Hello,

I'm moving to Hangzhou in a weeks time to teach with EF. Anyone who has been to Hangzhou or has worked with EF, I would love to hear from you. This is my first overseas teaching position and I don't really know what to expect.
A few questions (which are probably quite silly) that I can't find answers to online:

- What are the plug/sockets like in China and do I need an adaptor for my English appliances?
- I know the chinese aren't big on dairy, but can I buy milk (for tea, coffee etc) ?
- What currency should I bring money in to tide me over for my first few weeks?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!! Thanks,

Celia xxx

I have never worked there but I have been to hangzhou before. I would GUESS you could pick up milk in some places but it would be expensive. It won't take long until you get addicited to green tea anyway!

You will need to get an adapater for your plug sockets. Not sure what Voltage you need but it's the same as the rest of SE Asia. Also, just take Yuan to tide you over. I found US Dollor got a better exchange rate when I was there a year ago.

hangzhou is bloody lovely aswell. Enjoy the lakes!

Im moving there too! In July. Keep in touch, good luck!

I am moving to Hubei in August and have been getting info from someone currently living there. Below is some random info that I copied from an email she sent me.....  

 I knew lots of random vocab, but I still couldn't really talk to anyone. I would suggest looking in to some books on learning Chinese, that will be ridiculously cheap, and probably more useful (than Rosetta Stone) on learning some basic Chinese, and be able to have simple conversations upon arrival.



Some other stuff I thought about- the difference in culture is major- obviously.  Everyone burps/farts/spits/etc freely and frequently. I have also witnessed little boys peeing in the middle of the street, and unfortunately saw one taking a large shit near a tree once. Now both of these were the once, and I guess I should also state that Yidu is in a transition period of rural to urban. I am from a small TX town, so it is def a city to me, but it's transformation is a relatively new one. 

Also most of the people are in utter amazement when they see foreigners, so get ready for serious celebrity status when you get in to town. EVERYONE will stare, many will say 'hello' (the only English word they know), and sometimes traffic will stop, just to get a good view of the foreign teachers. I absolutely love it, some of the teachers hate it. I feel like I have become more friendly, being that everyone is looking, which my response is a big smile, usually followed by hellos.

The food here is DELICIOUS! American Chinese food doesn't even come close to how amazing the food is here. Yidu is located in an area known for spicy food, although in my opinion it's not really that spicy. They use lots of oil to cook, lots of meat and vegetables and of course major doses of MSG that as bad as they are, taste so delicious. I occasionally cook, although for how cheap eating a big meal out is, we tend to go out more. The food is just so good, and cooking western food is damn near impossible, so why not go out and let some one cook a delicious dinner for me at the same price as buying my own groceries, but minus the cooking and cleaning! That's my philosophy at least.

Um so random things- as far as items you are not going to be able to get here, but will want - deodorant- for whatever reason they do not use it. tampons- if you are a tampon person, they do not use tampons. pepto bismol/tums/stomach stuff- nothing like the good ole pink drink to help with adjusting to Chinese cuisine, and you cannot get it here. I know they have western medicine available, but I am prone to headaches, and my father is a doctor, so I came prepared with my own little pharmacy for anything that could go wrong. I suggest stocking up on the usuals in your medicine cabinet.

I'm going to Hangzhou in a few weeks to teach there. We should meet up if you are still there.

Andy

Hi, I've been living and working near Hangzhou for 2 years now.  Despite what some people say - MILK IS EASY TO GET AND VERY INEXPENSIVE! But it is not "fresh" milk in the cooler like some people feel they must have, it is the UHT Milk (I think this is what it's called in England) that is in sealed packages, and it stays good for a long time, don't need to refrigerate it till it is open.  Well, I actually prefer this kind of milk in my tea, coffee etc.  So I think milk is EASY.  (I buy it in boxes of about 24 little small packs of milk) -- but there are many "flavored" kinds of the milk (sweetened milk etc.), so if you just want regular (no flavor) I think the boxes are usually green, or they might say "pure milk".  ---(I inserted an image)

Money when you come?  I bought Chinese Yuan at my local bank before I came, if you can't get it at the bank, you should be able to buy them at any international airport at the money exchanges.  The largest note, that you probably buy, is the 100 Yuan, it is a Red note. ---

Electric? - I think you are from England, so you have 240 volts?  -- yes, the voltage is the same here in China, ... but you will need some sort of simple plug adapter so you can plug things in.  They are cheap.  Can find them online or International airports should have them. (I insterted an image of the Chinese wall plug - one type has 3 parts, the smaller type has 2 parts)

Hangzhou - well, if you love big crowded cities, you'll like it there.  very crowded - lots of traffic jams - we visited there and it was much quicker to walk than take a car!  (well, I suppose it depends what part of the city you are in) - but yes, it has that famous lake there that everyone loves.

-- I don't know anything about English First ----

I'm working at a University about 2 hours drive from Hangzhou in a small town called Linhai - we have a beautiful "Great Southern Wall" here (smaller than the great wall, but still an ancient and beautiful old wall around 3/4 of the city. - many tourists come to see it)  -- If you come to Linhai, you can get in touch with me.

Jeffrey

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Those of you who traveled to teach.  Are you still there?  Who is with English First?  I'm considering it and would love more information asap on housing, consistancy of compensation and any pitfalls you may have encountered.

does anyone have experience with good language schools in china? If so please get in touch as I am serously looking to teach there in december 2012.

I am currently teaching in Malaysia so it isnt too far for me to go.

Thanks!