RSS, Twitter, & Facebook
LinkedIn
Featured Posts
-
27 Mar 2012 | 11 Comments
Downsides To Teaching University English In China
While I generally recommend teaching English in China to other foreigners—keep in mind there are some big drawbacks that one should consider before singing a contract. Local Environment Read the full post -
27 Nov 2011 | 1 Comment
Thanksgiving Day Burrito
IF you are an American and will be spending Thanksgiving Day in China, you’ll probably be spending it just as I did at a 5-star hotel that offers an evening holiday buffet. And even if you aren’t American, you may ... -
16 Nov 2011 | 5 Comments
Teaching English Abroad Webinar- This Saturday 11/19/2011 At 12 PM EST
Have you ever had any interest in teaching abroad? Now is your chance to find out what exactly is it like. I’ll be teaming up with Michael Tieso of Art of Backpacking to deliver a Spreecast, a new “webinar” style ... -
4 Jul 2011 | 14 Comments
Plans For Going Home This Summer
After about 10 1/2 months in China, I am headed home for summer vacation. I will be back on Cape Cod in a few days. I am very excited to be headed home, to reunite with family and friends, eat ... -
2 Jul 2011 | 23 Comments
Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching English in China
The most common questions I get asked in regards to teaching in China 1) How does the whole visa thing work? Read the full post -
19 Jun 2011 | 23 Comments
Teaching In China: How Much Money Will You Make?
So if you are thinking about, or are coming to teach in China, you are probably curious as to how much money you will make. The compensation for teaching in China can be divided into three parts: basic monthly salary, ... -
19 Apr 2011 | 7 Comments
Finding a Job in China: Foreign Job Fair Not the Best Choice
Every year in China, there is the “sole job fair for foreigners,” authorized by China’s department of foreign affairs. There are three, one in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, all held in 5 star hotels. I was interested in finding business-related ...
-
1 Apr 2011 | 8 Comments
10 FREE iPhone Apps for Your Stay In China
Coming to China with an iPhone? Here are 10 free apps that you might find handy while living or traveling in China. 1) Eating in China: China has some great food. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to cook ...
-
25 Mar 2011 | 4 Comments
A Drying Machine? Not In China
-
14 Feb 2011 | 61 Comments
Cost of Living in China: What Can I Expect To Pay?
One of the first things I noticed about China was how much cheaper things inside stores were. For expats, it is important to know the purchasing power parity between the United States and China for the things we buy on ...
-
27 Mar 2012 | 11 Comments
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
Category Archives: Teaching In China
Downsides To Teaching University English In China
While I generally recommend teaching English in China to other foreigners—keep in mind there are some big drawbacks that one should consider before singing a contract.
Local Environment
Posted in Finding A Job, Teaching In China
11 Comments
Thanksgiving Day Burrito
IF you are an American and will be spending Thanksgiving Day in China, you’ll probably be spending it just as I did at a 5-star hotel that offers an evening holiday buffet. And even if you aren’t American, you may just happen to be spending Thanksgiving there as well.
Posted in Food & Drink, Teaching In China, Western Food In China
1 Comment
Teaching English Abroad Webinar- This Saturday 11/19/2011 At 12 PM EST
Have you ever had any interest in teaching abroad? Now is your chance to find out what exactly is it like. I’ll be teaming up with Michael Tieso of Art of Backpacking to deliver a Spreecast, a new “webinar” style social video platform. Please join us this Saturday November 19th, 2011 at 12 noon EST to find out what it’s like to teach in China, and other locations around the globe.
Posted in Teaching In China
5 Comments
Plans For Going Home This Summer
After about 10 1/2 months in China, I am headed home for summer vacation. I will be back on Cape Cod in a few days. I am very excited to be headed home, to reunite with family and friends, eat good Western food again, and enjoy the wonderful beaches of Cape Cod. I will spend almost 8 weeks at home before returning for yet another year of teaching in China. This time, however, I will be teaching in the city of Xiamen, in Fujian province. It is a port city in the south east corner of China, a vastly different culture and life from that of Xi’an.
Posted in Personal Experiences, Teaching In China
14 Comments
Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching English in China
The most common questions I get asked in regards to teaching in China
1) How does the whole visa thing work?
Posted in Personal Experiences, Teaching In China
23 Comments
Teaching In China: How Much Money Will You Make?
So if you are thinking about, or are coming to teach in China, you are probably curious as to how much money you will make.
The compensation for teaching in China can be divided into three parts: basic monthly salary, housing, and airfare reimbursement.
Finding a Job in China: Foreign Job Fair Not the Best Choice
Photo credit: Argonne National Labratory
Every year in China, there is the “sole job fair for foreigners,” authorized by China’s department of foreign affairs. There are three, one in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, all held in 5 star hotels. I was interested in finding business-related work so I was hoping the job fair would have opportunities in this realm. And I was really hoping to see at least a couple of international companies there. Unfortunately the fair was filled with English teaching opportunities, and a few ‘out in left field’ technical positions.
10 FREE iPhone Apps for Your Stay In China
Coming to China with an iPhone? Here are 10 free apps that you might find handy while living or traveling in China.
1) Eating in China: China has some great food. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how to cook all the regional specialities? This app features foods from all over China, complete with recipies and audio translations of each dish. But you don’t cook, right? So now you have a picture menu of Chinese food in your pocket. That will come in handy if you don’t know the language.
Posted in iPhone Apps, Teaching In China, Traveling in China
8 Comments
A Drying Machine? Not In China
I was surprised when I first came to China and saw that I wouldn't have a drying machine for a year. Chinese people seldom use drying machines, not because they cannot afford them, but because of a lack of space and cultural reasons. Small apartment style homes make it difficult to designate a laundry room like Americans do, and people in China see sun drying clothes as better for fabric than a machine is. I don't agree with the latter, and have found air drying to wear down the quality of my clothes; not to mention, take a couple days to dry, and leave them full of wrinkles. (In the photo above, I have laid out my clothes on a drying rack inside my university apartment.)
Posted in Culture, Personal Experiences, Teaching In China
4 Comments
Cost of Living in China: What Can I Expect To Pay?
One of the first things I noticed about China was how much cheaper things inside stores were. For expats, it is important to know the purchasing power parity between the United States and China for the things we buy on a daily basis. In the chart below, I have selected the most common things I buy while living in China. You will notice that many of them are American brands, and hence this analysis doesn’t give the most accurate picture in terms of price differences. This is because most products have a generic Chinese equivalent that I could buy for much cheaper, but I usually opt for brand names to ensure some quality control. The prices in RMB have been converted to US dollars and both lists were averaged to compute a price ratio. The final ratio for US to China’s prices is 1.69, meaning that I get almost 70% more ‘bang for my buck’ here in China. In other words, if I make 50 USD, it’s like I am able to spend $84.5 (if I were at home) because I can buy products cheaper in China.
