I can see how you could imagine that every school is terrible from China discussion boards, but remember people write about the bad things more than the good. If everything is going fine, people generally don't log on and say so. It sounds like China has some similarities with Mexico!

Having said that, China can be a frustrating place to work sometimes. I have three main "rules" and a couple of sub-rules that I have created from my observations here in the last two years. Here are my main ones:

1: This is China! When something strange and unexplicable happens rule number 1 applies. (This happens more than you think!!)

2: Nothing can be easy. In the west we are so used to trying to make everything efficient. Here that mentality doesn't (usually) seem to exist. I am not saying something is wrong or right here, Chinese people just do things differently. However, when you have to visit four different people in a shop just to buy a 1RMB pen...

3: Never plan ahead. THIS is my (and most westerners I think) main gripe about China. As much as I love the place and the people, Chinese *seem to* have great problems *planning*. I guarantee that if you come here, at some point, and probably repeatedly, your Chinese boss will say something along the lines of:
"Hello (name), good news, you have a new class!"
"Oh, okay. When?"
"Now, they are in that room over there"
That may seem like an exageration, but it has HAPPENED to me!! It isn't usually that bad, sometimes you get a few hours warning. :-)
Things happen on the spur of the moment here. I do the schedule at my school for the teachers, and it has taken me MONTHS, and times where I have refused to schedule a teacher for a class, for the management to get the idea that I/we want some notice. A couple of days is what I specify. Of course, some classes still get dumped on me at short notice, but they have become better.

Some schools also have the 'get paid late' problem. This is a cultural thing, Chinese people often get paid a week or so late, it isn't a big deal for them. Of course for westerners it IS a big deal. My school understands this (I made it very clear) and we have always been paid on time, but you must stress this with any new school. Understanding the Chinese way will give you insights into all of their ways, and after a while it can begin to make a kind of sense.

I have eaten dog a few times as well, I don't really see any difference between eating a dog and a cow really. I have also had a go at Donkey, horse, pigeon, silkworm (with much trepidation), frog and at some point I will get around to eating snake. Hey, life is a rich tapestry you know! I believe you only live once, so experience as much as you can!

Phew, that was a long response!

> OH MY GOD, I have heard so many bad stories about teaching in Asia!
> Who can you trust out there folks? Is there any way you know you can
> trust a school or recruiter? Or is it just the luck of the draw?

> I have been teaching in Mexico for the past two years and I certainly
> have some war stories tell about it. Like low pay, not getting paid
> on time or not at all. Idiots running the school etc. So I have been
> there. But maybe the fact that it is not so far from home it does'nt
> bother me so much and it is easier to deal with.

> There has to be some way of knowing before you get on that plane to
> China or wherever that when you arrive your going to get what you
> signed up for in your contract.

> A little help please.
> P.S. I have heard good stories too, but how do you choose to be sure.
> Hell I do not want to be in China fighting with some moron about
> getting paid, my hours or living conditions. Oh ya, and what's up
> with the dog eating over there?