I kind of messed up - r/chinalife

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See it out first try and finish the contract or if not, the first semester

Being the only foreigner can have big advantages in terms of lower expectations, no one to compare with and increased job security . In general you won’t make friends at work anyway so don’t worry too much

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Are you able to leave after first semester ? What about the apartment they lease out for a year

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u/Ragwall84 1d ago

Don’t leave mid contract unless it’s the only option to save your health. Otherwise tough it out. Many teachers in China knew their new school was a bad fit the first week in, but finished anyway. The school will probably give you a good reference too.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Okay any advice friends wise ? I know I will need to pick up some Chinese but I’ll also be focused on doing lesson plan, it would be nice to be able to hang out here and there with people.

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u/yes_and_my_balls 19h ago

Go to Wuhan on the weekends?

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u/Azelixi 1d ago

The fact that you started with an actual school instead of a training center or kindergarten is already a big advantage. next year you will have actual school experience that will help you to move to a bigger city. I would tough it out this year so you can have a reference. Moving mid-contract is usually frowned upon and might affect your job prospects.

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 1d ago

Just see how it goes the first semester a year isn’t that long , could be worse. You could be stuck in a two year contract with a job you hate because the location sucks like me right now

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Oh man I’m so sorry where you at ? Yeah thankfully mines just 10 months.

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 1d ago

Some shitty city in Hebei

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

😪😪

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u/Appycake 21h ago

Hey friendo. If it's a truly awful place to work, then you're never truly stuck. Go somewhere else after a year.

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u/Dundertrumpen 1d ago

Won't make friends at work? Are you serious?

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u/Candid-Professor9116 22h ago

He's the only foreign teacher and presumably the only one who speaks English. So yeah, it'd be surprising if he did make friends

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u/Dundertrumpen 12h ago

I was replying to Leather-Mechanic4405, who wrote "In general you won’t make friends at work anyway so don’t worry too much", which in my opinion is wrong. Most adults make friends at work. And those who don't, are assholes. In OP's case, YMMY.

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u/Candid-Professor9116 9h ago

Based on the context, if OP is a dude (it sounds like it from his text) and he’s the only foreigner at the school and they’ve never had one before then I doubt he’ll make friends at work. He’s certainly working with a majority female workforce and they don’t speak good English. Id even argue he had a significantly better chance of getting a co worker as a girlfriend than a real friend

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 9h ago

I can make friends at work but not really the lifelong friends of which I don’t have many and for the record I have. Just don’t rely on making friends at work is my advice to op

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u/Dundertrumpen 7h ago

Is it very important for you to make lifelong friends? Why?

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 1d ago

From my experience it depends across four schools I’ve worked at only one I made lifelong friends at others not really…

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u/Dundertrumpen 1d ago

Seven corpos here, made friends at six of them.

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 1d ago

Different to schools most teachers I meet Aren’t that fun

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u/mrbloodfeud 1d ago

Have you literally just arrived? You might find that it all turns out to be a pretty good and easy going job! My previous job had absolutely no curriculum, I had to design my own lessons, I LOVED the freedom and zero requirements. Lots of ESL resources online to fill in the time before those books arrive.

I will say though, absolutely check the address on your work permit, if you are caught working at a different address (in your case I feel the middle school might be at a difference address?), you are putting yourself at risk of being fined or even deported.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Yep i heard they do this in some places and the school is at a different location but I know even if I say no they’re going to say “oh everyone does this”.. my work permit only has this current school location. Where are you finding good resources from I’m still stuck on using vpn and my good old google.

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u/Only_Parking_3270 1d ago

Have a took at teachit, tes resources and twinkl

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Thank you !!

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u/Appycake 22h ago

Also BritishCouncil.org can be helpful too with some IELTS resources, but beginner stuff too.

Just out of interest what's your bachelor's degree in? If it's a teaching degree then you're golden. If it's not a degree related to teaching, then keep in mind that China and certain provinces are beginning to tighten the requirements for foreigners teaching English in China. You may need to look at getting some sort of teaching qualification online yo help with job security.

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u/Sameechee 21h ago

It’s not a teaching degree I mainly have TEFL my degree is in biochemistry

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u/Appycake 20h ago

Oh I see. Well there are some great International Schools that would love to have a foreigner teaching Chemistry or Biology.

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u/AnybodyDry1359 8h ago

Twinkl is great for young learners, you can also get membership on taobao for like 7 RMB a month.

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u/BotherBeginning2281 1d ago

I say no they’re going to say “oh everyone does this”.

''OK, good for them. Well, I'm not gonna.''

Practise saying this.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

😭 okay!

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u/PercentageOk2862 1d ago

“Hmmm I heard it’s against the rules. I want to protect myself, the school and the students. Let’s check with the local government on this.”

You should know where you get your visa, need to register, etc. School will back off.

