Knobcottage in China

Today  I made further contact with the Russian girl, A ,  at the school in which I hope to be working, and we exchanged ideas and plans.  We seem to have a lot in common.  Furthermore, the school liaison officer has been in touch, and I now have a timetable!  She is waiting for me to arrive.  A says she is really looking forward to my arrival.  Let's hope I actually get there!

I have a good friend O who lives in Beijing.  About a year ago both her and her younger sister M, came to London.  I invited them to come and visit me, and I would show them around the local sites where I live.  They took me up on the offer and we visited several places that you could only get to by car.  Well to cut a long story short, I told O that I had found a new job in Guizhou.  This turns out to be the county in which she was born.  Moreover her younger sister lives only 40 minutes away from where I will be working...and China is a huge place.  Coincidentally, her younger sister has friend who runs a hotel a hotel in the very place I will be working..just about a kilometre from the school!  Now THAT is spooky!

Well there is not a lot to show of the 'village' of Jiangkou, but it seems that the surrounding area is full of natural beauty.  A UNESCO World Heritage Site!  Fanjing Mountain. (Fangingshan).  More about that here: https://www.chinadiscovery.co m/guizhou/fanjingshan.html   This appears to be about an hour from where I will be working.Apparently it gets very touristy in the peak Summer period, and is a place to perhaps avoid at that time of the year. However, even closer to the school, is another less well known attraction.  This is the aptly named Yamuguo Scenic Spot.  I can find very littel about this except for a very pretty and interactive all Chinese website. If you can cope with the adventure of just clicking links in unknown Chinese writing then scan the QR code below, or go here: yamuguo.com

  Well today I started to get a little bit excited.  The place I am going to seems a long way off the beaten track but a really beautiful area.  I have contacts there.  The director of Foreign Students, the teacher liaison officer in the and even my 'teaching buddy' the Russian girl (Uly)Anna  although she is having problems with her internet and is not always easy to contact. Google seems to know very little about the area and the and Wikipedia only has six lines!  However a little bit of digging seems to reveal a few things.  Unfortunately, many of these are in Chinese only.  For me that is good, it means there are not a lot of 'foreigners'.  I could be the odd one out.  Just like at home except at home, except you cant tell that so easily from my appearance here!  Below are two images of the railway stations at Tongren, the city which administers Jianghou Tongren South Tongren Main

Today started with a chat and an exchange of ideas etc with A, the Russian woman at the school where I had accepted the offer.  We shared ideas and I offered to help her with lessons and other difficulties. Earlier I had spoken to Ja about the problems with her WiFi and he said it was sorted.  A said she had been contacted and the problem would be fixed the next day. We then shared more ideas etc. and booked a possible realtime conversation for the next day.  I'm starting to feel happier and more confident here! Oh, and did I say?  Google seems to think that the town I'm going to has a dog meat butcher.  How cool/weird is that...it made me chuckle.  A good place for a selfie!

So, having yesterday accepted an offer, I woke to find a contract from J in my inbox. The contract had been changed.  It now covered 14 months.  So the flight allowance was now applicable.  Some of the other questions had not been answered though. Later in the day I got a call from J asking for a chat.  I was unable to chat because I was shortly off to work.  So I told him I'd be available the next day from 9a.m. the next day.  All good I suppose. Next day, 29th I was sitting at my computer and on the dot of 9am I got a call from Jimmy.  I had told him that there was a problem.  I came to the point straight away.  He seemed disappointed and deflated, but I explained my reasons.  He tried to persuade me, but it was too late.  We parted on good terms...I think! So next task.  I needed to speak to D , who had introduced us and let get know my decision.  I had had several long talks with D and considered her to be a friend.   Contacted her and started to explain.  I told

