Happy Chinese New Year to all you Chinese out there…and to those like myself who always wish they could be just a little more culturally attached to it, as opposed to just simply interested. It’s a re-occurring theme for me, these different Chinese festivals and always feeling somewhat culturally envious about the tradition and thought behind everything celebrated. It is so much more than a bunch of people getting tanked then watching fireworks.

I was in Box Hill on Saturday afternoon, helping out my work who had a tent in the middle of all the goings on. It was quiet, with not many Chinese approaching the mostly whitey staff – and i got the feeling that when you’re definitively in the minority, the mostly Chinese crowd  just plain and simple cant be bothered speaking English. I was there for two hours and it passed by quickly, though it was disgustingly hot and humid, leaving me dripping with sweat.

In between speaking to several people, I simply stood there as an observer, people watching. That in itself was fun. You had everything from the Chinese families with their super cute face painted children, to the old pasty white men with their super young Chinese wives ($$..ick).

The festival always cracks me up – the tents on display are just not ‘festival’ – it’s more like a local trade show. Maybe you need to be Asian to appreciate it, but you have tents promoting everything from the post office, to pillows, to bank accounts. Of course there’s always the eye-test tests, and dvd stands and nowadays a plethora of Angry Bird plushie stands.

The definite highlight for me is the food, the lamb skewers in particular. And this year – even they were disappointing! I bought four (for a whopping ten bucks) and both were brimming with fat and only barely cooked – it’s as if they’re cranking out as many as humanly possible to make as much money as humanly possible. Of course as we got close in the queue, a Chinese guy pushed in front of me to order some for himself showing that yes, they’re not only rude bastards on the Mainland!

We didn’t really spend too much time walking around, it just wasn’t worth it. The festival attracts upwards of 80,000 people every year, and the narrow walkways through the tents are absolutely packed with people. Worse is the food street where you have even more people; all with eyes on the food stands and not where they’re walking! I tried a korean potato twist which was delicious – though a bit of a rip-off at five bucks, then a strawberry skewer covered in toffee…another five bucks..then a mango and coconut sago drink which was again, five bucks. So with a full belly and empty pockets, we headed home to wash our faces, as nothing quite makes you feel as disgusting as bloody humidity!

May your 2012 be prosperous!

Yeah baby!

And the highlight of the day....these awesome Chinese lion hand puppets!

]]> http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/gong-xi-fa-cai-2/feed/ 0 Marcus D IMG_2172 IMG_2159 IMG_2168 IMG_2173 http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/before-you-teach-in-china-research/ http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/before-you-teach-in-china-research/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:03:49 +0000 Marcus http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/?p=808 ]]> Before you start looking for a teaching job in China, it’s important to be aware of the different types of employment available to you. Where you teach, and the style of place you’re working for can have a very big impact on your overall experience. While there are many people who head to China looking for a career style teaching position (ie: armed with a proper teaching qualification – looking for a proper income earning job), most English teachers will be going more for the chance to live in another country and experience a different culture – kind of like a working holiday. The below information is geared towards these types of people.

First and foremost, you need to determine where you wish to teach. While I will write about this separately in another post (as there’s simply too many factors to consider), it is important to decide whether you wish to work in a city style environment, or something smaller, possibly even rural.

You then need to consider what kind of teaching style or environment you would feel most comfortable in.

1. Private language schools: You will find these absolutely everywhere, offering students anything from small classes to one on one tutoring. You’ll likely be working with a number of other foreign teachers (which can be a huge benefit in China) and the small class sizes will also be appealing. Many of these are in great locations so might suit someone looking for a job in one of the big cities. It is important to remember that these places are in fact businesses, and some schools unfortunately are more interested in making money than providing quality education. There have been numerous complaints from teachers who have had issues with being paid on time, or employers not sticking to pre-agreed contracts arrangements. Of course on the flip side, there are many people who have nothing but good things to say about these places. The key thing is, if you’re going for a private language school, research it in advance.
2. Kindergartens: These are another large employer of foreign teachers. The Chinese like to have their children studying English from as early an age as possible to give them an advantage later in life, and the kindergartens/pre-schools are the best place for this to start. You will be dealing with young children (obviously), and possibly large class sizes. This is more suited to someone who enjoys working with children, but can be an incredibly rewarding experience, as Chinese kiddies are crazy cute!
3. Middle Schools:  The Chinese equivalent of a western high school and where I spent my year. The biggest benefit is that you will be working for a government run, legitimate education provider. Classes can be anything up to 55 students in size, teaching anything from 11 to 18 year olds. While the class sizes might scare some people off, you have to remember that in China, teachers are treated with absolute respect, which can lead to an incredibly rewarding experience. I still enjoy corresponding with my students, some two years later. The downside is you’ll likely live on campus, which can mean impromptu requests from the school (hello English Corner on a Saturday evening!)

