Post: #101

Weather has been getting cold here in the past two weeks.

Even though it's only 10-14C, but because it's a humid cold, it feels colder.

It's been snowing since yesterday afternoon non stop. The worst type of snow: wet slushy type mixed with rain. It's getting white outside.

In other positive and exciting news, I've been approached by my company's VP to help them with a big project to assist them in expanding their biz into other markets. A meeting with the CEO of the company is in the works. This is a big project, with massive potential long term!

Will post a more detailed update in the next day or so.

Stay tuned!

Post: #102

(11-24-2015 12:51 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  The only pollution in worried about so far is the smoking one. Chinese smoke every freaking where! Inside elevators, bathrooms, buses, restaurants, stores, even in school inside classrooms!

For a non smoker like me, it's a pain being always subjected to that horrible smell all the time and everywhere!

That has been a more worrying firm of pollution that proper pollution at least for me so far. But that's in Hangzhou.

Might be different in a bigger city like Shanghai or Beijing or even Guangzhou.

This is the main pet peeve I have about China. I stick to the South so air is never too bad like Beijing.

Don't people smoke alot in France? I figured it wouldn't bother you that much. Don't you smoke cigars sometimes? Maybe I got you mixed up with Scotian or something.

Post: #103

(12-05-2015 12:18 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Weather has been getting cold here in the past two weeks.

Even though it's only 10-14C, but because it's a humid cold, it feels colder.

It's been snowing since yesterday afternoon non stop. The worst type of snow: wet slushy type mixed with rain. It's getting white outside.

In other positive and exciting news, I've been approached by my company's VP to help them with a big project to assist them in expanding their biz into other markets. A meeting with the CEO of the company is in the works. This is a big project, with massive potential long term!

Will post a more detailed update in the next day or so.

Stay tuned!

I'm glad you are working on business opportunities. One of the reasons why I have been so busy is due to the trade business me and my wife started. Getting permits, etc. it's a lot of work. Even if nothing comes of it, all this practice is going to do us all alot of good.

Post: #104

Nah man, I don't smoke. Never did and never will.
I wouldn't mind trying cigars but cigarettes no.

People smoking doesn't bother me bit what surprised me is people smoking at school, in their offices with students around them or worst inside elevators!

Yeah I hear you about working on business however the tough thing is to decide which opportunity to take on first as there are so many available it can be paralyzing. I have identified one that I see tremendous potential which I'm going to further explore before getting it going.

Last night coming home from work, had my first taste of Chinese people cutting in front of you in lines. I was at the convenience store down my condo and a I was waiting my turn, I was next to be served, a man comes in and tries to post up in front of me. I just looked at him and told him in English "sorry bud, I'm next!" sternly. Not sure whether he u dee stood the words but he mumbled something back in Chinese. I looked him in the eyes and positioned my body in a way to push him out. He wasn't happy but I couldn't care less. If he had nicely asked me, I would have let him go in front of me with no problems but just butting in out of nowhere and expecting me to just look and do nothing? Hell no!

Getting cold here. Mind you nowhere near Canada but because it's humid, it feels a lot colder than it actually is.

I'm slowly making progress with the language, couple of new words and phrases a day. Haven't taken any courses so far, it's mostly been with learning from my students who are very keen on teaching me and helping me learn Chinese. However, my brain is not collaborating much so far as the sounds are so strange that it requires 10 times the normally required efforts to learn a new language. But any progress us better than none, right?

Will post more later, specially on the costs of living here in HZ.

For some reason, haven't been able to access the forum on my laptop, only on my phone and tablet. And for an even stranger reason, haven't been able to answer my PMs as the caption doesn't load. Anyone having the same issue with PMs?

Post: #105

(12-16-2015 10:49 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  For some reason, haven't been able to access the forum on my laptop, only on my phone and tablet. And for an even stranger reason, haven't been able to answer my PMs as the caption doesn't load. Anyone having the same issue with PMs?

I have trouble accessing RVF without a VPN. It doesn't behave like a blocked website. It seems more as if the networks here have trouble identifying the server wherever it is.

Post: #106

Don't think VP will mind me sharing this but I wanted to vouch for him, he's legit.

