I have tuaght in China twice, 2002 and 2004/2005. During my first venture in 2002 the culture shock was overwhelming and quite funny. One does need a sense of humour to survive in China.

Two points that I want to stress are: the students and the Chinese staff at the schools.

First, the students. The students are awesome. Not all perfect but very attentive and curious. Occassionally I had a class the sometimes made me wish I had a hand grenade to leave in the room and close the door, but, 99% of the time I was bless with great students from ages 5 to 50. For the teachers that constantly complain about their students, I suggest you take a close look at yourself, not the students, to find out why they caused you problems.

Now the Chinese staff. In China, workers are treated like shit by their employers. Along comes the foreign worker who the Chinese have not encountered previously. The Chinese staff only know one way to treat employees...like shit. Therefore, from my experience, they Chinese staff who manage private schools treat the foreign the same way they treat their own kind because that's all they know.

It's easy to find fault in China but it's important to find out the reasons for what happens rather that jump to unfounded conclusions.

I love China & the Chinese people. I plan to return to China in early 2006 but finding an ESL teaching job is very difficult when you're 65. So I'm looking at retiring there and hopefully do some private tutoring. China & teaching are in my blood and I don't want a transfusion.

Thanks for reading.