BoHai University

Peoples Republic of China 中国,

LiaoNing Province 辽宁,

JinZhou City 锦州,

BoHai University 渤海大学

For those of you who are thinking about, or are already on your way to teaching English in China, let me give you a few bits of advice.

First, let me say I truly love China. I AM having the time of my life here. When reading this, keep a few things in mind.

¤ Chinese culture is completely different from anything you can imagine. I HAVE been to many countries and I am not just another “ignorant American tourist”.

¤ Yes, there are differences in government, but what I refer to in this, can not be written off as a result of lack of human rights or the like.

¤ Living in China is a learning process. My views change as I learn, but many things remain constant.

¤ If you are a Chinese person reading this, remember, if you think any of this makes China look bad, it is because we are accustomed to a different culture. This is how some people from the west feel about China, based on how we perceive it. I am doing nothing but giving people like myself, information to help them in reducing the problems they WILL encounter here. Also, you may want to read this –> Westerners

¤ You cannot change 1,300,000,000 people, and… likewise, sometimes, 1.3billion people can’t change you. Accept it and move on.

A few little things that will help you when you arrive:

Old Wives Tales... and some Truths:

1. Anything someone has told you that you cannot get in China, forget it. I've met people who have come here with lifetime supplies of things from toothpaste to feminine hygiene products. Basic necessities are to be found.

Granted, there are some comforts you might do without, but you will not need to run around on 2 day trips to find toilet paper.

Some food products you will not find, but you are NOT going to go hungry.

2. Medication can be found. For the most part, you don't even need to see a doctor. Even if you do, it will cost you about $0.12(US) for the consultation. You may have to take a bus to a closer city for your first fresh supply, but once you get settled in, finding a source for western medication is quite simple.

　

3. Never ask "what type of meat is this?". If you are going to live here, it is better if you use the system I use: If it tastes like fowl, it's chicken. If it tastes like pork, it's pig. If it tastes like beef, it's cow. If it tastes like mutton, it's lamb. If it tastes like seafood, take your pick.

Eventually, you will learn to read and speak some Chinese. This is when you will find out that your favorite dishes consist of donkey, pigeon, fungus, and things I won't even go into here... Of course I would love to have a nice piece of lasagna, but after a year and a half, donkey dumplings are very tasty.

4. Learn how to say "No." (I am using the Kyle's Hooked on Phonics pronunciation here, NOT PinYin, I think it will help you better understand NOW).

"May Yoh" - This means "Don't have" ("Yoh" Means "Have"). Good for when professional beggars flock to you.

"Boo Yaow" - This means "Don't want" ("Yaow" means "Want"). Good for when taxi drivers, ticket sellers, ladies of the evening, and so forth come at you.

"Boo Shi" - This means "I/He/She/It is Not" ("Shi" means "Am/Is/Are").

"Boo Duey" - This means "Not correct" ("Duey" means "Correct").

"Boo" - General all round prefix to make something negative.

5. The Communists/Soldiers/Police, generally, will be the nicest people you will meet. The old "Cold War" propaganda quickly looses it's strength when you actually MEET the people our government wants us to be afraid of.

Many Chinese will use the term "Foreign Friend" when talking about/to you. They mean this. If you have a problem, you really CAN go ask a policeman and get help here. The only problem is differentiating between uniforms. However, if there is someone wearing a police-like uniform where you are, they are there for a reason and you can ask them also.

Hey, don't worry, I am still a Republican. I have learned to live with people with wrong political beliefs before... My father is a Democrat. HEHEHE And, I use the word "wrong" as a joke. Remember, there is no right or wrong when you come to another country, just differences.

6. Electronic Equipment - Bring it with you or buy it here, do not ship it or you may never see it again.

You will find that, for the most part, everything you need is here. Heck, I actually UPGRADED by selling my Dell Laptop and getting a NEW desktop for $163.00(US).

If you have a mobile phone that uses a SIM chip, bring it with you. If not, buy one when you get here. Mobile phones are pretty much a necessity if you are going to stay here for any length of time.

The way mobile phones work here is opposite of what you would find in the states. The phones is where they make their money, not the rates. I bought a phone yesterday for $119(US), still quite cheap, and I think I spend about $6(US) every month on minutes.

Home phones is where the company will kill you. The fee's and taxes are horrendous.

Digital still/video cameras are a must. You will be seeing things you will never see again.

