I am a teacher NOW for the Helen Company. I worked as a car salesman, a gaming commissioner at the Coconut Creek Casino in Pampano Beach FL, worked for the DOH in Fla, also am a US Army infantry Vet, worked as a mail man in Windermere, Fla, worked in the Animal Kingdom of WDW, was a sub-teacher in Orange Cty Fla, ..... heck, I did almost everything looking for a job in Gringoland. Oh, I am a biker, own a Harley Ultra and am not a poser. Have more miles in that steel horse than many have in a car.

Yeah...none of these jobs you bragged about sounds like they would prepare you for improving the lives of your students. Your rather racist comment on being in "gringoland" isn't winning you any favors. Also, not all of us are avid bikers. You can talk about how great your life was as a biker but at the end of the day what the hell does that have anything to do with teaching?

I was homeless in the US when Helen Company gave me a chance. I received the terms of the contract before I got my Visa and when I arrived, everything that was promised was fulfilled. I knew exactly when I was going to get paid and knew exactly the conditions in which I had to work.

It is unfortunate that you were in the situation that you were in. There are almost 50 million Americans who are on food stamps right now and the middle class in American is dwindling every day as we speak. It is an Economic Downturn that the country is facing. With that being said, you are a Native English Speaker. There was another Non-Native English Speaker who was also hired by Helen's earlier this year but was not given proper living conditions as required by Chinese Law. The non-native fellow ended up spending 4,000 Euros on traveling, living, and other expenses thinking he could have a stable job in China when he ended up being short changed. You from your post do not sound like as if you care too much about the Law. While I will refrain from sounding too judgmental, please keep in mind that most people from the West still have standards. Your own lack of caring about others is as much of a testament to your own level of character as it is to the living conditions that you were in back in the USA. . Apparently, you missed the posts or just simply do not care. America is worse off than before because there are still too many like you living in this country.

Now, there are a lot of wieners here, complaining about a company that gave us the chance that our own country didn't. They may not be perfect and they may not do things like you are used to back home. But, for Christ sake, bashing them now when we came here because we needed a job?

Many, many expat "deechers" or pretend teachers I have met in China fit the category of someone who is selfish, amoral, and narcissistic. In other words they have a pretty crappy personality, and you are one. Back home it is not "perfect" either. Nobody said so. Show me one post on here that says something along the lines of "The West is perfect". What people "bash" according to you is the crappy treatment that they get. This crappy treatment would be called CRAP no matter where you go in the world. The comparisons that are made are accurate. You don't like respecting yourself, so you call those who do "wieners". That's about the same thing a 9 year old kid would say.

I am just glad to be living in a safe country, a country that gave me a second chance. If you don't like it, stay at home but, remember, a lot of us liked the opportunity an will stay here for as long as they let us. Hell, I am learning Chinese, may even stay here and be safe for the rest of my life. Yeap, I found another Ultra owner in Tiantai.

Spoken exactly like someone who just came to the country and is still enduring the "honeymoon" phase of Culture Shock. I have lived in unsafe neighborhoods in the USA too. I myself as well as people close to me have been robbed or even punched. That does not mean that there won't be people to protect us. Police still do their jobs, if imperfectly in the USA. In China, they are pretty much there to be lazy and incompetent save the border provinces with ethnic tensions. You think it is safe because you have not been through enough shit in the country that you just arrived in. Try getting ripped off once in a while and see how much the police care about you getting owed money. Try getting crappy customer service in that country and see how many outlets you can go to remedy the situation. Also, how could we know if one country is better than another if we did stay at home? Just you tooting your own hateful, self centered horn again.

Now, get on with your lives and tell the truth, you came here (China) thinking that you could play with the Chinese system and found out the difference between a mature civilization and a baby-civilization like the US. or wherever you come from.

Earlier in your post, you had stated how you were grateful to have a "second chance". Now this could be read in a number of ways including the fact that you might be an ex-convict. I actually went to China years ago believing that I could make a life in a Civilized country. Not "play" a system. I do not think you have hung out around too many decent people in your life. Also, I wonder how well you know Americans. Apparently in your short time staying in China you have already talked to and interacted with enough local Chinese that you find them to be much more civilized than Americans. With that kind of statement, you are in line to become the new "forum pet retard" or something along those lines as coined by another regular poster on here.

China's current language only has a very, very short history of being implemented into her society. Fact is, most of Chinese Culture isn't around in that country anymore. The actual, habitual behavior as accumulated by the Chinese is really caught up in a never ending, self perpetuating cycle of not more than a few hundred years where every change of Dynasty winds up with the previous Civilization completely destroyed and the people having to start off from pure scratch again. The USA's Civilization is a mixture of Greek, Roman, Judaism, Christianity, Native American Spiritualism, and a congregation of almost every known civilization from around the world. There is accumulation, but you need to be well versed in the ideals of being a polite and civilized person yourself if you want to be immersed. With that last sentence you wrote, you sound like another sore loser who couldn't get along with anyone back home and that is why you had to leave.

My second year here and will do 5 if I am given a chance. 50 years old and for the first time in my life I feel safe and free. Can you say the same about NY, GA, KY, NC, FL or PR? Yeap, because I lived in all those places.

I myself have worked and lived in several countries. I still say the USA is the best out of all of them. Let me ask you this: What are the chances of most people in the USA completely agreeing with you on this? If most did agree, China would see a sudden and massive immigration from the USA that would boggle the mind. Instead, most Americans are still more than happy to stay where they are and stick it out. It wouldn't bode well for you if the country all of a sudden got filled up with intelligent, intellectual, and/or skilled(as in a form of trade) expats now would it? You might be going to another country again.

I personally have seen people of various backgrounds go to China and try to make a life for themselves there. What I can say from looking at your post is that if you were a 50 year old Chinese American, Filipino, East European, or African Man who did this you would be eaten alive by the society and spit back out after they've finished exploiting you for everything you were worth. You sound like a bully anyway from all the nonsense you've written. But your post does serve to show the types of lowlives who find China desirable. I feel bad for any young child who has to cross paths with you, as well as anyone with a love for life.

Idiot people who have the luxury of having a choice want to believe somehow that being around people who don't have any choices in their lives makes those idiots "better" for being around "more civilized" no-choice-in-life people. What a joke!