Job scares in China

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I’ve met a lot of people with fantastic jobs in China. And then I’ve met some with nightmarish ones.  I don’t think anyone really knows what their job will be like until they get into the swing of things.  But for many, perhaps you’re thinking about getting a job here, looking at some of the different options, and want to teach English.

Living in China has enough challenges of it’s own.  I want you to get a good job, or one you’re happy with, and one that has a secure and legal contract and that gets you a visa:) Most people in Shijiazhuang are either studying Chinese, teaching English or doing business.  My suggestions all have to do with jobs related to English teaching.

A good teaching experience: You go up front, 50 students all look at you and write down your examples and then after class tell you how much they appreciate you.  Students want to get together with you and you are making a difference.

A bad experience: Your “orientation” is non-existent, you are dropped off at an apartment and left to fend for yourself until classes start.  You don’t understand the routine or what level your students are at.

Teaching English in China can be very rewarding.  There are many people who have studied for over a decade, but never practiced it with a native speaker.  You aren’t just another person to them.  You really do make a difference in their lives.

So read through some tips and hopefully you will be better prepared and understand the situation here and choose your job wisely.  REMEMBER, it is VERY easy to get a job teaching English.  You may have to seek it out, but from experience, it can be done!!

Teaching English

There are TONS of opportunities to teach English in China and especially in Shijiazhuang.  I literally get asked a few times a week if I could teach.  Most universities, technical colleges, middle schools, kindergartens and ALL English institutes are looking for English teachers.  Some of them advertise on the internet on pages like Dave’s Cafe, Ecities China, etc.  If you’re here in this city.  WALK to a university and tell them you want to teach.  Bring in your resume and see what happens.  I would be surprised if they didn’t offer you a job.  Here are my thoughts…

  • Look into teaching at a university or middle school because you will get a fair and official contract.  Your hours should be set and most likely, in Shijiazhuang, they will be around 12-20 hours at university per week.  I believe class hours might be higher at a middle school.  They will sort out your visa and should give you an apartment allowance (or apartment).  (Whether or not you want to live there is all part of it:) )   I think a general university full-time position pays around $3800 rmb a month. Your hours aren’t excessive, and if you want, you’ll have time to casually study Chinese, do other things, etc.
  • Be a bit wary about English “institutes.”  You’re read about them, they sound great.  They have a wonderful web-site, offer you (what seems like) good money and a “western” apartment.  They also offer you “flexible hours.“  Translation: the schedule is not set and they will change it daily and weekly depending on their demand for teachers (tons of it) and encourage you to teach… and teach… and teach.  They have no intentions of being flexible with you.  If you teach more, they earn more.  Many really only care about the money and not about the kids, quality of English teaching, etc.  This is a generalization and I’m sure that there are some great and honest institutes out there.  Some of them give you unfair contracts, (or maybe you will never see a contract!) conditions change, the “airport pick-ups” are sometimes not gauranteed, and your wages are probably not as good as they should be.  Their turn-around is probably a teacher every month since it’s too much for most people to take.  Will they get you a visa?  Maybe.  Most institutes will (should be) pay you around 120-160 RMB an hour to teach a classroom of kids.
  • PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stay away from “agents” or company’s that want to help you to volunteer in China.  They are a total scam.  In this city, there are various ones.  Please stay away from New Dimensions. Or really, any company that offers to help you “volunteer and gain experience teaching and serving in China,” etc.  They will happily get you here and put you to work, but keep your pay.  Yes, it may seem like that’s what volunteering is, but they are corrupt and are not non-profit.  Trust me, they are all-profit.  The more directly you get a job, the better.  If you do want to “serve and volunteer” look for a well-known organization, ask others, check into helping at an orphanage, etc.  Otherwise, get a contract and teach English with a university and “serve” the students.
  • Individual tutoring can be great.  Parents and young people want to improve their English and most of them would JUMP on an opportunity to have a personal tutor.  A native English speaker in this city generally charges around 150-200 RMB per hour for an individual lesson.  Obviously this will not secure you a visa and many universities don’t allow you to teach privately.