Buy a cheap DVD player when you get here. Video piracy is your FRIEND in China. After spending a month trying to entertain yourself with any form of Chinese television, you will be buying DVD's en mass.

7. Navigation - Every bookstore and most train stations will sell maps of the city you will be in. Pay no mind that it is all in Chinese. Just mark your home on it and go from there.

A rule of thumb (If you see these characters or PinYin on street signs):

街 (jie, pronounced like Jay) means Street, and they normally run North/South.

路 (lu, pronounced like Lou) means Road, and they normally run East/West.

Otherwise, just learn how to say the name of your home in Chinese, and hop a taxi (bike or car).

8. The "Facilities" - Yes, it is true, for most, a toilet looks like an elongated bathtub level with the floor, about 3ft long and 1ft wide. BUT, you can rest assured your home will have a western style toilet. Most apartments come with these, yet the vast majority of the facilities in China are like what I described.

TP! - If you are going out on a trip, bring some with you. I'm not sure if the Chinese people are predisposed to steal TP or what, but you will be hard pressed to find any in public toilets.

FLUSHING! - If you use a Chinese style toilet, there will be a basket beside it. You don't flush TP. (I don't know, I don't ask, I don't care.)

　

Phase 1 - Research.

Everyone who comes here goes through several phases. The first of these is started when, in your research, you read this or any other information regarding the town in which you are moving.

For the most part, you will find the same thing; people who are having the time of their life, but in the same breath, seem to be pissed off. For most of you, this will have you thinking that we are just a-holes who don't understand we are in a different country.

I went through the same thing. I read several pages and noticed that there were some people I thought were so pompous, they couldn't see the light for having their head so far up their butts.

Let me say this: Wipe those thoughts out of your head, be objective, but LISTEN to those who have been here. The first few months are great, but give it a year and you will be singing a different tune. Not that China is a bad place, it is WONDERFUL, but there are a lot of differences between cultures that are nearly impossible to overcome.

Those people, including me, that you think are just pompous westerners, DO understand (all too well) that we are in another country. I am generally a very happy person. Not a term goes by when one or more of my students wont ask me, “Are you happy EVERY day?” But there are things about China that do frustrate many westerners.

Phase 2 – Arrival / False Acceptance.

When you arrive in China, you will be inundated with things that you will just brush off as being differences in culture. Of course, for the most part you will be correct in this thinking. But, just remember, when arriving in ANY foreign country, you have a big bulls-eye painted on your forehead. The only difference here is that it is much more pronounced if you don’t look Chinese.

Accepting those things is natural. Kicking yourself because you let a taxi driver cheat you, is as foreseeable as the sun rising. Those should not bother you.

The time to stop accepting things as being “cultural differences” is when you arrive at your new living quarters. If you have a contract, it really means NOTHING in China. Contractual law is worth its weight in monkey dung. This does not mean that YOU will not be held to the strict letter of the contract however.

Finding out that the “pictures” you were sent of the room, university, and even town, might not be the same as when you arrive. False advertisement is an art form that is mastered by many Chinese. Yes, there is the same in western society, but it is taken to the extreme here. I’ve known teachers who ended up in different towns and universities. Myself? I was sent pictures of the “university”, which just happened to actually be the middle school building. The room in which I was going to stay, well, they must have taken that picture back when Mao was still alive and the building was new. Don’t let this bother you; it’s just another thing you need to get accustomed to. But that does not mean you need to give up every form of decent living.

Take a stand up front when it comes to your housing and what you were promised. Let them know you took their word for what you would have. Let them know you just moved your whole life halfway around the world, with only their word as to what would be here upon your arrival. (This brings “face” into the mix… questioning their word.)

Do not let anything slide on this issue. If you were told you would have something, ask them where it is, immediately. People will take your acceptance of anything as a sign of weakness and will use this at every opportunity.

If you are ever given the response of, “This is China…” or “When in Rome…” come right back with, “Do you have this in your home?” For example, if you don’t have a TV, telephone, etc.

Get the idea OUT of your head of, “Well, at least I have it better than those poor Chinese peasants.” This may be true, but you will quickly find out that the people you work for, and those Chinese who do the same job as you, all have homes with “semi” modern appliances also.

It took 4 months to get cable in my room, but they had no problem in getting it working for the students on the floor below me, or in the dining hall. These are the types of things you need to press them on.