Regardless of where you end up, it is important that you research it as much as possible in advance. The absolute best way to do this other than trawling through forums such as at Dave’s ESL café, is actually asking the place for the contact information of a former or current foreign teacher.

Other things to consider:

• Salary – For around 15-17 hours teaching per week I was making 5000rmb. In Australian dollars, this only equated to a very poor monthly wage (around $850ish), though considering everything in China is very cheap, it was enough to comfortably get by. The more the merrier of course, but you have to have realistic expectations. Your employer will potentially provide you with fully furnished, rent-free accommodation too, so your salary is largely food and play money.
• Teaching hours – Very important! Clarify exactly how many hours you will be teaching, and whether there are any non-contact hours. They may want you to teach for 15 hours per week, but also want you in the teaching office for a further 20 hours – you do NOT want this if possible. We were contracted to teach for approximately 17 hours (in reality it was around 15), and we were free to leave the school grounds when not teaching. Chinese teachers will often start around 7am, and stay in the office until 9pm. While much of their day involves simply browsing the internet and chatting on QQ, you do NOT want to be bound to something like this. Clarify!
• Class sizes – Exactly how many different classes will you be teaching and how many students per class? What age group? Male and female or is it a single sex school? Find all of this out as it can help you plan classes in advance.
• Class materials – Are they provided? Will you be working from a book or are you to come up with your own classes? What exactly will you be teaching? Find out if its just English conversation or whether you’ll be teaching reading/writing too. Will you be required to conduct exams? Regardless of what you are told, take some of your own materials – such as a book containing lesson plans, and things like photographs/magazines/newspapers from home – they can be invaluable if you’re pressed for ideas. Can also be a great idea to take some small gifts, like little teddy kangaroo’s or something reflecting your home country – the students will LOVE this, and it can be an awesome incentive to get them to work!
• Accommodation – Is it provided? Rent free? Does it include free internet access? Will you be required to pay any money towards utilities such as power/water etc. Do you have your own apartment, own bathroom etc? Ensure it has proper heating/cooling installed as depending on where you live in the country, you’ll likely need both in a big way. We had to pay several hundred yuan per month for utilities, with the School agreeing to pay half.
• Perks – What else do you get as part of this whole arrangement? Will they be reimbursing your airfares at the completion of the contract? If so ensure you find out exactly how much as it will likely be a set dollar amount and not actually what you paid. Do you get any free meals such as lunches? Does your accommodation come with free internet access? Will they provide free Chinese lessons? There are many things that will come as part of the deal, make sure you check out everything and get it in writing in case they decide you don’t actually get them once you arrive!

While the above all sounds complicated, in reality, it’s not that bad. The key thing to take away from  reading this is before you head to China, research!  If you have any specific questions or wish to add to the above, feel welcome to leave a comment.

Tian Yi Middle School, Wuxi

]]> http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/before-you-teach-in-china-research/feed/ 0 Marcus D A Chinese classroom Tian Yi Middle School, Wuxi http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/dui-bu-qi-%e5%b0%8d%e4%b8%8d%e8%b5%b7%e6%88%91%e7%9a%84%e4%b8%ad%e6%96%87%e4%b8%8d%e5%a5%bd/ http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/dui-bu-qi-%e5%b0%8d%e4%b8%8d%e8%b5%b7%e6%88%91%e7%9a%84%e4%b8%ad%e6%96%87%e4%b8%8d%e5%a5%bd/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:01:45 +0000 Marcus http://lifeafterchina.wordpress.com/?p=802 ]]> A friend linked this video a few months ago and I immediately really liked it. Firstly, the tune is catchy as hell – if you know a few words of Chinese, you’ll be singing it for at least the next week straight. And secondly, I know most of the Chinese words they are singing. While my Chinese is of course still very poor, it’s always a buzz to actually recognize those words you do know. I enjoy listening to foreigners speak Chinese as I can actually understand what they’re saying. There’s a world of difference between a heavily accented Chinese speaker and a foreigner when speaking Mandarin. Of course, the foreigner is likely speaking it very poorly, but at least I can understand it!

