1.) Regardless of your overall level of ability with learning languages, you should make an effort. Even if you never successfully learn a language, your efforts will most likely be appreciated by locals and will make you stand apart from those that won't even try to speak anything other than English.

Saying that Chinese is impossible to learn is a very defeatist attitude, and there are people out who do reach a basic conversational level in little more than a year. They do 1 year remedial courses to get you up to scratch for doing a degree here as an international student, lol. Also, you are surrounded by a Chinese language environment, you can learn a lot from reading menus and bus stop signs. You don't want to be living off McDonald's and relying on taxis, do you?

2.) Granted, due to its location, Hohhot might not be for China newbies though, but... not everybody is coming to China for a year long holiday. The whole "you'll have a better time" statement is flawed, you will have ups and downs wherever you go.

You don't get a job for a 'good time', you get a job to pay the bills or even just to get you a visa. Holidays and your spare time are the times when you seek the good times. There are good and bad employers, but in every job, undesirable tasks pop up now and then. Hell, I've got a shitload of marking to do and catch up on today, but it doesn't mean I hate my job as a whole.

In my eyes, the attitude of foreigners that only want to come to China for a long holiday rather than actually thinking about the job that they will actually do is one thing that allows the unethical business to get away with a lot of what they do, EF included. As harsh as this sounds, nobody will ever feel any sympathy for somebody who is just swanning around on Mummy and Daddy's money, or refusing to retire.

3.) You don't have to solely make friends with foreigners. You ARE allowed to become friends with Chinese people. There were probably less than 12 foreigners in the local vicinity in places that I have lived in, but I still made friends, even though my Chinese isn't great. I would suggest that you try to make friends with local people and not necessarily colleagues either. These are the people that you show you the good places and can even dig you out of the shit in bad times. Even start by asking a student to show you a good place to get food on your lunch break, it all helps.

4.) I previously worked in a TC and the only foreign guys that I actually liked, moved on to better jobs whilst I was there, such is the circle of life. Everybody that has been teaching in China more than a few months, quickly learns that TCs like EF aren't the best places to be. Try to get with a good public school or university instead.

I also worked at EF Hohhot and to be honest, it just depends on the foreign staff that you are there with and that changes rapidly. People dont tend to stay there long and since the foreign staff will most likely be the only people you can directly communicate with, it is important that you like them. The city itself isn't much to talk about. There isnt much to do, and since communication is a prerequisite to participation in a society, you will be very limited on what you can do alone. Most of the staff just drank. A lot. It is important to note that I believe there is a strong correlation with dependancy issues and age in that environment. Another thing to consider is that your socil group will be the same as your work group. This can be problematic, as drama can affect your work. Chances is are that if you are interviewing you will be talking to the DOS and then he will refer you to a senior teacher. These people will be very biased, so use your own judgment when deciding if Hohhot is a good fit. You will also be starred at a ton. This gets really annoying and can make you feel uncomfortable frequently. I would recommend going to another city that has a higher foreign population. You will most likley have a better time.

Can't quite agree with all your points, when you live in China, you have a responsibility to learn Chinese, so that you can directly communicate with others. I wouldn't recommend the better known cities because they are expensive, full of the dickhead types of foreigners and the employers tend to give you a far worse deal.

Anyway, not been to Hohhot myself, but have previously banged a couple of girls from there on many an occasion , such fond memories give me a slightly bias view of the place, lol.

Ha, I do work at a uni now as it goes and yeah i get paid more and yes I enjoy it more. But just wanted to say that it's not the worst place on the planet, I worked at EF as a first teaching job, which is kind of what I see it as being for. I have worked at far worse places back home, all I wanted to say is that everyone is different and has different experiences to others so maybe just chill out a little.

You get paid more at a uni? Either they are giving you as many hours as your old job at EF (which unis almost never do!), or EF were paying an absolutely pathetic amount.

Also, the classic 'first teaching job' defences. Bitches love first teaching jobs.

Well, recruiters love them anyway. Fresh young meat to exploit, isn't it?

What's the matter, aren't you capable of getting a decent university job with less hours and less bullshit? Sure, I have worked in harder jobs that TC teaching jobs too.

That doesn't mean that I am lazy for not choosing a TC job, it just means that I have more sense than you do, I do what is best for me, rather than working my bollocks off with no chance of any real advancement in a TC, apart from maybe getting promoted to D.O.S, something that you more likely to achieve by being an easy to manipulate spastic rather than actually being a good teacher.

I bet that you are actually one of those guys, aren't you? [edited]

Sure, some FTs can be whiny little bitches, but when you consider EF’s reputation in China... Sorry, I believe Hermes a damn sight more than you.

Living standards in Hangzhou are better than Hohot or for that matter the Chinese hinterland as a whole, although in general air quality in all Chinese cities is poor. I hear that a proposal was put forward at the recent 'two meetings' to extend the public heating system into Southern China which would be a welcome relief from the cold and damp San Migs described. It really does get into your bones!

If environment/pollution is a major factor in her choosing a destination then 2nd tier cities in wealthy provinces often provide cleaner living (although it is always relative to what you're used to i guess!)

She can get immunised against certain strains of pneumonia as well as influenza which might help.

Help my daughter is on her way there to work for a yeat in Hohhot.for EF. What if it`s as bad as you say she was worked to death in Hangzhou and ended up with double pneumonia.

Avoid EF Hohhot at all costs. In Hohhot it's gained a reputation for being a stereotypical English mill (the sort you worry about getting scammed into when you're applying for work in Asia). Although it was a good place to work for one year ago, conditions have gotten much worse that it's become a running joke among teachers at other schools in Hohhot.

However, you should apply if:

You wish to do 2-3 times the work teachers do at ALL other schools do in Hohhot,
For the lowest salary of all foreign teachers in the city.

You wish to be used and abused, as the school's sole priority is making money. Education is a distant second, if at all. I wish I was making up these incidents, but these are only a few:

-A foreign teacher had chronic bronchitis, and spent the days hooked up to a machine in the hospital. However, the school demanded that at night she return to the school and teach her classes, citing obscure rules in what is loosely defined but contantly referred to as the "contract".

-If they process your visa correctly you are very lucky indeed. You will likely be sent to Hong Kong after a month (before that they have you working illegally on a tourist visa- avoid the police!). Frequently when you are in Hong Kong teachers discovered EF Hohhot had made mistakes in the paperwork, forcing them to stay for an extra week. During this time they must spend a lot of their own money, if they have it, to eat and keep their lodgings in a very expensive city. This is without any assistance from the school. When you return, do not expect to be reimbursed for your expenses... the school will tell you to be grateful they bought you an airline ticket to come back. It requires a great deal of warnings, cajolling, and open threats to leave to get even a portion of your expenses returned. I wish this was not true, but it's happened a number of times.

-During the city's deadly Mongol riots in 2011 all the other English schools were warned not to go outside as foreigners were being targeted. The management EF Hohhot was alone in saying nothing to it's teachers, presumably so they would not stop working.

-A FT recieved an email informing him that his father had died. He came into work, but as you might expect his classes were not too great that day. The school's Chinese manager told the TA's that he shouldn't "make excuses".

The school's Chinese manager is a woman who will drink heavily at school functions and openly tries to seduce foreign teachers. VERY TRUE.

Incidently, if you are of African descent you shouldn't apply as the school's Chinese manager does not believe you are really from the US or UK, or even capable of teaching. Last year, despite being hard up for teachers she refused to hire an American (and former marine), as her skin was "too black".

Do you want to associate your name and reputation with this place? Then apply for a job there, by all means. There are always vacancies for FT's as they have a habit of leaving.