After the conversation with J, I started looking seriously for alternatives.  I booked an interview with a University up North at 8 am the following day. Set the alarm for 6.30 and went to bed. Next day I was woken by the alarm at 6.30am and saw that there had been a request for a cancellation sent at 3am.  I acknowledged the cancellation.  I then acknowledged several other offers.  One of the offers suddenly came back, so I got more details!  It was for a job in a public middle school in the Southwest of China.  A small 'village'.  The offer came from a very tenacious young woman who turned out to be a real Rottweiler!  Pay was low, but the profile of the job looked excellent.  Poor small city.  Just what I was looking for.  I did a bit of negotiation and Rottweiler offered me an opportunity for interview at eight.  I took the opportunity. The interview was with Ja.  He turned out to be the 'director of foreign teachers' in that area.  Or something like that.  We

Sent a quick message to J about the job in T.  Got a quick reply.  A twenty minute phone call later, and Still unclear.  J wants me t go go to China on a Tourist visa and later bump it up to a Work Permit Strangely that is the one clear thing that Google tells me not to do!  Also there was talk about having to work in the Summer holiday period and that the school will not want to process my visa in the 'normal way'.  They have never done this before says J.  After this, I decided to look elsewhere.

Today I had the weirdest conversation so far.  Let's get things clear from the start. Today's conversation was with D mainly and some with J.  It was so weird I'm going to bore you with a copy and paste.  Just seemed like someone was not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!...and I don't think that was me! ( the conversation is not easy to follow, but you get the general idea)

Contacting my prospective employer is seeming a little problematic.  He has missed two contact times already.  I woke this morning and there was a message sent at my 00:45asking for a meeting at 08:30.  Fortunately I woke before that time.  I acknowledged the meeting and went and did some training.  Just as I was ending the training a message flashed up, someone was calling me, it was my prospective employer.  He cancelled the call and left a message.  I got back to him and told him Id be free in ten minutes.  We are now twenty-five minutes later and no sign of  my prospective employer, despite messaging him. I'm starting to wonder whether this is people in China in general or I am picking the wrong ones.  My mind drifts a bit and has me wondering whether unreliability etc. is the norm in China?  Then I wonder if I will even get my wages!  I was listening a friend yesterday who was telling me about life in Dubai.  All the workers that were 'imported' from Pakistan/India wo

Well, today I had a chat with J.  Not the J known to D, but another J who was introduced to me by L.  J was working in the school subject of Job 2 (F).  He was a real nice guy and took his time to explain stuff to me and answer my questions.  This is looking like a possible.  I asked him loads of questions and also asked for book samples.  The interview was by phone, as my laptop was s l o w l y booting up.  When it finished booting, I noticed that I already had book samples. So I told him he need not bother.  I also told L that I had spoken to him.  Still nothing heard from the other J.  Makes me think if he can't be bothered, then neither can I.  However that J offered me the job up north, more out in the sticks.  I fancied that more until the delays.  So, still waiting.

They just make it up, and not very well either. Just back from a call with D.  She had been talking to J, the guy who offered the contract for Job 1 in T.  I read the contract and it appeared pretty generic, and not necessarily applying to this job.  Documents The conversation started with a discussion where D said that I must hurry to accept because my legalised documents will 'run out'.  This sounds like nonsense, so I said I will check with my solicitor and the Chinese embassy.  I was told not to do that because they don't know what they are talking about.  Mmm . Contract term Orally we agreed on 12 months.  The contract is for 11 months.  My answer was no school pays for a 12 month contract.  They do.  I've seen them. Flights Flights are only reimbursed on a greater than 12 month contract.  This means I get no flights, right?  "Ah no" came the reply, "the eleven month contract means a year".  "Okay ".  I said " but the con

Job 1. (T) Today I got a message from 'D' regarding my questions about the contract.  I had sent a few questions about things that were unclear in the contract.  The message goes: "we prefer that you sign the contract first and the vacancy is Jimmy made for you.   also we dont want you to waste money to authenticate the documents again" What?  Sign it when I am still unclear about what it means?  China is a strange place!  I don't want to end up with no job, but ending up with a job I don't want is also something I don't want.  So where does this leave me?  I don't want to sign a contract that I don't understand but I don't want to end up with no job.  However I'm starting to think that I can't be bothered.  Maybe I don't understand how it works in China, but signing a contract I don't understand fully?  Weird!  Guessing here, but maybe in China my questions act as an affront to the one who made the contract?  However, ea

