Read this Before You Teach in China
The other day I got in touch with one of my former coworkers from Guangzhou. She’s a girl from Florida and pretty much every time I talk to her I get angry because she always has some judgmental shit to say to me. She isn’t someone you can keep it real with. In fact, she isn’t someone I even like. In fact, I kinda hate her. However, there weren’t many people to talk to in the area where I lived and worked and I need someone to use as a reference for future jobs. I didn’t have anyone to guide me through this frustrating and confusing process of working abroad. So, I’d like to help anyone that I can.
If you’re from an English-speaking country, especially the U.K. or the U.S., you can expect to earn a fairly good salary in China if you find the right school to work for directly on a proper work visa. There are some who work for agencies and haven’t faced any serious problems. Those people are experienced and probably a bit lucky.
Usually as a general rule of thumb, agencies in developing countries are bad news. They will almost always exploit you and you have the responsibility of being vigilant to protect yourself. The best type of schools are international schools in big cities with Monday-Friday schedules. Any decent job should provide you with a work visa, health insurance, airfare reimbursement, a competitive salary, and control over your own classroom. The easiest way to get this sort of job is to apply in your own country first. Use the big websites like tefl.com and research every school or company you apply to. Many foreigners will also take on part-time jobs on evenings and weekends at various training centers.
My story is very different from a lot of first-world expats in China. Most of the people I met are from well-to-do families. They haven’t experienced poverty or serious hardships. They can call home for a plane ticket at any time if they’re unhappy. And to be honest, most of them kinda suck. They’re very flaky -- because the Chinese tend to be very flaky -- and immersing yourself in that culture for long enough has a way of changing you.
In big cities, expat bars and clubs can be a great way to meet other English speakers. In small towns or villages, you may be limited to less foreigners than you can count on two hands. For example, in Yangjiang, a small town, I only knew ten foreigners and most of them hailed from Eastern Europe. There was only one other American there. He worked for a factory and was much older than me. I consider him a good friend and I’m very glad I met him.
If you’re looking to make life-long friendships with other expats, China is the wrong place to go. Basically, everyone is out for themselves and most people only care about earning money. There are exceptions, of course, and luckily I have found a few like that American guy in Yangjiang and the military girl I met in Guangzhou. As you can see, none of my real expat friends from China are English teachers. Keep in mind that some of these countries will take any weirdo with a college degree who can speak English so you will run into your fair share of people who make you shake your head or just plain make you wanna rage quit.
As for making friends with the Chinese, you will meet many people who will buy you drinks in bars, smile at you, and take selfies with you to post on WeChat. These people are not your friends. They just want to show off how “cool” and “international” they are. Out of the hundreds of Chinese people I have met, only two can be considered actual friends. Their names are Chloe and Bo. Both of them speak excellent English, have a college education, and have spent time living abroad in Western countries.
In other countries, cohesiveness can be found among expat/immigrant populations from similar countries. That attitude about “helping one’s fellow brethren and sistren” doesn’t seem to exist among foreigners in China. It’s every man and woman for themselves. Sink or swim.
If you’re used to getting by in a developed country, then you know that things tend to be pretty straightforward and if a company tries to cheat you, you’ve got legal recourse and possibly some hefty compensation coming your way. However, the Chinese legal system only serves to benefit the Chinese. Keep in mind that China is a homogeneous country and their sense of national identity is strong. Finding an English-speaking lawyer is tough, even in a big city. If you wish to start a business in China, you will need to find an English law firm which specializes in helping foreigners.
If you’re accustomed to places like Japan, the U.S., or the U.K. where things can usually be taken at face-value, you’re in for a rude awakening in China. Regard everything you hear as false until the person can prove otherwise. Be aware that merchants, taxi drivers, and vendors regularly try to cheat foreigners, especially in the countryside in South China.
You will need a VPN to access all websites we rely on in the West. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and pretty much everything except for WeChat, Weibo, and Baidu are blocked. Chinese apps have few things to offer English speakers, with the exception of WeChat which is actually an excellent app. At the time of this writing, the best working VPN is ExpressVPN which costs about $50 for six months. The Chinese government is lax about VPN usage, especially among foreigners, so don’t worry about getting in trouble.
If your job doesn’t provide housing and you need to rent an apartment, ask a Chinese person to rent it in their name and take pictures to send you. Many landlords refuse to rent to foreigners or charge exorbitant rates because they assume that all foreigners are rich.