So yes, come and teach English.  It really is a great way to use your TEFL qualifications, improve your CV, take a year out, do something different, see the world, etc.  But please, get a good contract with a reputable university or institute (EVEN if you’re looking at coming for a minimal time) and do the background on the company.

 

Total Wipe-Out

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Today the Hebei TV show, their version of Total Wipe-Out, filmed foreigners and Chinese participants at White Deer Springs.  It was fun to watch.  There was an obstacle course in the pool and participants had 150 seconds to get through it and then answer a question.  If they got the question right within the time-frame, they were rewarded 1000 rmb.  I think the course looked easy until I saw people on it, falling in the water, etc.

Everyone seemed to have fun competing.  The questions were yes or no questions in Chinese, so people had a 50% chance of getting them right (even if they didn’t understand!)

I don’t know when it airs, but I’ll let you know.

The acrobats are in town

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I was outside today and suddenly I saw about 20 blond-haired kids!  They were twisting, jumping and doing amazing acrobats.  Usually in my apartment complex the kindergarteners go outside the play, there are occasionally art shows, etc. but I’ve never seen anything like this (right outside my front door).  So I watched the Russian kids, the American clowns and Taiwanese singers and acrobats.  They all took turns performing different acts.  Now I want to go and watch them at the art center.

I’ve read online that on the 31st of October they’re performing at the Shijiazhuang Art Center.  It’s next to the Wonder Mall.

The event is the Wuqiao International Acrobatics Festival.  They come every other year and in a few days 200 people from places like Russia, France, the USA, Australia, Taiwan, etc. will perform.

“Ten foreign experts and two Chinese scholars serve as the judges for the competition. The prize for the top award, Gold Lion, will be 50,000 yuan.”

It looks like tickets are around 200 RMB. Here’s the address and phone number to check..

Hebei Arts Center : 169 Yuhua Xilu, Shijiazhuang -0311-87889011

UPDATE: The show was amazing!  I got tickets from someone selling extra tickets outside.  They started at 100 rmb and I gave them 50 rmb for it.  I was way in the back, but the theater is quite small, so it was fine.  Loved it all!  Tons of variety and people from everywhere.  Think they are still performing?!  Try to go!

How to use Taobao in English

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Perhaps you’re in China and you feel limited by what you can’t buy or find.  Do you know that there’s a huge web-site that sells a bit of everything.  It’s sort of like a Chinese e-bay, but perhaps safer, better and cheaper!  It’s called Taobao.

After about two weeks in China there were a few things I missed: real coffee, flavored coffee creamer and an oven (among other things!).  My friends had a small toaster oven and I wanted one a bit bigger.  I didn’t see one at Carefour and wondered if there was a way to buy a BIGGER oven.   So I started looking and recklessly (I spoke no Chinese, had no idea what I should or shouldn’t do on Taobao) found an oven, thought it was big, paid for it (without “chatting with the seller” or asking a Chinese friend to help!) and ordered it.  This is the link.  It seemed big.  I had no idea how they were going to deliver it and then one day, it just arrived at my door.  It was huge.  It works great (it’s electric).  At first I was a bit embarrassed at how big it was and wondered WHERE I’d put it and how much electricity it was going to use! But now we just enjoy using it and have it stationed on our counter.  I make bread, cakes, casseroles, cookies and cheese on toast in my oven:) Love it!

