i got my first job when wendy, one of the girls working
behind the bar at the hostel, found out that i was an english teacher and asked
me if i could teach her and michael, the weekend guitar and singer at the bar, to
improve their english. they asked me about the costs - as i didn’t know what to
charge, i just told them that they could pay me what they could afford, even if
that meant just a can of cola, seeing as what wendy was getting for working
behind the bar was peanuts. we left it at that, and soon wendy dropped out from
the lessons due to her busy social life, but michael is still my regular
student.
bonny went with me one time to help find the english department
at qingdao university so that i could put up some flyers i had made advertising my
proofreading and editing services; however, i never got any response from that.
yolanda helped me get my design for a business card printed. 250 cards for 32
yuan. full colour. but really, these were just diversions to my real goal: i
was in the market for a full-time job and i had been thinking of committing myself
to a one-year contract.
i was trawling the jobs page of that tefl bible on the web: dave’s esl cafe. i found an advert for a science teacher at ocean uni in qingdao to prepare chinese students for university abroad. teaching in english medium, i thought i could do this. my science was rusty, but nothing i couldn’t handle. never mind that my bachelors was in social sciences. i met with the director of studies, dan, who was friendly and helpful, and even agreed for me to give a demo lesson. the chances were always going to be slim, but i am ever the optimist. the lesson wasn’t spectacular, and in the end, dan got someone from the states to fill the post. one of the teachers there, ben (who i also coincidentally found to be a couchsurfer) gave me the contact for a private teaching job. that’s how i got my second job, a couple of hours every sunday afternoon teaching four boys in a small office/room on the 36th floor of a skyscraper!
i was trawling the jobs page of that tefl bible on the web: dave’s esl cafe. i found an advert for a science teacher at ocean uni in qingdao to prepare chinese students for university abroad. teaching in english medium, i thought i could do this. my science was rusty, but nothing i couldn’t handle. never mind that my bachelors was in social sciences. i met with the director of studies, dan, who was friendly and helpful, and even agreed for me to give a demo lesson. the chances were always going to be slim, but i am ever the optimist. the lesson wasn’t spectacular, and in the end, dan got someone from the states to fill the post. one of the teachers there, ben (who i also coincidentally found to be a couchsurfer) gave me the contact for a private teaching job. that’s how i got my second job, a couple of hours every sunday afternoon teaching four boys in a small office/room on the 36th floor of a skyscraper!
i found another english teacher on couchsurfing and she was
giving me a lot of useful feedback on the tefl scene in qingdao. she painted a
gloomy picture: it’s just about money, she lamented. she told of the schools to
avoid like the plague, but gave me the name of a few schools where i could try.
i first went in person to wall street english as they were offering the most money. the personnel director was
unavailable and i was told to leave my resume and contact number, which i did. i
even wrote their beijing office an email as they were also advertising on
dave’s esl cafe jobs board. i never heard from them again.
i did the same with around asia, and again, nobody got back
to me. i went to amio a few times before i got a text from the director of
studies, chris. i got an interview with him, as did luke and megan, a couple
just arrived a few weeks after me in qingdao also looking for teaching work. he
painted an even bleaker picture.... schools exploiting the teachers,
threatening them physically to complete their contracts, the public security
bureau (aka the police) blatantly telling a meeting of the director of studies
of all the schools not to employ ‘black’ teachers! chris didn’t have any full
time positions, and part-time jobs were only available as cover for sick/absent
teachers... and then only regular cover teachers got first pickings.
a few weeks later, luke and megan managed to get part-time work with amio, but i never heard from chris again. by the way, being students, luke and megan have no qualifications and very little teaching experience whereas i have a celta qualification and around 2 ½ years’ experience. oh yeah, luke and megan are white. i’m not. go figure. luke later told me that he told chris that he would work for peanuts.... maybe that’s why he and megan got some work at 100 an hour, when the average is about 150 yuan.
luke asked me one time to cover a lesson for him at around asia. when i got there, the woman who had the teaching material ready for me asked me about my experience. i told her that i had already tried to find a job with around asia and i was never contacted. it was then that she told me that the parents of the children preferred to have their kids taught by white people, even though i was more qualified and more experienced. i covered the class and she agreed that i had experience in teaching. she also told me after the lesson that she had got one complaint from a young student from another class: “i hate you”, the kid had told her, “you have got a black person to teach here”. they get their attitude from the parents, she told me, apologetically. well, it’s going to be their loss, i thought.
