I'm not well. I caught a cold on Saturday, stayed at home all day yesterday trying to get better but it was really cold in the house and I just felt worse and also struggled to sleep. This morning I didn't feel well to go to school. It's raining heavily and it's cold. I've got no umbrella and no proper winter clothes because I expected to be in the South. So I decided to stay in bed and try to get better.
Also, it doesn't help that I'm not happy at all here in Changchun. The city has nothing to do apart from going shopping (and I'm not keen on that because I've got no money) and is dirty, dusty, muddy, noisy and polluted. But what's worst is that I hate the company I work for, the way they treat us and the way things went, especially during the first three weeks. Things have improved a lot since then. My new apartment is decent. It has running water and is clean, and I have my own bedroom. We still have a few issues such as the TV is not working and it's really cold in the house sometimes. I have now a fixed schedule at two schools so the situation is better in this respect too. However, I expected something different from this programme and I'm really disappointed and getting really down.
I expected to be placed in the South. I came here to escape from the British winter. When I realised they placed me in the North, where temperatures would go as low as -30ºC, I got shocked and really upset but I understood they already advised us that this could happen so I tried my best to get over it and I came here with an open mind to make the most of it. But things haven't been as I expected and I'm finding it difficult to cope now.
We were supposed to be interning 35 hours a week, 5 days a week, with two consecutive days off. If that was the case, we should be at school 7 hours a day. I expected to be doing something like 8am-3pm, 8.30am-3.30pm, 9am-4pm. During those hours, we were supposed to be teaching 3 hours a day so I expected to have 3 or 4 classes a day and spend the rest of the time preparing lessons, marking coursework, attending other school activities and getting involved with the school community, having our lunch and taking our 2-hour Chinese lesson. Therefore, it sounded quite appealing to me. It didn't look hard and I was sure I could gain some very useful work and cultural experience from it.
At school, I have no computer, no desk, no access to a printer, no access to paper, no time to prepare lessons. There are no school activities. I've had no meetings. I don't feel part of the school community at all. There are no other foreign teachers in neither of the schools I teach. I don't receive any kind of help from any teacher. There's a big language barrier between me and the other teachers. No-one talks to me and I feel lonely and isolated. I have a hard time when I'm there and I even feel anxious the day before when I know I have to go there the next day.
In addition, I didn't expect to have to commute for more than half an hour per way and I'm commuting between 1.5 and 2 hours per way every day, which makes a total of about 15 hours commuting a week. Yesterday they gave me the new schedule and I have to start even earlier than before, which means I will have to leave home at 7am on Mondays and Wednesdays, at 5am on Tuesdays and at 6am on Fridays.
The company provided us with 2-hour Chinese lesson so far, when we should have had 12 hours already.
If there is any chance the organisation in Beijing can find me another placement, I'm happy to give it another try. Otherwise, I will soon hand my resignation in because I don't think it'll make me any good to stay here unhappy and upset as I am now.
Chalkboard is i-to-i's TEFL community.
It is currently still in testing phase which could mean you find the odd bug!
Q: What is i-to-i Chalkboard? A: It's the online community of TEFL specialists
Use the tabs below to learn more about our TEFL courses
Borrix24’s Blog
Take me out of here! (11/10/2010)
» Advertisement
Related Posts
Loading recent content...
What do you think?
Add Your Comment!
Log in to leave a comment or Create an account
It's not too late. It doesn't matter how much you paid. Forget about that. Apply for a job directly. You'll get paid three times more than what you'll get if you come here through TTC and you'll pay half the price for the visa. Soon you'll have made up for the money and you'll have the freedom to be working wherever you want. Honestly, if I were you, I'd forget about the China Internship and would apply for jobs on www.telf.com or anywhere else. There are plenty of TEFL jobs here in China and are easy to get. They need foreign teachers everywhere. I could give you details about job vacancies around my area, but I don't think you want to be in this extremely cold and boring city!
Hi Borrix24,
Unfortunately,it's too late =o( I've already payed i to i £1,300 back in August,way too late to get my money back & beginning to get depressed about the whole thing. I HATE the winter & the cold weather & until recently i lived in a caravan for over a year & a half to save for this trip. The only thing that was helping to fend off my misery was looking forward to this experience in February. I'm also immunosuppressed after a liver transplant so i NEED running water & the facilities to cook & keep myself & living accom clean etc....
I'm literally praying that I will be one of the luckier ones placed (as requested ) down South. If not i will suffer in the cold weather & crappy conditions & could quite possibly have paid £1,300 to put an end to my good health & happiness! God help me!
Hi, Hacker21.
I would like to let you know the China Internship is a proper rip-off. I strongly recommend you to forget about it and come here independently. You'll be much better! I'll just mention a few reasons why I'm saying that:
1) It is extremely easy to find a job here (even if you don't have neither a TEFL qualification nor a university degree).
2) If you're offered a job, the company/school will sort your visa out for you before you leave your country or once you're here and they will deduct the money from your first wages. The visa you will get will be a Z-Visa, the only one that entitles you to work legally in China. This visa will cost you 1000 yuan (100 pounds). If you want to stay longer than 6 months, they will give you a residence permit.
However, if you come here through i-to-i/TTC you will get only an F-Visa, which is not the visa you should have because you're actually working. TTC will charge you 2000 yuan (200 pounds) for it when you arrive in Beijing and you will have paid for your F-Visa in your country too (I paid 82 pounds in London for a fast service because they only sent me the letter of acceptance 5 days before I was supposed to be in Beijing to start the programme).
