Yes, you're right. I do have special needs. For example, I require a school that doesn't mind me smoking on campus nor my daily drinking of two or three bottles of beer lunchtimes. I don't need western fast food restaurants nor dance halls nor Walmart in town. I prefer backward places and mind not whether or not there are other westerners in town. I need an employer who lets me teach without a medical and without a Z visa. I like minimal teaching hours too, so 16 classes/week for 5,000 Yuan a month in an average small county senior high of Yuncheng is a near-perfect secondment for me.

I know you dislike agents, but Mr River is adept at matching his foreign teachers with his client schools. This is great for the company, the schools and the foreign teachers. That's why some Africans with very iffy English who work for the company can see out their contracts and collect all the financial benefits due them. In contrast, schools who hire foreign teachers direct can get it wrong. Then the foreign teacher will be hard-pushed to avoid being dsmissed during his/her contract. The Chinese can be very unfair and cruel if they want to get rid of you. At one place that had hired me direct and subsequently wanted rid of me, their shitty treatment of me drove me to violence and vandalism. I survived, though. They'll NEVER hire a Scot again. that's great for Scots!