I’ve bought everything from: clothes, sports balls, cones, equipment, cookie mix, birthday candles, cheese, toys, diapers, ipod speakers, Christmas and birthday presents a curling iron and tons more on Taobao.It’s easy to use once you have an account set up.  But in order to set it up, you will have to have a few things:

  • You will either need to either read Chinese or use google translator to help you navigate through the website. For some reason, it seems that Internet Explorer is the best search engine to use.  I can’t get Taobao to fully work if I’m on Google Crome or Mozilla Firefox.  I find that when I use Internet Explorer, it automatically translates my pages into English. Try going here to download it.
  • You will need to open a Chinese bank account.  So have your name, phone number and address (in Chinese) ready along with your passport when you go to the bank.  The China Bank of Construction has been wonderful to me.  I’ve spent hours with Dai Hong working out all sorts of account details (no exaggeration).  The Bank of Communications employees in Shijiazhuang have also been great.  The important thing is to find a bank employer who is willing to help you and who isn’t in a rush.  (It was painful helping me open an account when I had NO Chinese).
  • You will need a bank account that can be linked to your taobao account.  The bank should either give you a special debit card or a small USB security tool. 
  • Those will come in handy real soon!

1. Let’s begin by setting up a taobao account.  Go to www.taobao.com and on the top left of your screen is a place for you to click to open a new account.

2. Choose a username, password and fill in the verification code.3. The next page will ask you for your email account. Once you fill in your email, you will get a confirmation screen.  You’ll need to check into your email account to confirm your taobao account.

4. And now fire away… Enter into the search bar what you’re looking for.  You can type it in English or Chinese characters.

5. Browse and click on the item you want.

6. You can look at what you’re buying and if you have any questions, you can directly “chat” with the seller (see that little blue face, you can click on it and ask the seller questions.”  Google translate unfortunately doesn’t work too well here.  They don’t accurately translate the English to Chinese so the seller often doesn’t know what you mean!  But you can type in Chinese and ask him questions. You can also just buy it and hope everything will be alright.  And just like amazon and ebay, you can look at the customer’s reviews and feedback (look at how many stars they have, read reviews, etc.)

7. If you want to buy it, click on the red bar. Then also click on the next screen’s orange bar.  They will include shipping and will deliver it to your door.  You will be asked for your Chinese address and phone number (the first time you buy something – after that it will be saved in your account).  So get a friend to help if need be.

8.  Pay for it with internet banking (with the bank account that you’ve set up).  Choose the bank that you bank with and fill in your account number (usually your passport number) your password and their confirmation code. I usually have to go to the “additional” banks on the second menu and then I find the Construction Bank:)

9. You should get a confirmed receipt and your good should arrive in about 2-5 days (depending on where the seller is located and what type of shipping you pay for).  Once you get the goods, it’s common practice to confirm your purchase. This releases the money to the seller immediately (since a third party keeps it until you confirm that it arrived or they automatically give it to the seller after about 2 weeks).  So try not to keep your sellers waiting too long for their money.  You can then write comments, etc.  (I’ll write more about that later:)

Enjoy internet shopping in China!  Fast and easy and a great way to get all sorts of things delivered right to your door-step.

Let me know if you need any more directions and what interesting things (and good deals) you find!

Things that make life easier in China

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Life in China isn’t always easy.  Especially after you move here, you may wonder “what am I doing here?”  I think that we’ve all been there.  Really.

Things will get better.  You will meet some people.  You will learn how to cook something other than instant noodles.  The weather will improve:)