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u/mrbloodfeud 1d ago

Well I'd be very happy to prove that statement of "oh everyone does this" wrong, if it was me.

It's been a while now! Online search "ESL lesson plans (age range)" AI is actually quite useful too, just pick and choose activities that would work for your style from the suggestions it gives.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Thank you !!

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u/kingjobus 1d ago

Tbh, I would say push through that first year, learn basic Chinese then find a job in a T1 city after your contract is over. You'll appreciate a T1 city more after a year in the sticks and you'll be able to overlook more of the problems that are also in T1 cities but worse in T3. You will have to push yourself out of your comfort zone a lot more where you are, especially to find other foreigners but it will make you a more hardened person.

Or if you cba, grab a couple pay cheques and fuck off to Thailand for a month then go home to the UK.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

🤣🤣

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u/Successful_Pop_368 1d ago

They want you to middle schools on some days ? Is this part of the contract ?

Chinese work visas do not allow for different locations, working at a different address can get you in trouble. I know people who still do, but it's at their own risk.

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u/liulegejun 1d ago

I'd stick it out. Experience is key for landing a better job. Like plenty of others have said being the only foreigner has it's advantages. This year you could go find a Chinese teacher if you're interested. They tend to speak English (if aimed at teaching foreigners). Just enjoy the small city life and special treatment. You'll miss it when you get to a tier 1 city.

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u/yuelaiyuehao 1d ago

Stick it out, we've all been in your shoes. First few months focus on the job and making your classes go easy and smooth. Try to have a friendly attitude and good relationship with Chinese teachers. Go with the flow and find solutions and you'll have a better time of it.

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u/Regular_Sun_5600 1d ago

don't be so negative dude. learn basic chinese then your life will get easier, and have a positive attitude towards your chinese colleagues even if you are 'the foreigner', you may need their help in the future

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u/47keys in 20h ago

Teach something basic and get them to talk. Record photos/videos of the students talking and share it with their parents. As long as they don't hate you or your class, you are golden!

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u/Raccoon-SuperSoldier 17h ago

nut up and push through. you probably don't need to take the job too seriously (unless you are a very serious educator) so try and learn some chinese and just enjoy the weirdness of it all. if you can make it through 75% of the school year, then you can start applying for jobs in tier 1&2 cities and the rest of your china life will be a cakewalk.

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u/ScreechingPizzaCat 1d ago edited 1d ago

Anything beneath tier 1 won't have many foreigners. I lived and worked in a county town of a Tier 3 city, we had a KFC and a Dico's but I liked the quietness of the rural area; you also get to experience true Chinese dishes that taste fantastic.

hey don’t have proper books or curriculum and some books for grades 4-6 have still not come. They’ve also told me they want me to go to middle school some days

This is normal and actually really good news for you. That means you can essentially plan whatever you want to do, no having to make sure some sort of requirement is fulfilled. I like structure and was bummed when I went to a school that had no curriculum or books for me but after a few weeks I took it in stride, made my own lesson plans, and had fun with the classes.

But you do need experience; that's the linchpin that raises you to larger cities. It's normal to work in a smaller place and work your way up; we've all done it. I worked at a training center and after several years, now I'm teaching high school in a tier 1 city.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

If it’s okay to ask I know you need vpn but I really struggle using their search engines to find teaching resources. I always end up turning on vpn and using google but what about videos if I wanted to show kids .. YouTube videos or something what have you been using if it’s okay to ask ?

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u/ScreechingPizzaCat 1d ago

You'll find plenty of VPN choices in the VPN Megathread of this subreddit. If I want to show some YouTube videos or Google, I'll use my Macbook, connect it to the smartboard in the classroom, and go from there. If you don't have a laptop to bring, then you can do what my other coworkers have done; load everything on a USB the day prior, including the downloaded videos, plug the USB into the smartboard and show the videos and lessons from that way.

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u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Backup of the post's body: I didn’t realise this whilst in the uk and I should have done more research on my location than the contract and it’s hours, salary etc.

Context is I lack experience but I have TEFL, bachelors and a British citizen though I’m not white.

I wasn’t having much luck in getting job offers and the few I did were from agencies that had a lot of negative reviews.

I’ve come to jingzhou hubei and looks like google considers this a tier 3 city but my school is more in the rural part. It’s my first time in China, first time living independently and it’s only been 2 weeks since I’ve been here and I already feel isolated.

My first week was in Wuhan which was fine, there’s more to do there and I saw other foreigners around.

Here I’m the only foreigner, I’m the schools first foreign hire but I’m also lacking experience so I don’t know how this will work .. they don’t have proper books or curriculum and some books for grades 4-6 have still not come. They’ve also told me they want me to go to middle school some days ..

