Some advice on China

A friend from home wrote me an email, asking about China. He is thinking of coming here to teach and wanted my advice on various aspects of such an undertaking. Here was my reply:

Obtaining a job and visa: I would recommend getting a tourist visa to start with. It's easier to obtain and will let you come to China without much hassle. I suggest getting a 90 day visa, just so you're covered for a while. Once you get to Beijing or Shanghai, there are plenty of jobs available. The cities will usually have a magazine for foreigners (in English) that will tell you a little bit about what's going on in the city, including classifieds. Once you get here and secure a job, you can negotiate in your contract that you want the school to sponsor your work visa. This shouldn't be a problem. You will probably have to make a trip outside the country to get this (a weekend in Hong Kong - which is like a vacation in itself).

Salary: Pay all depends on which school, how much they need you, and what position you'll have. Generally, the average salary for a teacher in an international school is pretty good. About 16,000 Chinese Yuan (RMB) per month. That's about $2,300 US dollars. Plus, you get a 6,000 RMB living stipend on top of that. About $800. This covers apartment costs. All in all, a pretty great deal, I think. However, most international schools will not allow you to take extra jobs or tutoring positions outside the school, so what you make is what you make. Private tutoring jobs are ok, but I really recommend trying to go the international school route. I had a position at an international academy, which pays a little less, and now I am a private tutor. I make 10,000 RMB per month with no living stipend because I live with my students. That said, I'm only doing this until December and then I'm moving to Beijing to an international school. I need the money... and Beijing is just way better than Hangzhou.

Transferring money is an issue, too. The banks will not let you wire money to an American account. Your international school (if that's where you get a job) might set you up with a bank account. That's if you're lucky. No worries, then. However, most places will pay you in cash. Banking is relatively new in China. All those things you hear about Chinese technology being better than ours? It's a load of crap. Most businesses don't even know what a credit card looks like, much less accept them as payment. So, if you do get paid in cash, you will have to do what I do. I take my cash to the Bank of China (it's the only bank that will let you do this) and buy American dollars. However, you can only buy $500 at a time (about 3,500 RMB). So of course, multiple trips are necessary. Nothing is simple in China.

Food is also another issue. Real Chinese food is NOTHING like American Chinese food. You will be sick of rice within a week. I promise. I'm not sure how you feel about Asian cuisine, or whether you have dietary needs, but I find it extremely difficult. However, that's probably because I have limiting constraints to my diet: I am a vegetarian AND I have digestion problems. I can't eat fried food and EVERYTHING (and I do mean everything) is fried. They fry salad, for goodness sake. The supermarkets usually have a small international food aisle, so I do alright.

DON'T DRINK THE WATER. You will probably have to buy a water cooler with a hot and cold tap (they're cheap), or if you're lucky, one will be provided for you. I wash all my fruits and vegetables with the hot water. If you buy one of these, just know that when it says "cold" water, they mean room-temperature. The Chinese are just now starting to be ok with cold water. Most of them think it's bad for you. They associate cold water with the water from the taps (which no one drinks because of pollution).

Travel in China: Make sure you take your passport with you EVERYWHERE. You are required to have it in order to check into a hotel or hostel and you are required to have it at the bank. Basically, I suggest just carrying it with you wherever you go. I will say this for China: it's fairly easy to get a train, bus or plane to anywhere in the country. Depending on pure luck, you can often get a good seat deal.

The train is a complete entity unto itself. There are four levels of travel on a train: hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, and soft sleeper. Because trains fill up SUPER fast, you will most likely never get a soft seat or a hard sleeper (these are comfortable and the most affordable). So, your options are hard seat (the most uncomfortable, dirty and noisy way to travel, but dirt cheap), or the soft sleeper. Incredibly comfortable and fantastic, but expensive. However, you can get a bus to practically anywhere and it is reasonably priced.

It helps if you can count to ten. There are also hand gestures for each number, which helps when you are bargaining in a market.

Get used to bugs. I saw my first cockroach two months ago.

Be careful of drivers. Anyone with a motorized vehicle (small or large) is absolutely insane. I've been hit twice - once by a car and once by a scooter. They don't care about rules. When I get home I am grateful just to have lived through the traffic. There is a hierarchical order to the road: Buses, trucks, cars, scooters, bicycles, then pedestrians.

No one chews with their mouth closed.

It probably sounds like I'm getting down on China, and, well... I am. It's not the easiest place to live and to be quite frank, I never want to come back here again. That being said, though, I'm glad I came. I'm glad I've experienced it and I think my experience has been FAR better than some other people I know. I hope if you come you'll like it here. It's really cool to experience something SO different.