Here are a few things that have made my life easier living in China

  • A VPN (virtual private network).  It’s really a must for you to be connected on facebook, twitter, youtube, pandora, etc.  I feel more connected with family and friends when I can look at their photos, write new status updates, etc.
  • An electric bike.  You’ve seen them zooming around.  They’re fairly inexpensive. You can probably get one for about 1800 RMB.  Maybe you think it’s not worth it since you’re not sure how long you’ll be here for.  Even if you get it and use it for 3 months, you’ll enjoy the independence, get to know more of the city and you can sell it afterwards.  I love ours!  All of our friends who have them get places quicker, like them, etc.  If you want to get one, ask a Chinese friend to help you (so that they give you a good price) or ask someone on the forum to help you! 
  • Find some easy food.  It’s pretty cheap to eat in China.  There are really good Chinese take-away restaurants, donkey burgers (hey, give them a try, they’re actually really good), and other little places that have good food.  I’d personally suggest staying away from the market (or street) sellers who sell noodles.  Every time I eat them, I get sick.  I think it may have to do with their oil.
  • If you’re in a bind and are craving some Western food, buy some dry Italian noodles and sauce at places like Carefour, or really any sort-of-big grocery store.  Get some cereal.  Splurge and buy some cheese and regular toasty bread:)  They should have a foreign import section.  There are days when I just live for spaghetti!  Two cooking sites that I use are: www.allrecipes.com and www.simplerecipes.com .  I try to search for recipes that are easy to cook and that don’t use too much butter or processed things (because I can’t easily get them here!)
  • Keep track of a few phone numbers:   KFC: 4008-823-823 (You can order in English or Chinese.  You’ll just need to know your address).  They usually arrive to your door within about 20 minutes.  You don’t need to tip them, delivery charges are included in your order.   You can order anything except for french fries:( McDonalds: 4008517517 (You will need to order in Chinese and before about 6:30 pm. They stop all deliveries before 7pm.)  If it’s raining, if they’re busy, you may struggle to convince them to come to you.  OK Pizza: 15931173088.  You can order any pizza you want.  Pepperoni in Chinese is: La4chang2.  Most large pizzas are about 58RMB.  They will come in a taxi and that charge (depending on the distance.  They usually charge me about 18RMB) you the fare.  They don’t speak English, but I love their pizza and I enjoy having it delivered to my house when we have friends over.  Estimate about 45 minutes for delivery.
  • Get a skype account so that you can contact friends and family.
  • Do you like to read?  Do have an ereader?  If you have a kindle you can get books on Amazon.  If you’re from the USA you can go online to your local library and use a feature called: overdrive.  Then you can check out books for free online.  You need a library card (number).  It’s pretty slick.  I have a Barnes and Noble Nook and love this site: http://the-cheap.net/.  I download tons of free books (not always great, but free).  Note: If you have a Nook, you have to either use your VPN or have someone from the States get your books.  They’ll freeze your account otherwise. The Book Depository has free shipping on books to China.  You can give them your address in English and they ship books right to you.  I actually have quite a few paperbacks and have access to many more (there’s a kid / parent English library at our friend’s office and they have adult fiction books too).  If you want some books, give me a shout and I’ll tell you what I have.  You’re welcome to read any of them:)
  • Get on Taobao.  I’ll write up a post with detailed instructions about how to use it soon.  It’s an easy way to get ANYTHING (an oven, cheese, coffee creamer, Western Clothes, board games, etc.)  I love it and I’ve gotten tons of stuff on it.  Easy and secure.
  • Try to meet some people in the city.  Connect with others (whether friendly locals or foreigners).

These are a few ways to feel more at “home,” to enjoy China and get through tough days.  I’m sure there are other suggestions, so leave a comment if you have one.

The October Holiday

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There are many places that I’ve love to go in China and I had the perfect opportunity to do so this last week BUT we didn’t go to Shanghai, Qingdao, Guilin, Zhangjiajie or many of the other great places.  Do you know that on China Spring Airlines you can get really inexpensive flights to Hong Kong!  It’s almost the same cost to fly to HK than to Qingdao, etc.  Anyways, we considering going to Hong Kong but lodging, transit, etc. get a bit pricey down there so we’re going to go “next time.”

But we did go to Beijing.  It’s close, convenient, interesting and something different.

Freshly cooked chicken.

It was great.  We were worried about crowds, but actually, we didn’t have to wait in long-lines for taxis, the subways (are always packed) were fine, and there were even open seats on the D train on the way back to Shijiazhuang.  Crazy.  I think perhaps many people got out of Beijing and it was perfect for us to travel up there.

A Hutong near Hou Hai Lake

We enjoyed some great meals, walks around the city, Tiananmen Square, Houhai lake Beijing (I love the lake, shops and places to eat) and the Beijing Pearl Market (totally a crazy place, but if you want to haggle for some cheap bags, purses, clothes give it a go).  We ran out of time to go to the 798 Art District.  I’ve been before and I wanted to go back and have a look around the galleries and just take in the different environment. .. next time!  If you have a free day / afternoon in Beijing, it’s a place to check out!

