OP: That was an action-filled post, thanks for posting it. I remember visiting that center early last spring. In fact, a lot of construction was going on there when I saw the place. I would have thought it would have been completed by now. Perhaps it points to the lack of planning on behalf of the C-management there. And it appears the lack of planning was contagious enough to spread to the admin running ICS.

At the time, I was interested in picking up some part-time hours and had met with a smallish woman with glasses and a somewhat reptilian personality. Contact information was exchanged, but not surprisingly, no follow-up dialog ever took place. It would seem that this person wasn't the remarkable manager you describe.

From your post it would seem that you're an intelligent person who should know by now to avoid working for C-employers whenever possible. This advice will certainly seem contradictory given that you're an ESL teacher in China. But in fact there are many schools run by foreigners in China who tend to treat FTs a lot better than the average C-adminstration, at least by what I've encountered during my relatively brief work experience over here.

It's a bummer that you lost your job due to someone else's ineptitude, but it happens occasionally. I recommend finding work with an intl' school run by foreign managment. At present, I work for a private institute in Shanghai run by Koreans who pay 14,000 RMB monthly for about 22 teaching hours. It's a decent gig, imho, and I don't have to deal with the myriad bs that's habitually doled out by C-management.

I am, however, having some visa issues, just as you, which you automatically acquired after the fall-out with Suzhou ICS. The writing appears to be on the wall regarding a mandatory flight back home to apply for a new work visa. The thing is, I'm not going back home due to the exorbitant cost, so a rendezvous back to the ROK may be in order. Anyway, good luck with the crappy situation you inherited over there.