Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Did Someone Turn Off the Heat?

Mother Nature is playing an April Fool's joke on us. It's the beginning of April and it's a bit cold for Shenzhen. The Last two weeks I was wearing short-sleeved shirts to work. Now I'm back to long sleeves and feeling a bit chilly in the office.

Well, as long as it keeps the unbearable heat away for a few more days, I'll live with it.

3 comments:

Mami So Fly said...

Hi

I just came across your blog. I am in early planning stages, but want to come to China to teach English and hopefully pick up a bit of Chinese. I've been perusing the sites of many programs and the one with which I was most impressed is,
http://www.chinaprogram.org/index.php
and in Shenzhen. Its moderate climate and proximity to Hong Kong are appealing. But, I've also read that it's like China's Las Vegas...

If you have time, do you mind letting me know which program you went through to teach abroad. Do you recommend them? Do you think the above site looks legitimate? Are there things I should look for in evaluating programs? Are there scams where I'd be sold into sex slavery, etc.?

My current criteria for evaluation is pretty broad... just that the city is relatively (relative to China's standards) safe and clean, the program is not exploitive and they offer classes in Mandarin.

I assume you like Shenzhen having stayed for three years.

I'm just seeking advice wherever available.

Thank you in advance for your insight!

Kelly

Mami So Fly said...

Hi

Also, I'm not sure why that just posted as "mami so fly". It's an ironic alias from college and I'm not sure how to change it...

My name is Kelly...

Matthew said...

Kelly, I didn't go through any program to get to China. I just applied for jobs and got offers to come on out. There are tons of jobs in Shenzhen for native English speakers. You should NEVER have to pay a dime to get a job. The only money you need to spend is on a plane ticket. Also, remember if you're coming here that inflation is running crazy lately. They'll tell you 5000 is a good salary and that's just not true. They can no longer hire teachers from non-native speaking countries, so you're in high demand. You should never accept less than 8000/month with housing.

Just so you know, Shenzhen is not as safe as it seems. There are plenty of new reports of murders, beatings, etc. No different than any other major city in the world.