3) When 5 other people from the China Internship group and I arrived here in Changchun, Jilin province, we had to do teaching demos and have job interviews in several schools till we were offered a job. It took us two to three weeks to get ourselves sorted. I wonder what's the difference then to come here independently or through i-to-i/TTC if we still had to go through the same process.
4) I had to sleep two weeks in a very small sofa because they didn't have a room for me. We had no running water in that flat, which meant that we couldn't have a shower, wash our clothes, wash the dishes, or flush the toilet. The flat was full of cockroaches.
5) Teachers who came here independently earn between 4500 and 6000 yuan (450-600 pounds) a month plus accommodation to work the same as we (teachers from China Internship) do. After they get some experience, they earn about 8000 yuan (800 pounds). In Beijing, they earn more than that (up to 10,000 yuan / 1,000 pounds a month) because the cost of living there is much higher. Please note if you are placed in Beijing, you will have to use your saving to live because your allowance won't be enough.
6) According to the contract, we were supposed to get 2 hours of Chinese lessons a week. We didn't get any Chinese lessons for the first 6 weeks or so. After complaining to TTC several times, they managed to arrange some lessons for us. They are offered by an administrative officer that has no idea how to teach. Sometimes she textes us and says the lessons are cancelled. Other times, we have to wait because she is not ready. Last Saturday I had to wait 1 hour and 10 minutes to start the lesson!
7) Our working hours are crazy. I work Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in one school. I need to leave home at 7am, 5.30am and 7am. My school is on the outskirts of the city. When I first started I had to commute for 2 hours per way so 4 hours a day! Since they changed my schedule, I need to commute for 1.5 hours per way every day so still 3 hours a day! I need to walk from home to the bus stop and take two different buses to get to school. I teach 6 lessons on Monday, 6 on Tuesday and 4 on Wednesday. On Thursday I work in another school that is located on the outskirts of the city too. To get there I take a school bus. I need to leave home at 6am and don't get back till 5pm. I teach 6-7 lessons there.
8) I had chosen to be in the south because I so much prefer the warm weather. However, they placed me as far north as they actually could. It's freezing cold - The temperatures are between -4ºC and -15ªC at the moment and the city is covered on snow and ice. Temperatures will reach -30ºC soon, apparently. If you come to China independently, you will be able to choose where you want to be and you will be able to pack the appropriate clothes you need for your stay.
I don't know if I've forgotten to mention anything. I hope reading this will encourage you to forget about the China Internship programme and will convince you to look for a job independently. If you need any other information, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Good luck!
Oh dear. My alarm bells have started ringing after reading this! I'm due to go to China in Feb'11 & have also chosen the South to get away from the British weather. China is such a vast place with mega extremes in the temperature of it's regions. If I pack a smart but 'Chinese Spring' time wardrobe and end up freezing somewhere up North i'll be one seriously unhappy bunny! You poor girl Ester! What's happened since your last entry? Where are you and what have TTC & i to i done to help?
Ester...please contact Robert Clarke or tianjinexpat...they can both help you...find them on the Chalkboard
Hi there.
Hope your cold is better. I feel for you. Will the school not provide electric heaters? Tell them they must?
On a happier note.. I have a scottish friend in Changchun. An older guy, but a hell of a lot of fun! Do you want to be put in touch? There are many other foreigners teaching at his university too.
im jus amazed ur having such a difficult time! i thought u have like a TTC contact in ur area that u can contact 24/7? i hope u get better and get placed in a better school and room! :) so wen did ur china internship start, in august? and wen ya coming back? provided u dont end up leaving early? :p
Yes, Tharmila, that's the one! I hope my experience doesn't put you off. Some people are having a good time.
Oh my god! this is scaring me! is this the same internship provided by I to I and TTC?!!
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your feedback. While TTC do research schools thoroughly, there are occasions where schools try to take teachers for a ride even after a very firm contract has been agreed. This happens all over China - the difference between going independently and going with an organization like TTC is that if an intern's school does start to take advantage, TTC is there to act on the teacher's behalf and get things sorted. However, with over 200 interns in country at any one time, TTC can't constantly keep tabs on everyone, but are obviously there to support interns 24/7 as and when issues arise.
You've obviously been lucky in that you've had only minor problems with your contract, however others are often not as fortunate - many foreign teachers in China suffer badly from a combination of culture shock and schools reneging on contracts, which is why so many new teachers choose to sign-up to supported programs like the Teach in China Internship where there's someone to turn to if things do go wrong.
Hi Ester,
Sounds like you're having a right old time of it! First things first, if you're unhappy with any aspect of your working conditions, or feel like your school is breaching your contract (which it sounds a little like they are), call TTC immediately. They're there to help you and make sure your experience in China is the best one possible. Explain the situation to them and they'll get on to your school to make sure everything is up to scratch. If TTC don't know anything is wrong, they can't do anything to help you. You should have all the numbers for everyone at TTC, but if you don't get in touch with me on here and I'll give them to you again.
They'll do their best to either fix things for you in Changchun or, if that's not possible, find you another placement in another city. Just give them a call and explain your situation and I'm sure they'll do everything possible to help.
Hope you feel better soon - keep us posted with how you get on.
» Comments RSS