I've been in contact with VP about China and he put me in touch with his recruiter for the schools in Hangzhou. I recently interviewed with the recruiter over Skype and it was pretty chill. The recruiter informed me he would pass along my resume to the schools and he seemed confident there would be a position for me. I haven't been offered anything at this time but that may be a result of me not submitting all my documents.

Regarding the general process from what I've learned the tier 1 cities, specifically Bejing and Shanghai, seem to require a 4 year Bachelors Degree, 2 year's teaching experience and no criminal record check (possibly for last 7 years only, it's difficult to find this information) from the FBI (for Americans). These documents allow the school to apply for a "Foreign Expert" license, one of the needed documents to teach in China.

Now tier 2-3 cities, remote areas and other provinces might have more relaxed requirements. It also seems as though each province may do things slightly differently. Start knocking on doors and see what the motherfucker says. For example my recruiter seems willing to doctor my college info as I don't have a degree, he also only asked for a criminal check through my state and not the FBI.

After sending all your documents to the recruiter/school you will receive an official work invitation in the mail from the Chinese school which you will send in with your Z-Visa application to the Chinese Embassy. After landing in China you have 30 days to get a medical check (HIV, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Tuberculosis) which then allows you to turn your Z-Visa into a Resident Permit and at that point your now legal to work in China. I believe I've covered all the steps.

My situation isn't quite as straightforward due to needing a new passport, not having a Bachelors Degree and criminal charges in the previous millennium but I will mimic VP's comments in that it sure seems like there is a large demand for native English speakers to come teach.

I'm not trying to hug anyone's nuts but VP was the first member that I've really interacted with outside the forum and I'll admit to being a little hesitant about sharing some personal information but he's shown to be what this forum is all about in my opinion. This man took the time to explain through the process and what to expect, answer any questions I had, connect me with his recruiter and even helped me improve my resume.

I hope to one day buy him a TSINGTAO beer while we game a table full of beautiful, feminine, pleasant Chinese women!

Post: #107

Hey Johnny,
Happy to hear that things are moving forward smoothly for you my friend! Thank you for the kind words, appreciated! Looking forward to welcoming you in Hangzhou in the near future!

You've nicely summarized the process of getting to China.

I haven't posted much lately as I've been busy with things but also things have fallen into a nice routine. Things have been good for me so far. Still working on chinese which hasn't been easy at all but it's improving daily. Not by much, one of two new words per day but it's better than nothing!

I'll post in the next few days a detailed post of the process I went through as well as my thoughts on living and working in China after 4 months here. I'll also cover a balanced view of the pros and cons of living in China. Finally I'll cover also a summary of cost of living, at least here in Hangzhou to give you guys an idea of how things are here.

And yes you're absolutely right that there's a huge demand for not just English speaking guys but for talented foreigners in many field.

While teaching English is a very popular starter gig for many in China, they're not the only ones! As I've mentioned in my initial post, if you've got any skills or talent, especially in sports, you'd have a lot of options here!

Speaking of which, any volleyball coaches here? My company needs a volleyball coach as well as a bunch of football coaches/teachers for the fall semester. If you are interested and capable of teaching those, or know of someone who can, let me know please!

Cheers!

Post: #108

(01-05-2016 12:16 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Still working on chinese which hasn't been easy at all but it's improving daily. Not by much, one of two new words per day but it's better than nothing!

That's far better than nothing. Two words per day for a year will net you 700 words. If you choose the correct words, you'll be able to communicate virtually anything you want to with that vocabulary set.

There's people who have been here who speak no Chinese who would have solved that problem if they'd bothered to learn one word per day and pronounce it correctly.

Post: #109

Got accepted into Beihang University's (Beijing) Spring semester Chinese Training program. I am sending my passport to a visa courier tomorrow and hope to have that lovely x2 visa sometime next week. I'll arrive on the 29th and will check into my foreign student dorm. Hoping nothing too chaotic happens between now and then. Time to start learning some survival Chinese for my first few weeks. This language is a cold hard bitch but it's so rewarding when you make progress!

Post: #110

(01-05-2016 12:54 AM)Mr. Brightside Wrote:  Got accepted into Beihang University's (Beijing) Spring semester Chinese Training program.

Do you need any help settling in?

