the place fails, either due to a lack of repeat business or more likely being the case, legal troubles. Some lack in marketing ability, expand too fast, offer a poor product e.t.c too. Chinese authorities might often fail to protect teachers and get bribed by corrupt local TC bosses, but they tend not to react well when a centre fails to even bother getting the correct visa for their foreign teachers and so on.

I myself am still owed money exceeding five figures in yuan by more than one training center franchise, money that I will most likely never see. I have also experienced personally myself as in sitting in the office at the local Foreign Bureau with the official acting as the "negotiator" on how corrupt and blatantly xenophobic they are at not wanting to listen to the side of foreign teachers. Speaking Chinese can actually be a disadvantage as that will open the floodgates for you to be exploited non-stop by both government officials and training center bosses or foreign assistance officers at public schools. Whatever you do, you have to always be on the lookout for scumbags in China as they are everywhere, and come in all forms, genders, ages, occupations, religions, ethnic groups, and will excessively drain you of your fighting spirit and love of life whether they be local Chinese or some idiot expat.

#10 Parent Dragonized - 2013-03-26
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

You have your opinion and I have mine. If you don't care about the opinions of others, why should we put so much value in yours?

#11 Parent Beelzebub - 2013-03-25
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Nonsense, and your posting style is similar to appollyon and mancunian.

I do actually remember you from way back. [edited]

#12 Parent Beelzebub - 2013-03-25
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Not everyone was in the former profession you were in. I am absolutely sure there are many happy people doing their respective jobs in the west. I do not think you have seen the thousands upon thousands of Chinese students looking for work lining up for applications in the funeral and crematory professions in China yourself, and I am also sure that many of them would snicker at the fact that you were not making too much money back home doing this while in China this just happens to be one of the shadiest industries in terms of making (really stealing in most cases) money from families that just lost their loved ones. Just as low as the ESL private "education" industry.

What Chinese students do or don't do after I have finished teaching them is up to them and Chinese society. Training Centres give the foreign teacher a good deal in a clean environment. I am getting better pay and condition in China, that's it.

#13 Parent Dragonized - 2013-03-25
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Personally I think that they deserve every penny because they have certainly changed my life. I spent twenty or more years washing and corking up cadavas for a money-grabbing funeral parlour in North Devon(did my back in lugging them around) until I was invited to China to teach English for a training centre. It's nearly one year on now and I am as happy as larry. Which would you prefer, one lifeless corpse after another or lively and appreciative Chinese students?

Not everyone was in the former profession you were in. I am absolutely sure there are many happy people doing their respective jobs in the west. I do not think you have seen the thousands upon thousands of Chinese students looking for work lining up for applications in the funeral and crematory professions in China yourself, and I am also sure that many of them would snicker at the fact that you were not making too much money back home doing this while in China this just happens to be one of the shadiest industries in terms of making (really stealing in most cases) money from families that just lost their loved ones. Just as low as the ESL private "education" industry.

#14 Parent San Migs - 2013-03-25
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Nonsense, and your posting style is similar to appollyon and mancunian.

#15 Parent John O'Shei - 2013-03-25
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Well, some of us actually have higher qualifications than that of a Bronze swimming certificate, you know? Sure, it can pay good money for a relatively easy job, but it probably isn't going to be a long term career option.

I could even guess that the poster was actually Chinese as they have made that all too common assumption/false allegation (that usually comes from 19 year old Chinese nationalist, male, teenage, W.O.W enthusiast virgins) that every English teacher is fleeing from unemployment or relative poverty in their home country. Mind you, this time, the poster was quite creative I must admit. Funeral Parlour? That's a far more imaginative choice of dead end job providing employer than McDonald's or a warehouse, well done. It makes for a beautiful story. Chinese people love to write beautiful stories.

Also, a lot of training centre bosses rake in a fair bit of business in the short term, but can fail in the long term. Both teachers and more importantly students/customers see through the flaws of the business model and the place fails, either due to a lack of repeat business or more likely being the case, legal troubles. Some lack in marketing ability, expand too fast, offer a poor product e.t.c too. Chinese authorities might often fail to protect teachers and get bribed by corrupt local TC bosses, but they tend not to react well when a centre fails to even bother getting the correct visa for their foreign teachers and so on.

#16 Parent Beelzebub - 2013-03-24
Re: ESL sure attract strange bedfellows!

Yes, the stupidity of Chinese training centre owners is infinite...LOL

Stupid? I wouldn't agree with you, pal, owing to the fact that Chinese Training Centre Owners rake in lots of cash. Personally I think that they deserve every penny because they have certainly changed my life. I spent twenty or more years washing and corking up cadavas for a money-grabbing funeral parlour in North Devon(did my back in lugging them around) until I was invited to China to teach English for a training centre. It's nearly one year on now and I am as happy as larry. Which would you prefer, one lifeless corpse after another or lively and appreciative Chinese students?

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