"Try being out of work for a while, and you would crave a five day 40 hour week. Horses for courses."

Tom is usually a Christian name, TL.

Some people like and can tolerate teaching for forty hours, and more power to their elbows. However,my advice for any FT who accepts a year's contract to teach in China is to calculate your expected earnings for the year, because you could well find yourself better off working half the hours or less by taking into consideration {what holidays will I get paid for? Will I receive travel money(not air fare) How much air fare will they pay and will they actually pay it? How much of my flat rental will they cover? Will my heating be paid for? Should I risk paying a large deposit and three months rental in advance? Who pays for washing machine when it breaks down?(normally within two day of moving in) Internet? Will they furnish you with a computer?} and so on , the unexpected financial outlays are too numerous to particularise when you accept a 10000 RMB gig with a crappy independent "school" Be careful some independent crap outfits tell you 25 hours a week but when you arrive it's forty hours by the time you collate chinglish lesson plans.

Do your sums, you will mostly end up with more cash if you settle for four or five thousand yuan working for a public school (not via a crappy teacher supply agency mind) doing half the work and having most things paid for you.

Anyway i have my visa and I'm off in a few day. Thanks for your best wishes.