This is also something you can totally get away with in China. Got a hint of musical talent? Go to China, cruise around like a rock star. You may get the occasional anal probe at the airport (if expat stories are true!) but in China, you can seriously reinvent yourself any way you wish

Enjoy!

I’d love to buy some of these items as a gaudy joke for several friends, but they’re expensive as hell! Gift boxes of cookies can go up to the $50-$80.00 marks, whilst god only knows how much the ships and fish sell for. When it comes to giving face gaining presents during the most important part of the Chinese year, the Chinese are not afraid to splash out.

I always like these festivals. My company will  have a tent at this year’s Box Hill festival, promoting our adult learning centre.  I’ve volunteered to be in the tent for an hour or two which should be a hoot, as some eighty thousand Chinese descend upon the town. We forgot about it last year, only hearing about it the weekend after, but this year it’s being held on the 21^st of January and I expect to be well fed on cumin and chilli covered lamb skewers!

We went in 2010 and it was not bad. Despite the delicious array of stalls selling meat skewers and toffee covered fruit sticks, there was also an eclectic mix of vendors selling anything from pillows to bank accounts or promoting christianity. Around this, rival DVD stands attempted to blast each other away with thumping speakers cranked just beyond the distortion level – a level which most Chinese are seemingly immune to, as it’s something we on the Chinese almost daily.

There’s always a certain energy, colour and vibrancy to Chinese festivals, with the new year being the highlight of the year. If anything, it’s a chance to wander around and observe the Chinese doing what they do best..being Chinese, whilst stuffing my face with happiness.

Lake Tai, Wuxi

The first thing you will need is a TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate. If you do not possess a degree, having a TESOL cert is enough to secure yourself a good position – just not in a university (but then again, in China, pretty much anything is possible so I wouldn’t count that out either).  The good news is they’re easily obtainable, are quick to complete (taking approximately three evenings and two full week-end days – though this will depend on where you study it), and will arm you with all of the skills necessary to undertake conversational English teaching with no prior experience. The bad news is it will set you back approximately $1900.00. But do not despair! This fee can also be an excellent way of committing yourself to the task. Some people (aka me) need a solid commitment to ensure they actually follow through with their plans, and once you’ve dropped that money, you’re not likely to then back out.

The other unexpectedly good side of having a TESOL certificate is that, while they carry no real weight back home, they do look superb on your resume. There are many skills you will pick whilst teaching which can be applied to a whole myriad of roles back home. Having this certification and teaching experience is an excellent talking point in job interviews, and will show your potential employers that you have some amazingly broad qualities.

I obtained my TESOL through the Australasian Training Academy  who I do recommend, if you are in Australia. While their training for the cert was really good, their follow-up service and support (one of the prime features they advertise) was almost non-existent – so don’t count on that. They say they will assist with looking over contracts and answering questions and the like but for my wife and I, we had no response to our questions – though this may have been just us.

Once you have obtained your TESOL, you then need to find a job. China is fairly unique in that you do not actually have to hunt down a job, but simply put up an advertisement and wait for one to come to you. There is such massive demand to learn English that you can literally pick and choose; with so many offers coming in that you’ll need to fend them off with a stick! This will likely change in the future, so I wouldn’t wait too long to take advantage of this.

A website I would recommend is Dave’s ESL Café. Dave’s is a fantastic resource for all things ESL teaching, from lesson planning and ideas, to discussion issues with fellow teachers. There are also very active forums full of other ESL teachers, where you can begin researching the many Chinese employers and locations. It’s also one of the best places to actually find a job, with many Chinese employers using the site to look for tutors.

Before you begin, create yourself a new email address just for ESL job hunting. When you put your advertisement online, you’ll likely receive a lot of spam back to the address – usually all job offers but you’ll find yourself unwittingly put onto various newsletters and the like. I still get them some three years after I put my application up.

