So, can I ask you, why do you feel the need to defend China so much? What did you sell your soul for?

Certainly you may ask.

Every country has many critics and much to criticize. As a United States citizen, I have been raised in a culture of "American exceptionalism" and have been bombarded by political criticism of a parade of 'evil nations', Russia, Iraq, Iran, etc. China now wears that mantle in the U.S. corporate press, not in small part because they cannot profit from the Chinese market, while our other corporations are happily feeding at the Chinese market trough.

In like manner, China is routinely criticized in great detail on this site. Many of the complaints and critiques are valid. I respect the writers' observations and support their right to express them. But I seldom see the need to add my voice to this chorus, though I occasionally do in respect to China's corporate English training 'schools'.

I have lived in China full-time for seven years and have lived here part-time (4 months a year) for five years before that. I have experienced much during those years. I have learned the spoken language and have spent almost all my time surrounded by Chinese citizens. Still, I realize that I am an outsider and my knowledge of China is limited.

I don't believe that the observations of Westerners on this site provides a balanced portrayal of what all foreign teachers will experience when they work in China. My personal experiences are the basis for my comments "defending China". For the most part, my time here has been fascinating and rewarding. It has neither been a career nor an escape from a painful past.

I have no other agenda than providing what I feel is a balanced view of what some foreign teachers might experience when teaching in China, providing an addendum, if you will, to the litany of complaints that fills these threads.

I don't believe that I have a soul. And I have never been offered as much as a 五毛 for it.