Hello Benjamin, remember me?

Yes. That's right, your old colleague and friend Richard. [edited]

Firstly, contract negotiation wasn't fun?!?! [edited] guess what, it's not meant to be. Chinese business deals, especially if you can't speak and Mandarin, probably seemed quite terse and negotiation is a 2-way street. 9k (after tax) for an unexperienced English teacher,such as yourself, in a city like Rugao is an ample salary, and your primary concern is receiving tax receipts?!?! [edited]

Secondly, I'm sure you would have found the staff more friendly if you bothered to interact with them, they are people like you and I. Instead of making an attempt to learn Mandarin (or even a few words in the local dialect) and converse with them, you'd rather sit at your desk playing computer games in silence.

Why didn't you come out with any of the students from Web, other foreign teachers or the staff when we went to a restaurant, KTV, etc? We tried to make you feel welcome and part of the team but you deemed distant, dismissive and rude. I remember when we (The staff and I) invited you to KTV (Only you, seeing as you were a member of Web staff) and [edited] then left after literally 5 minutes. You're a 6ft+ ex-U.S navy guy and some little Chinese girls 'physically stopped you from leaving' lol

[edited] the students invited you out to meals all the time, [edited]. I don't think we even went out for a solitary beer together, even though we were work colleagues, sat next to each other, for a year.

How can you be so dismissive of Rugao? I lived there for 1 year and had many friends, both Laowai and Chinese. The people of Rugao can seem initially rude but I made many great native Rugao friends there (Bruce, Neo and the legendary Ivan and his pizza shop!!!) and had a pleasant experience all in all. IF you want a big city, sure, go to Shanghai and pay Shanghai prices. My job was O.K, apartment was great and the students were great.

Yeah, some of the students did seem quite aloof, cocky and sometimes downright rude, but that's what a lot of Chinese students are like due to the one-child policy and also the fact their parents are wealthy. I got on fine with almost all of them and a mutual respect and rapport was easily and quickly obtained. The staff can be a little rude sometimes but mostly we had jokes and a laugh (Especially Hilary and Mandy when I used my British humour) and it was good fun winding them up too in a jokey way (Kathy, if you're reading this, when are we getting married?!?)

Anyway, in summary, Rugao is O.K, there are far worse places to teach English, believe me. The locals are friendly when you get to know them and can speak a little Mandarin (free drinks in Boiling, anyone? ) The pollution is minimal, the streets are fairly clean, the city is safe with low crime, the atmosphere is relaxed. My experience probably sounds like the complete polar opposite to Ben's. Oh well, horses for courses eh?

Loadsa love

Richard x