I have seen, literally, every part of my contract broken in some way, at some point since I have been here. Yet, I have never seen a penny of the “Breech of Contract Fine”. I have, however, seen a teacher pay the full $2,000 (US), simply because he HAD to go home… less than a week after renewing his contract… with 2 months to go before classes started. Even though trying to be responsible, the teacher could have just hopped a plane and gone home.

Phase 3 – Learning the Truth.

The two main “truths” you will learn, in time, about Chinese culture are:

1.) Saving face means EVERYTHING to the people of China. It permeates every aspect of their lives. You will learn this slowly, and you will be amazed as to what extent it is assimilated into their daily lifestyle.

2.) As a result of the political history of China, people have grown accustomed to never questioning things. Acceptance of even the most basic, easily solvable, problems is the norm. Another common utterance… “That’s just how things are.” And, accordingly, people tend not to appreciate it when YOU question things, especially being a foreigner.

The quicker you learn these things, the less you will hear people tell you, “You just don’t understand China…” If you don’t believe me, keep count of how many times you hear this phrase. I’ve never heard that statement once in any other country I have been in; well, not as an excuse for basic things.

Both of these “truths”, eventually, will frustrate the HELL out of any westerner. I guess the degree of acceptance you have for this frustration will dictate which path you will take in Phase 4.

Phase 4.

I purposefully left a title off of Phase 4, because this is where you will do one of two things… “Fish or cut bait” as they say.

For most, the option of cutting bate is the most common. They go home. Others will try it for another 6 months then leave, and the few remaining examples will stay even longer. I am one of those.

It all has to do with how far you want to take your acceptance, how much you are willing to learn, and how much you are willing to put that knowledge to practice. It is not as easy as you think.

For the reasons I have stated here, a constant flow of foreign teachers comes through China every few months. Again, don’t take my word for it, ask.

Ask your newfound foreign co-workers how many foreign teachers they have seen go home. Ask them how long they have stayed in China. Ask your 3^rd or 4^th year students how many foreign teachers they have seen come/go.

And, finally, ask yourself… Why would ANYONE want to leave a job where:

¤ Cost of living wise, they earn more than they ever thought they could.

¤ Work as little as 16 hours a week.

¤ Have paid living quarters/utilities.

¤ Have the ability to do this until they retire… (Which, if you are an American, you can actually pull in quite a load when converting those Social Security benefits.)

There would have to be some substantial bumps in the road for someone to want to leave such a job. Think about it.

A few of those bumps?

¤ This is NOT a multicultural society. You will NEVER be accepted as anything other than a foreigner. Even if you happen to LOOK Asian.

¤ Saving face means more than money. In other words, you will be wrong, no matter what. It's not a game, you can't play it, and you would lose anyway. (Remember, you are a foreigner)

Perfect example: You have all read about the old woman who shoots and kills a burglar who is in her home, then is sued by his family because she took away their sole source of income. In China, you are the old woman.

¤ Anything you say that might be construed as being the remotest bit critical of China or a Chinese person, will be reacted to as if you just crapped on the corpse of Chairman Mao. This goes for ANYTHING you happen to say, for example, "My television isn't working..." You have just demeaned the Chinese cable system.

¤ People here know the situation they are in, they know the historical choices they made and, to be quite honest, they are pissed at themselves about it. But, it's like the hyper kid who knows he has done something stupid on the playground, he will just turn around and try to cover his anger by applying it to you.

¤ Chinese people do not question things. The accept everything; even if they can change things for the better, they opt not to. So, when you know something is wrong, and it is affecting you, do not seek help from a Chinese person, even if it happens to be your best friend, they will just accept your hardship as being the norm.

¤ Learn Chinese if you want, for the most part it will help a little, but more often than not, no matter how well you speak it, they will always look to the nearest Chinese person for clarification of what you just said.

¤ People will stare.

¤ People will call you names.

¤ People will try to cheat you out of money because they think you are rich.

¤ People will befriend you out of necessity.

¤ Half the people treat you like a rock star, the other half treat you like shit, there is no in-between.

¤ They will tell you to act more Chinese, but will never treat you that way.

¤ You will be warned not to discuss political topics, yet you will be inundated by naive statements about how horrible your country is. As soon as you respond, you become the bad guy. Just let it roll off your back.

Don’t Take My Word For It…

ANYONE who decides to travel to ANY country for ANY reason should check both the State Department and CIA FactBook websites.