around asia never contacted me again. i was getting a pretty good picture of the private language school scene in qingdao. maybe it wasn’t representative of all of china, but i wasn’t surprised at the racist attitudes of some chinese parents, and some schools are too cowardly to do anything about it. still, it will be their narrow-mindedness that’ll eventually come home to roost. i feel sorry for the kids.
a few weeks later, luke and megan managed to get part-time work with amio, but i never heard from chris again. by the way, being students, luke and megan have no qualifications and very little teaching experience whereas i have a celta qualification and around 2 ½ years’ experience. oh yeah, luke and megan are white. i’m not. go figure. luke later told me that he told chris that he would work for peanuts.... maybe that’s why he and megan got some work at 100 an hour, when the average is about 150 yuan.
luke asked me one time to cover a lesson for him at around asia. when i got there, the woman who had the teaching material ready for me asked me about my experience. i told her that i had already tried to find a job with around asia and i was never contacted. it was then that she told me that the parents of the children preferred to have their kids taught by white people, even though i was more qualified and more experienced. i covered the class and she agreed that i had experience in teaching. she also told me after the lesson that she had got one complaint from a young student from another class: “i hate you”, the kid had told her, “you have got a black person to teach here”. they get their attitude from the parents, she told me, apologetically. well, it’s going to be their loss, i thought.
around asia never contacted me again. i was getting a pretty good picture of the private language school scene in qingdao. maybe it wasn’t representative of all of china, but i wasn’t surprised at the racist attitudes of some chinese parents, and some schools are too cowardly to do anything about it. still, it will be their narrow-mindedness that’ll eventually come home to roost. i feel sorry for the kids.
dan emailed and recommended me to try web international
english. after calling, i got an appointment with tina (her english name), the
director of studies. i went in my casual clothes - not that I have any formal clothes to wear, but I reserved my ‘best’ black trousers and ‘best’ grandpa-type
shirt for proper interviews. just an informal talk to discuss the job. we met
in the lobby and went to one of the study rooms replete with glass walls and
doors. her ‘assistant’ was also there to take notes. she asked me a few
questions... straightaway, i put her at her ease by explaining my non-english
appearance. i told her about my recent english teaching experiences. i plugged
my bsc degree and celta qualification. she had never heard of it! she looked at
her assistant to help her out, but got a blank stare back. i told them it was
the most recognized, globally accepted tefl qualification. she asked me what 'tefl' was. i was a little shocked. i explained tefl to her.
we carried on. she asked if she could ask me a personal question. “sure”, i said, “you can ask me anything you like.” “your hair”, she said, “it looks alright from the front.... but the back...”. she gestures towards the back of her head. i threw her a quizzical look. “it’s strange...” “strange? what does she mean by strange?”, i was asking myself. of course, the stereotypical chinese guy doesn’t sport long hair, tied up into a ponytail, and tied up into a little top-knot. maybe her students would be morally offended? maybe i would set a dangerous precedent? maybe it could instil a culture of rebelliousness amongst the students that could have china-wide repercussions? we laughed together and moved on. i was getting the certain impression that web international english were a cowboy operation. they hadn’t even asked me for my c.v. yet. i asked her about the pay... 8,500. and 6,000 end-of-contract lump sum. visa costs outside of qingdao i would have to fund myself.
i asked tina for a copy of the contract. she went away and left me with her ‘assistant’, who immediately left and pottered around outside, obviously too nervous to take any more questions from me. i beckoned her inside. “i want to ask about accommodation”. she didn’t understand. fortunately, tina came back. “accommodation...? you have to find your own.” “so i don’t get any allowance for this?” “no” came the terse reply. tina wasn’t too happy. neither was i.
i went through the sums with her... quoting a standard rent of 2,500. that’s 6000 for 40 hours a week. 25 contact hours. 15 office hours where i had to be available for the students to ask questions, etc. etc. etc. i would be teaching, more or less. airfare reimbursement, visa fees & end of contract bonus were all lumped into the 6000 lump sum at the end of the year. the package was not looking too promising compared to others i had seen on the net, and i told her so. she said that it was the standard package as defined by shanghai head office. i told her not to take it personally, i was just looking for information before i made an informed judgement on whether to commit myself to the job. i glanced briefly through the 2-page contract... gaps had been left to be filled in for the important salary figures (negotiable?) and the dates of the contract. a totally unprofessional-looking contract. cowboys. time to go. “i have to think about it... and i’ll get in touch”, i said departing. no chance.
