It is hard to know where to start reading this. I want to clear up a few things on behalf of Expertise. Let me state now, I am not under contract, no one has asked me to write this nor am I getting any pay for doing this. In fact I completed my year contract with no problems. I finished my contract and came home. I am now unemployed and for fun googled Expertise because I was curious what would pop up when not in a censored country.
Expertise gave me everything I was promised. Did we have maintenance problems in the apartment, yes, but Expertise sent someone to fix it. "Fix" it they did, but it was not to our western standards. However we realized, this is just how things are done in China, you are not in the US (England, Canada, Australia) so laugh at the saran wrap pipe and tell the Chinese man fixing it that this will not work and they will have to do better. Then it will get done.
Yes I lived outside of the city center but I would ask anyone to go to a large city, now go to the city center where the tourist sites are or the clubbing area. Did you find any great schools worth working at? Didn't think so, the good schools are going to be a distance away where families with money live.
Of course I knew that they were making money off of me. I would be naive to think that my airfare bonus, housing, assistants and visa costs were being handled for free. Like any staffing company in the US you are agreeing to take a pay cut when signing with them. To any of the coworkers I knew in China who seemed appalled by this idea I must just laugh at you, nothing in life is free.
Finally I know all 4 of the teachers who went to Hong Kong. They got nothing less than what was described below by Scott. They had a great time, went out, and got paid to do it. While the rest of us were freezing and working in Beijing they were playing in sunny Hong Kong.
If you are considering a hiring company and are still in the US then you need the help, Expertise is a good option. If you think you can get hired directly by a school from the abroad you are sorely mistaken. If you are willing to go to China, no job, no apartment and get it all settled when you get there more power to you. It is doable but if you do not know anyone or the language it will be VERY difficult. It is this last group that should not apply to Expertise, however if you would have no idea how to go about this, Expertise will take care of you and give you the training you need to be a good teacher.
Oh, and performing is a very important part of teaching. These kids have such a structured life that the FTs are the break. They expect you to come in energized, a little crazy and give them some fun. I did kindergarten, and when I finished high school and college, they all want to see these traits in different ways, but expect them just the same. If you are going to tell your employer you will not be doing that, then you will not be teaching in China.