Having said that; here is the newly updated version of the “Travel to China” information, listed in the State Departments site, dealing specifically with TEACHERS.

ENGLISH TEACHERS/SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS: Many Americans have enjoyed their teaching experience in China; others have encountered significant problems. Some Americans travel to China under a contract with promises of good salary, bonuses and other amenities, only to find themselves in tenuous situations often lacking funds to return to the United States. The U.S. Embassy cannot act as a legal advisor or negotiate business or personal grievances on behalf of individual citizens. Americans experiencing problems can contact the Embassy's American Citizens Services Unit at telephone (86-10) 6532-3431, extension 5648, 5028, 5609 or 5344, or via e-mail to AmCitBeijing@state.gov to report problems with school employment contracts.

Americans considering teaching English in China should check that their contracts specify the maximum number of classroom hours per day and per week, maximum workdays per week, and vacation periods. Americans teaching in China, particularly at newly established private secondary schools and private English training centers, have often found their employers unable or unwilling to honor contract terms or to assist in obtaining Chinese employment-based visas and other permits required for foreigners to teach lawfully in China. Prospective teachers should always ask for references from other foreign teachers who have completed a contract teaching term and have returned to their home country. Prospective teachers should never come to China without first receiving the proper "Z" or work visa from the Chinese Embassy. Prospective teachers should not accept a promise by a school or organization to obtain the correct visa after their arrival. Health insurance provided by Chinese employers should be supplemented as described above. (Please see the section on Medical Insurance). Prospective teachers should always demand that they receive a contract from their employer rather than from an agent or intermediary. These agents or intermediaries often receive a large portion of the monthly pay promised to the teacher leaving the teachers without significant financial resources. These “fees” are sometimes not disclosed until after the prospective teacher arrives in China. To date, courts and police in many jurisdictions have refused to intervene in these cases on behalf of foreign teachers.

(Link to the web site - - > http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html)

As I said, don’t think that every person who is here, with complaints, is a pompous a-hole. If it happens so much that the state department sent me 3 messages regarding this update, it must be noteworthy.

Granted, some of the suggestions they have sound like obvious things that one would check before they go. And, granted, these sorts of things happen in every part of the world, including America. HOWEVER… If it happens so much, to a specific job type, so many time that the official State Department web site informs you about it, it has to be noteworthy.

I think they could have saved more space just by using my quote: “Contractual law in China is worth its weight in monkey dung.” It has a better feel, and it’s more informative.

EVERY ONE of the instances you can read from their release, I have seen in some fashion while living here. Heck, most of them happened to me.

We are accustomed to seeing foreigners hired in America. The huge influx in the “Human Resources” sector shows the growth in this area. For the most part, skilled, educated, foreign employees are handled like visiting dignitaries, when it comes to bringing them to this country and setting up their life. The only time you won’t see this is illegal, unskilled laborers.

Another thing, people who come to work in America, have the knowledge that they CAN get some sort of green card, allowing them to stay for extended periods. Heck, they have the ability to take on citizenship if they want.

In China… no such luck. Most teachers are hired on an annual/bi-annual contractual basis, without the safety net of a green card. Chinese visa’s last 30-90 days, residency permits last the exact length of the contract. So, at the end of every contract, foreign teachers are put into a frenzy of paying huge amounts of their pay for renewed visa’s (JUST TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE), or acquiring employment at the same or other school. Many Chinese know this, and they use it to their advantage to give, as little as possible when it comes to help and/or living conditions.

In other words, we get treated, by our employers, the way illegal workers in the States are. We have our jobs, we get our pay, but rock the boat and the threat of "deportation" hangs over your head.

People always say that foreign teachers are paid more than the common Chinese person. This is true, but so are CHINESE teachers. People will then say that foreign teachers are paid more than Chinese teachers. This is also true… to a point… the point at which we are not allowed to work outside of our contract for other schools. Chinese teachers are allowed to do this, and make quite a hefty sum of money on the side. When I see a 23 year old student teacher making twice as much as I, living at home with his/her parents, I don’t feel guilty about having been paid a little more than him/her for my initial hours of work. (To think of my second term here, when I worked Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the week open… I could have raked in some money if I were a Chinese teacher.)

So, in conclusion… Learn a lesson from the last sentence from the State Departments page…

To date, courts and police in many jurisdictions have refused to intervene in these cases on behalf of foreign teachers.

This should be enough for you to understand you need to be cautious when thinking about coming to China. Investigate before you come.