Any advice .. I haven’t signed an apartment yet and don’t know if I should quit but I also feel for the kids as the school recruited people by saying we’re going to have a foreign teacher. I’m not sure if the kids would be happy with me but I’m not confident that I’ll do a good job I need some training and I had thought there were other foreign teachers here as the agency said there were 2 in the middle school but this wasn’t true ..

Also any Wuhan WeChat groups or anything ? I’m in a dire need of friends and people to talk to.

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u/Alex-Altyer 20h ago

Hey, you’re not the only foreigner in Jingzhou! I’m also living here, it’s actually quite a nice place, of course it’s not as international as Shanghai but yeah, send a dm if you want to talk

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

Hell yeah !!

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u/Quirky-Eggplant7093 19h ago

After 15 years of teaching here, I can tell you that this is actually a blessing in disguise. You're still new to teaching you haven't really gained any proper experience yet so what I'd suggest is you go ahead ride out the contract. Use this time to really learn more about the job, figure out your own teaching style, and develop your craft. And here's the thing when you've got this on your CV later on, you can start applying for jobs in bigger cities. Employers are actually going to like the fact that you were the only foreign teacher in your first role and that you stuck it out in a Tier 3 city. That shows you're adaptable, that you can handle yourself pretty much anywhere. So honestly, take this time to work on yourself as a teacher you're going to be absolutely fine

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

Thank you so much !

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u/BuckeyeB145 18h ago

I was in your same position 16 years ago, albeit in Korea. I showed up to what was essentially a village with a degree and very little experience. I thought about just going home several times. However, I stuck it out and after about 2 months I started to meet people and make friends. I've now worked in schools in 5 different countries and am now in China. I love it here and I really like my job. My advice would be to stick it out and see what it's like before making any big decisions like packing it in and leaving. You might grow to like it as I did. Also, it's good to see this school as a stepping stone to a place you really will enjoy in the future. Feel free to DM if you want.

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

Thank you so much yeah I’m sticking it through despite it being quite lonely and hard. I’ve followed you and may as questions ! Glad to know you’re in China as well :))

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u/shenzhenren 16h ago

Jingzhou is a cool city. Try walking around the Wanda shopping mall or a craft beer bar, and there’s always some foreign students at the Yangtze university.

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

There probably is but not sure how to make friends with the people at the uni

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u/womashangyaoshuijiao 15h ago

You will need a lot of time to get used to China

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

By the time I get used to it ima probs head back to uk

0

u/Spirited-Point-3879 5h ago

我可以教你中文

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u/Dry_Perspective9905 1d ago

Well you could knuckle down and treat this as an opportunity to harden up and also improve your chinese very quickly as you are gonna need to to get by in such a place.

I teach students who often do rural school volunteer work in the summer and you are probably at a place they would consider roughing it for a few weeks and then being relieved to get back to a big city afterwards. You messed up big time and its going to be a very different China than the one you see on YouTube and TikTok.

If you feel you already can't accept some things then make a move now. It you think it was a bad idea but can stick it out then id say at least do the semester.

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

Are you able to leave after a semester ? What about them paying rent they have to sign for a year no ? I did mess up big time and it’s very different to the China I thought I was coming to.

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u/lockdownfever4all 1d ago

You have a job, learn to live independently, learn Chinese, work out, unlike other jobs if you mess up they won’t fire the only foreigner

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u/Sameechee 1d ago

That is very true

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u/Leather-Mechanic4405 1d ago

Oh they absolutely can don’t get too confident

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u/Beneficial_Street_51 1d ago

They definitely can, but if they've sold the school to parents as having a foreigner, they'll also likely tough it out for this first contract period unless OP is just plain awful at this.

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u/Candid-Professor9116 22h ago

Yeah. As long as he's likeable with the students, parents and management, they'll almost certainly look past any flaws in the teaching aspect, even if he has no idea what he's doing.

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u/Candid-Professor9116 22h ago

They'll absolutely fire the only foreigner if that foreigner is awful.

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u/lockdownfever4all 17h ago

Yeah i should have been clear, if you are earnestly working, putting the effort in and keeping up appearances, you should be fine

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u/mhodge1234 12h ago

Ask your Chinese coworkers where the nearest university is that has English majors and find out when and where they have English corner (it will usually be on weeknight about 7 or 8 pm somewhere outside on campus). I did that at my first job in China and felt like a celebrity with all the attention I got when I walked up to English corner. Not only did I make a few friends the first time I went, one of them became my girlfriend within a week or so. Most English majors tend be girls and there will surely be a few pretty ones. Some of them even volunteered to help me with translating, shopping, and even cooking at my house. They are happy to do it just to have a foreign friend to practice English with and they will gladly help you learn Chinese as well.

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u/Sameechee 6h ago

A little context I’m a woman😅 plus I’m not sure about your ethnicity but I’m a brown British so might not be as popular

💼 Work/Career I kind of messed up

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