Living in New China - What to know, What to learn, What to E...

Hello and thanks for the invite. What would you suggest that I bring with me to China in the way of clothes, electronics, etc. Also how much do you think that it will cost for food and other living expenditures given moderate life style ( no alcohol, etc.) Thanks for the comments

Hi Di Resh..First of all happy new year. It seems that you have a lot of experience that is why I am turning towards you for help. I have done my high studies in languages including French and English and I followed up with by a diploma in Communication and other courses. I have good work experience and currently I working for a French company for 2 years now teaching English to non-native English speakers (students but mostly professionals like managers, lawyers, etc..) via the phone.

I really want to move and teach face to face in an institution. Would the fact that I don´t have a TESOL EFL certificate or the fact that I am in Mauritius cause a problem?

Thank you for the answer.

Hi Di Resh..First of all happy new year. It seems that you have a lot of experience that is why I am turning towards you for help. I have done my high studies in languages including French and English and I followed up with by a diploma in Communication and other courses. I have good work experience and currently I working for a French company for 2 years now teaching English to non-native English speakers (students but mostly professionals like managers, lawyers, etc..) via the phone.

I really want to move and teach face to face in an institution. Would the fact that I don´t have a TESOL EFL certificate or the fact that I am in Mauritius cause a problem?

Thank you for the answer.

Hi DiResh whereabouts do you live in China? I spent about 1 year in Shanghai interning and teaching after studying in Hangzhou, spent a month in Beijing too. Anyway I haven´t been back since last summer (taught part-time during my summer break) and i´m graduating this month. I´m not too sure about the new visa rules, which are kind of confusing and not really explained too well. I hope to go back to Shanghai in March. Normally I just get there and find a job through some of my old teaching assistants part-time, but this time i want to stay longer. Do you know if its still possible to get work Visa´s within China? If i´m not getting my diploma till march (they have to print them), is that an issue with visa´s. I also read they are considering making criminal background checks mandatory now.

oh yeah and anyone thinking about China its great, the people are friendly and the language is pretty easy to learn (at least to speak) if you take advantage of that. Housing is pretty nice and cheap, even in shanghai and beijing, considering how well the cities are taken care of. Bring shorts for clothes and some t-shirts for the summer, the rest (including electronics) are easy to buy, though they break a lot if you go cheap. @Joseph I´m guessing generally i spend 100 kuai a day in Shangahai including alcohol and another 100 for rent and utilities, so you could probably live on around 5 thousand a month if you don´t go all western. 6000 comfortably. Most other places will be cheaper

Thanks in advance

adam

to your question Joseph. I would advise you to bring good shoes and extra laces. Now it depends on how large or western your city but you will have a hard time in the smaller cities to find deodorent-anti-perspirant. Clothes you can find easily unless you are extra large here in the west. You might not care for the style of the clothes as I found that the style is either designer and very plain. Not a lot of cotton too and if you do find cotton it is expensive as compared to other clothes there. Be sure you know how cold the winters are in your area that you are going to live in. If the winters are cold I would suggest that you mail to yourself some winterclothes as the Chinese dress in layers and the outer winter clothes are not as warm as ours.

You can find most electronics. shop around for goos quality. Most electonics sold in small shops are poor quality. Lots of computers there and call ohones too. If you cook at home the food you buy in the small shops and supermarket is good quality. No problem for finding potatoes, carrots, cabbage etc. bread is very different though. Now if you read it will be hard to find many English books unless you are in Beijing, Shanghai etc. You will find some in the Foreign Language Book shops and Xinhua Book shops. The larger the city the better the selection and also goes for magazines. In a moderate city a 1000 RMB should go a long way. Your rent etc should be taken care of by your school. A public school university should pay your hydro, water and heat. So another savings but these bills should not be much. I used 50 RMB a month for hydro when I was there. Phone cards for your long distance are about half their face value if you shop around for them. Larger cities they are closer to face value.

So I hope that answers your concerns Joseph. Any other questions just ask.

Keith

Can anyone offer some info about Shanghai YUCUI Education Consultancy? Is it a good company to work with? They place English teachers in Fuzhou. Thanks