Food varies widely from region to region. China has some of the most diverse and delicious cuisines of any country in the world. If spicy food is your thing, try Sichuan or Guizhou food. The food in Guangdong province doesn’t have a lot of flavor and can be described as “boiled meat and vegetables plopped onto a plate with no seasoning”. On a foreigner’s salary, you never have to cook for yourself if you don’t want to. Eating out is cheap and can be done for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on less than 50 RMB a day if you’re smart. If you enjoy cooking, keep in mind that many Chinese kitchens don’t have ovens so you’ll need to purchase a toaster oven if you bake. If you want items like butter, cheese, or milk you need to go to the big international supermarkets in major cities. Ingredients for Western dishes like French Toast or steak or bacon can prove difficult to find. Dry ingredients can be purchased online via Taobao.
Bargaining is the most important skill to have in China or throughout most of Asia for that matter. Prices are not fixed and you are expected to bargain almost anywhere. If you can’t speak Mandarin, the first thing you should learn are the numbers and their hand gestures for various numbers. Learn to count to 1000 before you learn anything else. It’ll save you a lot of money.
Bring a pack of pocket tissues everywhere you go as most public restrooms will not stock toilet paper. Toilets are usually squat toilets and the floors are always wet. If you’re wondering whether it’s water or pee, you’ll never know.
China, like many other Asian countries, has an official language and several local languages that are spoken in the countryside. Most Chinese people can speak Mandarin, the official language, as well as their local dialect. Another major Chinese dialect is Cantonese which is spoken in Guangdong province and Hong Kong. Cantonese is an incredibly difficult language and taking the time to learn it is not recommended, unless you plan to spend your entire life in Guangdong or Hong Kong. Some foreigners who’ve learned Mandarin prior to moving to Cantonese regions express frustration at communication difficulties. If you’re trying to learn Mandarin, go anywhere except for Guangdong province.
There are over 300 million English speakers in China. Most of them can be found in major cities. However, due to a lack of exposure to foreigners and Western media, very few Chinese people can speak English well. Be prepared for a lot of weird grammar mistakes. Speak slowly and use simple English unless you’re sure that the other person is highly fluent.
Chinese people always smile even if they don’t want to. They will act kind no matter what they think of you. Unlike in Western countries, facial expressions and mannerisms cannot clue you in on how the other person feels. This can be very confusing for most foreigners. The only thing you can do is mirror them. Smile even when you don’t want to, don’t lose your temper even when they try to provoke you, and make sure you have at least one real friend you can vent to from time to time.
People will spit everywhere. People will pull down their childrens’ pants and allow them to piss and shit on the sidewalk. People will sneeze and cough without covering their mouths. They will drive on sidewalks, talk loudly on their phones, smoke indoors, argue over small amounts of money, etc. If you’re a girl, expect used pads to litter bathroom stalls.
A lot of traditional Chinese culture has been lost due to communism. If you’re curious about this, ask people from Hong Kong or Taiwan, read a history book, or go to Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Singapore. You will note that there is a BIG difference between ethnic Chinese and mainland Chinese people. Hong Kongers, Singaporeans, and Taiwanese generally regard themselves and their countries as superior to Mainland China. This is entirely subjective and I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with it. It’s something you’ll truly have to see for yourself.
If you’re a straight white man from a developed country, expect to find a girlfriend with ease. If you’re an androgynous brown person like me, expect to face many difficulties in the dating realm. Chinese culture is very conservative, with a heavy emphasis on marriage and children. Chinese girls are expected to obey their fathers until they marry. Then they are essentially the property of their husbands. A lot of emphasis is placed on hyper-femininity among women. If you “aren’t girly enough” or too independent, expect to be rejected by most Chinese men. In big cities, you can find some progressive thinkers who might give it a shot, but it’s hard to be sure if they like you for your personality or because their status is raised when they’re dating a foreigner.
I had quite a few lesbians and bi girls express interest in dating me. However, despite the absence of overt violence towards LGBT people, you can thank Confucianism for LGBT people staying underground instead of in the mainstream. Even if gay marriage is legal in your own country -- as it is in mine -- it’s not legal in China. Gay people are often forced by their families into straight marriages to make babies to carry on the family name. There are a lot of “hush hush” agreements among certain married couples that their “straight” marriage is just for show and they’ll be seeing people of the same gender on the side. Being openly gay is more acceptable in big cities like Beijing or Shanghai, but if their family is from the countryside, you won’t be meeting them.
Though it’s impossible for an article of this length to detail everything you need to know about China, I hope that it can help someone who plans to make that journey. A well-planned trip can make a world of a difference between living it up and pure suffering. Good luck and enjoy the best of China!
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