Jules
- 2006-12-25
Hey Frank,
Thanks for the reply back.......Hmmmm this is a crazy situation and one that I will defo let Joyce know about. Joyce doesn't work at the Uni that you are talking about so I think that someone has decided to change their name and have chosen hers.
I knew Maggie back in 2003 and she is a nut case as far as I am concerned. She is just all over the place. Don't worry about the real Joyce as she has some pretty loyal foreigners that have been using her a for awhile.......
It is a very strange situation though.....and since I am not there I can only assume what is going on..
Anyways Frank why don't you come and work in Shanghai and we can get together for parties and drinks??? LOL!!
Enough of the craziness out there......
Jules
Frank
- 2006-12-25
Greetings, Jules!
Thanks for your reply and the important additional information. I don't doubt your sincerity, but a few months ago when I responded to an ad represented by "ilovebluefish," it was Maggie who met me in Suzhou, and it was Maggie who gave me a business card that read "ilovebluefish."
The reason I claim "Isabeil" is also this person is that when I had a heated, private message exchange with Maggie, via AsiaXpat.com, several weeks ago, the same user name box (san47873) accepted a message from me last evening for "Isabeil" who was representing yet another position in Suzhou.
Does the Maggie you know also work directly for Suzhou University? The one I met in person (also claiming to be "ilovebluefish") gave me a tour of the SU campus and introduced me to various administrative folks at SU as well.
Perhaps I am mistaken -- as you say -- that Maggie and "ilovebluefish" are one and the same person. All I know is that the day I met Maggie she was also representing herself as "ilovebluefish," business cards and all. Again, I am CERTAIN that Maggie is also "Isabeil."
Perhaps the real "ilovebluefish" (Joyce) should have a serious confrontation with the fake "ilovebluefish." (I'd buy tickets to that one!)
Thanks again for your reply, and shedding additional light on the situation. Please extend my apologies to Joyce for any trouble I have caused her. It is "Maggie May" a/k/a "Isabeil" I am trying to warn people about.
I did a bit of digging and found the ESLteachersBoard.com job posting (below) which first put me in touch with Maggie May, First via email; and then in person a few days later. After the SU job fell apart, she introduced me to another Suzhou enterprise that was a disaster (all the while claiming to be "ilovebluefish" and "Maggie May" as one and the same):
suzhou - English job offered
Posted By: Suzhou University <ilovebluefish@yahoo.com.cn>
Date: 11 September 2006
Suzhou University is currently looking for one ESL Teacher
# Workload: 20 classes/week, 45minutes per class hour
# Monthly salary (RMB): 6500RMB
# Trip allowance: return international tickets
# Courses to teach: oral english and TOEFL/IELTS
# accommodation : 1800RMB housing allowance monthly
# Z visa
# Medical insurance
# students age : 18-20
# class size: 25-30 students
# start date : SEPT 17,2006
Requirements:
# nativeative English Speaker
# Bachelor's Degree
# teaching experience to TOTEL/IELTS is preferable
Best,
Frank
Jules
- 2006-12-25
Dear Frank,
I have just read your post and just wanted to let you know that Maggie and Joyce (ilovebluefish) are two seperate people. I know Joyce personally and she has never used another name.
Maggie I am also aware of as she has been around for years. They are not the same people. I have dealt with both and Maggie was responsible for putting me into an illegal school and it was Joyce who rescued me and put me into my present school.
I could not have asked for a better school and have been dealing with her for years. I have spoken with both and they are defo not the same.......
I don't know who Isabeil is but I am certain it is not Joyce.......
Happy Holidays!!!
Sorry, I deleted this message from Dec. 20 by mistake...
There is a recruiter who operates mostly in the Suzhou area (I gather, but who knows????) who conducts business under several names: "Maggie May," "ilovebluefish," and now "Isabeil."
I imagine she uses quite a few others, as I've had encounters (friendly and not-so-friendly) with her under these three monikers in just the past three months alone!
She posts job ads on this website and AsiaXpat.com (and who knows where else).
Don't you love the way school recruiters in China can change their names as often as they brush their teeth? I wish foreigners could enjoy the same luxury of operating under different names. We are held to a very strict legal standard, but it seems Chinese recruiters can operate under any dubious rules they please.
Be careful... China has so many recruiters using this tactic, so naturally, anyone who is switching identities so frequently will not likely tell the whole truth about the job, the work conditions, etc., now would they???
I know from painful experience!
I suppose when she is not scouring the streets of Suzhou for foreign teacher gigs, she is dreaming up new names for herself!