You will then want to put together a resume detailing all of your relevant work experience and contact details (Only name, email address etc – don’t include phone number, address– it’s unnecessary at this point). Do NOT be as detailed as a normal resume as you have to remember, the people reading it will likely have very poor English. Include a summary about why you want to teach English overseas (ie your passion for exploring another culture etc), some details about your own style of English – clear, concise talker, patient personality etc etc. List what you currently do for a job, hobbies etc, but keep it simple.  Note down things such as whether you have run any training sessions in your current job too. The other thing I would recommend you do is attach a photograph. As I have posted previously, the fact you look foreign really does make you more appealing.

And then it’s time to actually create a free account on Dave’s and submit your application. Within a few days you should start to see a steady stream of job offers coming in – which means it’s time to start researching them!  Once you’ve thoroughly researched and selected a job, you’re one step closer to your overseas teaching adventure.

Before you actually select a job and enter discussions with the employer there are a range of things you need to consider – far too many for me to cover in this post. Next up I will detail the things you need to look out for, such as contract specifics, locational factors and perks. You really do NOT want to accept a role without knowing as many of these things as possible, so check back soon

So as I was standing in Starbucks; along with several Asian customers, a thought occurred to me; are these other customers locals, or are they drawn here because its familiar to them? In our own countries, fast-food chain restaurants are generally looked upon as nothing more than junk food outlets. You dont expect a fine dining experience, and usually, walk away feeling somewhat sick in the guts. Despite the lengths that McDonalds have gone to create a better image for themselves, there’s nothing prestigious about their restaurants. When overseas; particularly in a super foreign country, these junk food outlets take on a completely different appearance – they suddenly become bastions of the familiar and in particular, a reliable location to go to the toilet!

In a country such as China, the toilet situation can go from bad to worse. While in many cities it’s not particularly hard to find them, as you go further out, the humble squatter is the least of your problems. The worst scenarios I found, were toilets either lacking doors – or worse again – not even any dividing walls around you! Toilet tangent aside – there’s an unspoken yet always known rule; if you need to go, go find a McDonald’s. Western food chains are immediately familiar as no matter where you go on the planet, they are the same design.

There is an incredible number of western food chains on the Chinese mainland. In any sizable city (aka – every city), you’ll find at least 5-10 McDonalds and KFCs. You’ll find more Starbucks in China than practically anywhere else on the planet – excepting maybe the USA itself. Places such as Starbucks; which often has a name for its poor coffee, are thriving in China; the Chinese not knowing any better. Melbourne went from having many Starbucks to just a handful; the coffee culture simply not accepting the ‘fast food’ style of coffee. Another formerly numerous food chain in Australia; Pizza Hut, is likewise all over China, with several American chains also joining them, such as Papa Johns (who we don’t have in Australia incidentally).

Now, that all being said  – these places are so commonplace now, it had me starting to think – do the Chinese; when traveling overseas, now find a McDonalds, TGI Friday, Pizza Hut, KFC or Starbucks as familiar and comforting as we do? Do the Chinese see a McDonald’s as a reliable port of call if they need to go to the loo – or perhaps, a way to get familiar food in what to them, could be a very foreign environment? Has the humble food chain – which in many countries has a somewhat low opinion; certainly on the health front – transcended it’s traditional roots and become some form of cultural comfort zone?

My answer would have to be yes.  If I see someone from a foreign country in one of these city fast food outlets; particularly if they’re speaking another language to each other, I can’t not think about whether they have come to this place because like us when we travel, it’s familiar – thus, comforting in its own way. While I haven’t yet spoken to any travelers regarding this, I would be highly interested to actually find out.

You don’t need to be fully qualified to teach overseas, at least, not in China. As long as you are fluent in English and can speak clearly, you’re employable. To the Chinese, the quality of teacher actually plays second fiddle to their appearance. It can bring prestige (face) to a school to play host to foreign teachers, so if you look non-Asian (or more accurately, non-Chinese), you’ve got a big advantage before you even begin. While the above sounds racist; and on some levels it probably is, it’s also the reality.  We are talking about China, and in China, you will learn to expect the unexpected.