Quote:I am sending my passport to a visa courier tomorrow and hope to have that lovely x2 visa sometime next week. I'll arrive on the 29th and will check into my foreign student dorm.

The 29th of January or the 29th of February?

Quote:Hoping nothing too chaotic happens between now and then. Time to start learning some survival Chinese for my first few weeks. This language is a cold hard bitch but it's so rewarding when you make progress!

PM me if you want some tips.

Post: #111

29th of February, although I wish it were this month. We'll see how I fare when it comes to settling in.

Cheers.

Post: #112

Hey Suits and VP, not sure if you can help answer this but if you were able to pick up and speak (normal communication) in Mandarin, could you bridge the knowledge to a language like Thai?
I understand that Vietnamese can understand Mandarin so I'm using that logic where tone is the key to speaking it (and being understood)
Cheers

Post: #113

(01-06-2016 04:22 AM)Bazzwaldo Wrote:  Hey Suits and VP, not sure if you can help answer this but if you were able to pick up and speak (normal communication) in Mandarin, could you bridge the knowledge to a language like Thai?
I understand that Vietnamese can understand Mandarin so I'm using that logic where tone is the key to speaking it (and being understood)
Cheers

We have Chinese language threads better suited to these questions. See my signature.

Post: #114

Any advice on the best time to buy airline tickets from the US to China? I'm a month and a half out and will probably pull the trigger soon, my visa should arrive in a week.

Post: #115

Just look at the prices. 600$ is a standard fare these days from most major cities. $2500 is a standard business class fare.

Post: #116

If you're coming to work or study for a year Id simply get a one way ticket. Much cheaper and would give you more flexibility.

Post: #117

how was your Chinese study going on so far? VP

Post: #118

So I've started learning Chinese at my university. $44 for 15 hours of classroom-based learning which is really good from what I've researched.

Had one lesson so far, and just covered the basics: the tones, the finals, how to say "Hello, my name is X and I'm from Y country" sort of thing. The tones are going to be the hardest thing to learn verbally, and I'm struggling with the pronunciation of some of the letters. Struggling to remember characters, because you've got to translate the characters to Pinyin and from there to English, which is different from the other languages I've attempted to learn in school where it's all in the latin alphabet.

But so far, so good!

Post: #119

(01-18-2016 07:01 PM)Pareto Wrote:  So I've started learning Chinese at my university. $44 for 15 hours of classroom-based learning which is really good from what I've researched.

Had one lesson so far, and just covered the basics: the tones, the finals, how to say "Hello, my name is X and I'm from Y country" sort of thing. The tones are going to be the hardest thing to learn verbally, and I'm struggling with the pronunciation of some of the letters. Struggling to remember characters, because you've got to translate the characters to Pinyin and from there to English, which is different from the other languages I've attempted to learn in school where it's all in the latin alphabet.

But so far, so good!

The hardest part of learning Chinese is always being willing to keep putting one foot in front of another. It's definitely a marathon, not a race. Just keep going to class and keep putting the time in.

The second hardest part of learning Chinese is being willing to continually put yourself in emotional harms way by going out and placing yourself in situations where you will be forced to use whatever level of Chinese you know.

This really only works in you live somewhere that you can actually do this, but if you don't there are some other options. PM me for suggestions.

Post: #120

(01-19-2016 01:37 AM)Suits Wrote:  The hardest part of learning Chinese is always being willing to keep putting one foot in front of another. It's definitely a marathon, not a race. Just keep going to class and keep putting the time in.

The second hardest part of learning Chinese is being willing to continually put yourself in emotional harms way by going out and placing yourself in situations where you will be forced to use whatever level of Chinese you know.

This really only works in you live somewhere that you can actually do this, but if you don't there are some other options. PM me for suggestions.

Thanks mate, appreciate the help! I know my uni has casual Chinese speaking sessions where you can talk to other Chinese students that attend the uni, but I probably won't attend for a few weeks to gain better knowledge of the language and to let the exams I have over the next week pass.

I'm hoping to go to China in the next couple of years, probably Beijing so it's close to some of the major tourist sites. Before that, I'll hopefully improve my reading and speaking skills to survive on the ground.

