Thanks for your help folks. I was the one who posted the querry about Campus Earth/Tang Yuan (the Shanghai placement agency).

The thing is, Shanghai is where I want to go to start with. Then I'd like to go somewhere smaller for the next school term. For one thing, Shanghai, I am told by many Chinese, is a place that I, as a foreigner, could be fairly comfortable. And this fact seems that it would allow for a smoother transition between the US and a smaller town or city further inland (e.g., more traditional, if such a place is even left in China...).

So I am wondering about an alternative approach...

I have a friend from Inner Mongolia, and she just returned from a 45 day trip in China. Part of her time was spent in Shanghai, where she collected for me a list of over 20 schools and institutions in Shanghai that may need teachers. And I suspect this is only a partial list of those available.

Anyway, I realize that it couldn't hurt to contact these schools directly, but the question is: Is it profitable? Can anything come of me contacting them directly? Or should I just wait for them to post their vacancies?

So,
1. Is my idea of a transition from Shaghai to a smaller town reasonable?
2. Is contacting those Shanghai schools going to work?

Regards,

Dusty