Living and working in another country will allow you to explore a culture in a way that is impossible as a holidaying tourist. A country like China will be in many ways, incredibly different to what you are used to back home. Yes you could go work in bars in England, living in a first-world country, speaking English with little to no difficulty, or you could really turn your life upside down in a good way, and live in a place that is absolutely different from your own. The sheer randomness of day to day life, from not knowing what’s around the next corner, to deciphering unknown food packets in a supermarket; it all has addictive qualities!

I was unhappy in my job of six years, and craving change. I didn’t simply want to change jobs, I needed more than that; I felt like I was stuck in a rut. I needed to not only to get out of my comfort zone and be challenged, but a sizable bump to get me out of that rut I had somehow fallen into. My would-be wife was in precisely the same predicament, working in a job she hated; unchallenged and unmotivated. The decision to mix it all up, to go and teach English in China was actually made in the pool of humid Port Douglas, North Queensland. As we floated around in absolute bliss, the suggestion came out of the blue; a suggestion that excited us. We made a commitment that day, and the amazing part for us, was that we actually followed through. We remained focused on the goal, setting mini-milestones, and one year later, we moved to China.

Several years later, I still look back on my time in China as one of the best experiences of my life. Without doubt, it opened my eyes to a different culture, and unknowingly at the time, formed an invisible bond between myself and China. Both of us feel this way, and since returning, our interest in China has been a constant theme in our relationship. This theme has been so dominant that it led us to move to the town of Box Hill; whose population is predominantly Chinese. We have enjoyed being surrounded by what is now a familiar culture, seeking out many of the food discoveries we made while in China.

The other positive to come from our time-out, was definitive career change. Both Courtney and I are now in roles which are not only completely different from what we did before, but much closer to where we want to be. The entire experience was about change, and to that end, we achieved our goal.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to write a whole series of posts regarding teaching in China; from finding a job and day to day living, to what’s just required to get over there.  It is a question I am asked on a semi-regular basis, and it is a topic I always feel passionate about. Ultimately, if by reading these posts I motivate just one person to take the plunge, then that’s good enough for me. And while a return trip is not on my immediate agenda, I absolutely cannot wait to go back.

So I couldn’t help but laugh when I came across this video, demonstrating a Japanese solution to dealing with slow walkers. I am seriously considering taping my own version of this in Box Hill – which has to be capital of this particular activity.

A few days ago a story broke which I have to say is up there with the worst of them – if not the worst. The long and short of it is a bus containing school children ploughed into a truck, killing 20. Now you could be forgiven for assuming 20 was almost everyone on board, but not so – this bus – this MINI-bus with 9 seats, was carrying..wait for it, _64_ people on board. 64! Unbelievable. Now while the crash is horrifying, I absolutely cannot fathom what it looked like inside that bus prior to the collision. Were they literally ramming them in the doors, stuffing every available space with kids?

The problem is, many Chinese don’t consider the longer term effects of their actions. They are more concerned with the hear and the now, and simply stuffing kids into a bus was a practical solution – at least, that’s about the only explanation I can give it. One thing is for sure, in this case, it’s actually lucky the driver died because if he somehow made it, he’d be first in line to visit his friendly local neighborhood firing squad.

Yes, there was 64 kids inside this minibus. No, I can't believe it either.

While not 100% confirmed to be a Koala (also supposedly described as some kind of Chinese tree-bear..thing) the reporter was also quoted as saying:

“There’s a carrot in the cage, the idiots have put a carrot in there.”

How stupid are the Chinese! They don’t even know that Koala’s eat eucalyptus leaves! Ok – sarcasm aside, I don’t particularly like the thought of our cuddly little marsupials with the massive claws ending up in Chinese cooking pots – however, I have doubts that it is in fact a Koala – and moreso, this whole story absolutely wreaks of clueless visitor to a foreign country being shocked by the fact that the culture is different from their own. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if person who sent in this story was the same person who when I mentioned that I love the food in Box Hill (my Chinese infested town), turned their nose up and joked about me catching something.

I would love to then see how this person feels when they discover that half the zoo dwells in the typical Chinese supermarket. Fish, turtles, eels, bugs, chickens..and I bet behind dark corners, dogs..cats and every other conceivable animal.

While I do not necessarily agree with the Chinese eating every living thing under the sun, the whole up in arms shock and horror reaction is always amusing.

The 'delicious' 'Koala' in question.