part time gig!

[Dajiang]

Yey! I'll be starting my new part-time job next week at Linguaphone Guilin.

Finally got the hours I wanted and the audience I wanted. We started negotiations about a month ago, with them saying they'd give me 50 kuai for an hour, and me cordially responding I wouldn't accept anything less than a 100.

So after a while they called me back, this time a 100 was ok, and they got some kids' classes for me. I said kids weren't my favourite classes to teach (I'd just attempted a private class with 3 little brats that went slightly awry...), but I'd consider it. when they said there'd be 20 ( ) of them in a class, again I respectfully declined for the honour.

Week later I got another call: they got some teenagers for me. I've been trained for this age-group so I was definitely up for that. However, it'd have taken me my free weekend ( ), so I asked for some other hours.

Finally then I got the deal I'm saying yes to: adults on mon/tue/wed evening! Good times. So I'm off to see the contract this afternoon ... to see if it's any good.

[Ruth]

Wow, you drive a hard bargain. Congrats on sticking it out and getting what you want. Hope the contract reflects that!

[cheekygal]

Congrats! Hope classes go well and well, that bargain was worth it!!!!

[Dajiang]

Yeah, it did. Turns out im gonna do 2-hour classes twice a week, mons and weds. And well, my position was quite strong cuz i dont really need the job. The day job brings in plenty of bread, so it's basically a luxury problem really.

Looking forward to it though. The extra cash is nice, but more than that it's just a good break from the monotony really.

[Raoul Duke]

Yesss! Way to hang tough bro!

[Dr. Gonzo]

100 an hour in Guilin : good.

[Jollyjunklass]

Well, I'd say your doing pretty good for Guilin. I have spent a lot of time in Guilin and was planning on teaching there this year, however the money sucked. And I looked around quite a bit. One school wanted me to share an apartment with another foreign teacher, a guy. I am a girl. I checked the apartment out is was about the size of two broom closets, share a computer, no couch...two hard chairs, a bar fridge big enough to hold a 12 pack. 40 yuan an hour. At first, because I wanted to be in Guilin bad I told them I would think about it. I liked the fact that you didn't have to live in the school. They told me I would only have to teach 12 hours a week. I said ok because that would give me enough leeway to hold another job, with normal pay. When I told them this they said no way, I could work 20 hours for them if I wanted more hours. I told them I wanted more hours but not at 40 rmb an hour. I told them I had no choice, but to get another job, as there was no way I could live on this type of money. They refused. So the next day I called them up saying I didn't want the job. They called me a day later saying it was ok for me to get another job, at this point I was kinda pissed at them so I said forget it.

I also looked for jobs in the Uni's in Guilin, the average pay was 3,500 a month without airfare and other benefits. It seems like Guilin and Yunnan know that foreigners want to work there so they keep their salaries low and they all stick together.

So, I think you should consider yourself lucky, I think the pay is pretty good for Guilin. I really like the south middle and the west of China, I am not crazy over the east but the money seems to be here. I think if I were to teach in the West I would choose Sichuan where the money seems to be okay. Also, sometimes you can find some good deals in poorer provinces like Gansu, Guizhou etc..., they seem to be desperate to get foreigners so the pay is higher than Yunnan and Guangxi.

[Dajiang]

yeah in general pay is crap here for sure.

i got myself just about the nicest deal here, forking out about 6000 kuai doing 20 hours in 2 jobs... and still having my friday off completely **grinning widely**

but yeah, theres no airfare, which sucks, but then i get airfares from doing tours in summer, so that's sorted.

It's a great place to be in though, and life is good. I live in my own apartment together with my girlfriend (oh yeah, we're back together again btw, seems that Cheekygal was right after all...) and she's a local.

right now ive been having fantasies about opening my own touroffice here... might go for it next year with a buddy of mine who knows the area too.

oh, btw, those unis yeah, i dont know what their deal is. they offer like 3000 kuai with no airfare or something, and they just refuse to go up. they've got quality offers from people that want to come here and teach, but practically all of them just hang up laughing (actually feeling slightly offended) after hearing this ridiculous salary.

Then lots of schools (including mine) have these kind of exchange deals with schools abroad, meaning they'll get fresh meat every season, or at least every year, mostly in the form of 19-year old college students (which is great for them, but they don't know squat about teaching usually). This means schools got a pretty good deal going for absolutely no money. Then there's the voluntary organisations that send people here. Very noble indeed, only Guilin doesn't need any volunteers really. they're just too buggered to pay for quality, so they bank on Guangxi's 'poor province' status to give them -- for them cheap -- teachers. Now, some regions in Guangxi do need these people, Guilin doesn't. there's plenty of money here.

ok, didnt want to rant when i started this relpy, so ill stop here.
Dajiang

[Dr. Gonzo]

Too true, Dajiang. I went as an aid worker, with airfares, in-country training, medical insurance etc paid for by Australia.
The institute paid my salary at the basic "foreigner" rate. They did at least pay 12 months of the year, and treated me well with dinners, tours etc. The housing was functional. The bathroom had a hand held shower and a hole in the floor to crap in. The bedroom had an AC; vital for at least 4 months of the year.
However, two of the best years of my life were spent there, and I hated leaving!