progressive language school were really keen to sign me up. they were impressed by my celta and british english native speaker qualities. they put a contract in front of me for 40 hours a week... 5000 yuan. that's 25 contact hours. and no flat. no end-of-contract completion bonus. and “possibly” sponsorship for the 'z' visa. i told him frankly that 5000 was nowhere close to what i was looking for considering my qualifications and experience. he said he would talk with the owner of the school and get back to me. they upped the offer to 6000, i think. amio were offering 10,000 for a full-time position. this would be the minimum i would accept, and so i turned them down.
we carried on. she asked if she could ask me a personal question. “sure”, i said, “you can ask me anything you like.” “your hair”, she said, “it looks alright from the front.... but the back...”. she gestures towards the back of her head. i threw her a quizzical look. “it’s strange...” “strange? what does she mean by strange?”, i was asking myself. of course, the stereotypical chinese guy doesn’t sport long hair, tied up into a ponytail, and tied up into a little top-knot. maybe her students would be morally offended? maybe i would set a dangerous precedent? maybe it could instil a culture of rebelliousness amongst the students that could have china-wide repercussions? we laughed together and moved on. i was getting the certain impression that web international english were a cowboy operation. they hadn’t even asked me for my c.v. yet. i asked her about the pay... 8,500. and 6,000 end-of-contract lump sum. visa costs outside of qingdao i would have to fund myself.
i asked tina for a copy of the contract. she went away and left me with her ‘assistant’, who immediately left and pottered around outside, obviously too nervous to take any more questions from me. i beckoned her inside. “i want to ask about accommodation”. she didn’t understand. fortunately, tina came back. “accommodation...? you have to find your own.” “so i don’t get any allowance for this?” “no” came the terse reply. tina wasn’t too happy. neither was i.
i went through the sums with her... quoting a standard rent of 2,500. that’s 6000 for 40 hours a week. 25 contact hours. 15 office hours where i had to be available for the students to ask questions, etc. etc. etc. i would be teaching, more or less. airfare reimbursement, visa fees & end of contract bonus were all lumped into the 6000 lump sum at the end of the year. the package was not looking too promising compared to others i had seen on the net, and i told her so. she said that it was the standard package as defined by shanghai head office. i told her not to take it personally, i was just looking for information before i made an informed judgement on whether to commit myself to the job. i glanced briefly through the 2-page contract... gaps had been left to be filled in for the important salary figures (negotiable?) and the dates of the contract. a totally unprofessional-looking contract. cowboys. time to go. “i have to think about it... and i’ll get in touch”, i said departing. no chance.
progressive language school were really keen to sign me up. they were impressed by my celta and british english native speaker qualities. they put a contract in front of me for 40 hours a week... 5000 yuan. that's 25 contact hours. and no flat. no end-of-contract completion bonus. and “possibly” sponsorship for the 'z' visa. i told him frankly that 5000 was nowhere close to what i was looking for considering my qualifications and experience. he said he would talk with the owner of the school and get back to me. they upped the offer to 6000, i think. amio were offering 10,000 for a full-time position. this would be the minimum i would accept, and so i turned them down.
i got in touch with the communicative language school at the
top of ‘book city’ bookstore. i got a couple of conversational teaching lessons
for 3 adults with them, but then they stopped this, citing the summer
vacations. then joy, mum of one of the kids i was teaching on sundays, phoned
me and told me of another private teaching opportunity. another group of 4
kids, 1½ hours every day for 25 days, 5000 yuan.
it was at the same time as max was getting me to come with him to the school in laizhou. there was too many unknowns in laizhou, whereas this was a concrete proposal. i was all ready to go with max and sasha one evening to laizhou, but the last bus had already gone. it was the sign i needed to tell me to accept this job in qingdao. and so this is what i’m doing now... it’s hard work cos i have to prepare the lessons from scratch from material i find on the net. ‘book city’ language school got back to me and offered me a week’s work teaching 3 adults conversational english.
it was at the same time as max was getting me to come with him to the school in laizhou. there was too many unknowns in laizhou, whereas this was a concrete proposal. i was all ready to go with max and sasha one evening to laizhou, but the last bus had already gone. it was the sign i needed to tell me to accept this job in qingdao. and so this is what i’m doing now... it’s hard work cos i have to prepare the lessons from scratch from material i find on the net. ‘book city’ language school got back to me and offered me a week’s work teaching 3 adults conversational english.
and just last weekend, i got another weekend slot at amio’s
office in jinan. how ironic! 9 hours and all expenses paid. sweet. so after a
slow start in china, i finally got to do some teaching and save some money for
the next destination: korea.
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