I want to sincerely thank everyone so far -- fish4esl, KJ, exhausted Brit -- for their thoughtful and insightful comments. In so many ways, I agree with most of what you say. For so long (I am over 50 years-old) I have tried to keep my original goal as the priority -- to teach those students who wish to improve their English as a key to a brighter future. As long as that quest is in play, I continue to receive tremendous reward from my students.

Unfortunately, at this point, it is matter of true survival. I have been ill every day since coming to this particular "college" a little over two months ago. As I mentioned perviously, I am paying 100% of my medications, drip treatments, etc., while the school pays nothing. If I cannot shake these maladies soon, my health is seriously in peril.

I have tried and tried to overlook so many challenging (to put it mildly) working conditions here and elsewhere in China, but it seems to get worse not better, as each year passes.

Is it right that I and the other foreign teacher should suffer with severe sore throats because we are teaching 6-8 periods a day in unheated classrooms (today's temp was 1C, and plummeting) and we must pay for our medications while the school "leaders" and "administrators" enjoy idling the day away in their heated offices?

Sorry for the gruesome details, but I have battled ongoing diarrhea for more than 30 days now (I don't have to tell you the toll that is taking on my health!)

After multiple visits to the hospital, boxes of various medications (all at my expense) -- little or no relief.

Today, I thought I could teach, but just before my first (8:00am) class I had an outbreak that sent me running to the filthy bathroom down the hall. Needless to say, I didn;t make it in time, and my clothes were disgustingly soiled (sorry, everybody!).

While the school scrambled to arrange a taxi to send me home, the students were anxiously awaiting me in the classroom. Of course, in my experience here, foreign teachers have no privacy (or dignity) concerning their personal health issues. When my students learned I was too sick to teach today (my smiling face obviously hides lots of ugly truths), naturally, they were very concerned about me.

Someone in my department took it upon themselves to explain my situation to the students. As I waited, shivering for the taxi to arrive, one of my most shy female students (about 19 years old) approached me and asked: "Are you diarrhea???" (It was hard not to burst out laughing!)

Yes, China is NEVER boring, but again, approach this place with great trepidation.

Also, it was comfirmed today after some investigaton by one of my previous students who is a law major in another city, that in indeed my present "college" was trying to arrange an illegal visa for me.

The almost total lack of professonal integrity and ethics is on the rise here, I believe.

I also urge you to read a powerful story from yesterday's edition of The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/19/world/asia/19shenzhen.html?ref=asia

I LOVE CHINA and I truly love Chinese people, but I still contend that working here is a very risky venture.