If the worst comes to the worst, I'm sure I can go into my local Chinese takeaway and attempt to order a pork chow mein and spring rolls

Post: #121

@Pareto, it is not difficult to learn. Put your effort into it. What you may face is word recognition and pronounciation. But hanyu pinyin take care of pronounciation for you. What you need to learn is to recognize the word. Because there is no guessing of the words pronounciation until you build up enough vocabulary.

Post: #122

Has anyone been to Wuxi? I got a job offer there but I've no idea what areas are good value to stay in, good places to go etc. I've tried google, but it's pretty sparse on info aside from the usual tourism stuff.

Post: #123

Hello everyone, there's some fantastic info here. I am a high schooler and I've always been fascinated with China. Everything about it has always been so interesting to me, including the history, the culture, and the girls. Especially with this post, it seems like there would be no better time than now to go to China. However, I won't be able to at least travel to China until the summer of 2017. Now this post talks about how even without a degree you will get job opportunities thrown at you, but how about for somebody fresh out of high school? I'm frequently told I look like I'm in my twenties and have a mature appearance, and also I've got experience with part time jobs and pretty good grades etc. Obviously, before I tried to get a job in china I'd do something like one of those shortened TEFL courses just to have something on my resume. But even with that I doubt I would be able to easily get a job, am I correct? Thanks everybody!

Post: #124

(01-23-2016 09:04 PM)Cortés Wrote:  Hello everyone, there's some fantastic info here. I am a high schooler and I've always been fascinated with China. Everything about it has always been so interesting to me, including the history, the culture, and the girls. Especially with this post, it seems like there would be no better time than now to go to China. However, I won't be able to at least travel to China until the summer of 2017. Now this post talks about how even without a degree you will get job opportunities thrown at you, but how about for somebody fresh out of high school? I'm frequently told I look like I'm in my twenties and have a mature appearance, and also I've got experience with part time jobs and pretty good grades etc. Obviously, before I tried to get a job in china I'd do something like one of those shortened TEFL courses just to have something on my resume. But even with that I doubt I would be able to easily get a job, am I correct? Thanks everybody!

It would be nearly impossible to land teaching jobs from overseas in the top tier cities without minimum a Bachelor's degree these days. However I would guess that you can still find something in the 2nd and 3rd tier cities. I have friends who taught English in China during gap years while still in college, as recent as a couple years ago, but they all did it in 3rd tier cities like Wenzhou or Wuxi. The caveat of living in these cities though, is that there are almost no foreigners and it will be a massive cultural shock for you if you have not been to China before. Depending on your personality, you will either battle through it and adapt to the culture really well or you will feel extremely isolated and hate your life. However, most of these rapid-developing 3rd tier cities with high demand for English teachers tend to be close to metropolises like Shanghai, so you are not exactly stuck in some backwaters shithole.

At the meantime, you still have a long time to go so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Take the year you have left in highschool to learn about all sorts of things and prepare for your adult/post-secondary life as best as you can. And if you have the cash I would highly recommend an exploratory trip to China. China is not for everyone and you really have to be there to see whether or not it is for you.

Post: #125

(01-23-2016 09:04 PM)Cortés Wrote:  Hello everyone, there's some fantastic info here. I am a high schooler and I've always been fascinated with China. Everything about it has always been so interesting to me, including the history, the culture, and the girls. Especially with this post, it seems like there would be no better time than now to go to China. However, I won't be able to at least travel to China until the summer of 2017. Now this post talks about how even without a degree you will get job opportunities thrown at you, but how about for somebody fresh out of high school? I'm frequently told I look like I'm in my twenties and have a mature appearance, and also I've got experience with part time jobs and pretty good grades etc. Obviously, before I tried to get a job in china I'd do something like one of those shortened TEFL courses just to have something on my resume. But even with that I doubt I would be able to easily get a job, am I correct? Thanks everybody!

I've met some 18-19 year old guys who have found jobs teaching English at training schools. Not the best jobs and also in 3rd tier city, but they were making some money, meeting girls, having a good time. I don't think they had any TEFL or certificates. Find the right school, you are there, they need teachers, you can get a job. Again, maybe not the best jobs in that city, but will pay the bills.

That's probably not the best long term strategy for a great life, but if you want a gap year its a choice.

Best thing for you to go would be to focus on going to a cheap state university, get a degree in computer software, focus on making money. You are young.