Well we’re back at home and happy to be off the Train and settled in.  I love traveling, but it’s great to “get back,” unpack and be home.

I hope you had a good October holiday!

By the way, I’m not sure what I did to the forum… I’ll get it back running soon.  Sorry!

 

Starbucks is open:)

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Starbucks is open and the Wanda mall is hopping with people.  We had to cue up to get into Starbucks; tons of people were waiting to get their Starbucks lattes. We sat outside and enjoyed the coffee, deflected the “odd looks” and enjoyed a bit of home comfort.

Loved it!

Happy October holiday!

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Studying Chinese in Shijiazhuang

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I’ve enjoyed studying Chinese in Shijiazhuang.  Many people ask me “Why Shijiazhuang?”  For us, it’s been a great place to learn Chinese, get to know the culture, and dive into China.

China is an interesting place.  Someone once told me, “Everything you’ve heard about China is true.  Somewhere in China.”  The South, North, West and East are so different.  Culture is different.  Today’s high was 79 F / 26 C.  I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  I passed by some older ladies.  Two of the ladies had on three pairs of trousers (2 long-under layers and the trouser).  As I was walking home, I was thinking about how truly different people and culture can be.  They couldn’t convince me that it was cold out and I didn’t even try to convince them that it was quite a comfortable, warm temperature today.  Perspectives ehy!

Studying Chinese has many up’s and down’s.  I thought I’d look at some of the parts of it.  These are observations from my perspective:)

Shijiazhuang’s a great place to study Chinese because there aren’t many foreigners here (hence you have to actually speak Chinese), it’s in the North so that accent is pretty standard and the cost-of-living is much cheaper than Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Kunming, etc.

If you’re looking at studying Chinese, there are usually three different ways to do it.

1) Study at one of the local universities like Hebei Normal University or Hebei Medial University

2) Study at Konall, a private language institute

3) Hire a private tutor

Now, let me give you some pro’s and con’s of each one (based on what I’ve seen, experienced, heard and read).

University study

 

Konall

  Private Tutoring

These are a few things I’ve seen along the way!

Some people are best off in a classroom type of setting and excel with the intensity of the program.  Others are more suited for one-on-one environments.  If you need a tutor recommendation, I can give you my tutor’s number.  Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Ask questions, ask others, search the web and go for what works for you!  It’s also about communicating with your teacher (in a positive way) about how to improve things.

The Wanda Mall and Haagen Dazs ice-creams

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We heard that the Wanda mall had opened and wanted to check it out. So Saturday, we had a look. It was hopping with people and filled with impressive shops (it almost felt like a mall in Beijing), a soon-to-open Starbucks (they said it will open this next week) and a Haagen Dazs!

H&M, Zara, Honey’s, Watsons and many others were all there too.  A few of the bigger names are still not open.

The store that most caught our attention (and that of our toddler!) was Haagen-Dazs. There was a line of people waiting to get into the store. We didn’t realize it but they let us right in. I think that we were their first foreign customers, so they all quickly practied their welcomes in English and then we found our way to the till. It was quite chaotic. I’ve never seen so many people getting ice-cream before. I’m guessing that it was one of the most popular stores at the Wanda Mall.


Our friend treated us to some wonderful double-scoop bowls of ice-cream. It was a bit of a race to finish since we had a toddler trying to get more on each spoonful than us. Heavenly! I use to love Dairy Queen, but this is head and shoulders above a blizzard or chocolate dipped cone:)

So check out the Wanda Mall and enjoy:) It’s across from the Century Park. Just look out for the flourescent lights, IMAX signs and traffic. You’ll be sure to find it.

The Wanda Mall is across from Century park. (Shiji Gongyuan.) It’s on Hui’an Road and Jianhua Avenue.  The flashing lights from the building are a dead give-away. Continue reading →