So where am I now?  Physically still in the UK.  Mentally somewhere between China and the UK... j obs running through my mind. Job 1. ( T ) Pros Off the beaten track Decent wage Cons Years 12 and 13 Just something makes me feel uneasy. Job 2. (F) Pros It is where a lot of my friends are. Modern city Cons Bad reviews Here too something makes me feel uneasy. Job  3. (C) Pros Nice interview Honest (I think) people Public Uni Old books Cons Salary Big city although campus not downtown. Job 3.  (J) Pros Nice area/campus Nice interviewer Interesting teaching Salary not bad for public Univercity although it is before tax. Cons Possible English and American studies and STEM ! I am still feeling bitter/angry about the  job that binned me and that shows a bit in the way that I am a bit critical of job offers...Maybe too critical.  I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, but that seems to be where I am targeting at the moment!  Also if I fail here it mi

Well the interviews keep coming in.  I sent some questions about the job in Guangdong and got a reply.  Accommodation is shared...Not sure I want that. Another interview for Chongqing.  This seems a very basic place.  Quite quaint in ways.  The interview had technical problems.  WeChat three way conversation stalled.  The interviewer seemed very genuine and the job itself sounded good.  Maybe I would be one of  the only foreigners there.   I like that idea better than being in a group of foreigners!  They apologised that the accommodation would be twenty or thirty years old, but they would buy new 'electical machines' if I took up the offer.  They also said that their textbooks were quite out of date!  I liked this, as I fancy a public type school rather than a private type.  Poorer people perhaps...my type.  Problem with public is usually wages.  If only wages were not important! Next interview was for a University in  Zhjiang.  This looks a lovely campus and a nice provin

So what's going on in my head now?  Well, I'm angry with job 1.  I'd like to get a bit of compensation or revenge.  They messed me around, it would be good to mess them around too. Job from 'D' and 'J'.  This is my second contract.  I thought I was being 'scamed'.  However I am happier now that a few misunderstandings have been cleared up with the help of 'O'.  Thanks 'O'! 很好朋友！Still a few things to clear up, but feeling a lot lighter! P.S.  I found a video about the old quarter of Taigu.  The narrator was English, but the dialogue was French.  Puzzled, then I realised I was VPNing from Belgium.  #doh! The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits! Haha!

Today I had my usual Friday meting with 'O'.  Earlier than usual, 10 am.  This was an excellent meeting.  'O' was so helpful. She checked  over some of  my contract and reassured me that the Chinese was much the same as the English.  She also found out all about Taigu Middle school or rather Taigu middle schools plural.  It appears that they are next to each other, back to back.  Public and private.  The one I have the contract with is the private one and it is actually a senior high school!  This was reassuring!  When I had originally spoken to 'D' and 'J', they had told me that I would be teaching equivalent of year 12 and 13.  When I read that the contract I had seen that it was for a middle school, so I thought that there was a misunderstanding and I would be teaching 12 and 13 year olds!   I had been worried about the contract not being what I accepted verbally.  Much clearer now!

Well I got up at 5.30 am.  Dressed for interview and ready for 5.30am.  WeChat ready, video call. 'Unstable connection.'. Bummer.  Well I got to see 'H' and we downgraded to voice chat. I think she was in Hong Kong.  She had a strong accent, a southern accent, not easy to understand, but we exchanged greetings and messages.  She had checked Anhui and found there was no and problem with people over the age of 55 .  There were limits in some provinces but not Anhui.  Hmmph!  She said she would get back to me with offers.

Well, there I was, Wednesday, and ready for a long Friday off work, til I checked my diary!  Dentist at 8 am.  Bummer!  Then the day got more complicated.  'H' sent me an email in response to one I'd  sent her, saying that she could interview me at 8am Friday.  Double bummer!  I emailed her back offering 6.30am or 10am.  We agreed on 6.30 am.  All done and dusted, with a 10am meeting with one of my best friend's 'O', all looked good!  I told 'M'.She suggested I ring the dentist and check my appointment as I'd not got a reminder text.  So I did, and found out immediately why I'd not got a reminder text.  My appointment was on Tuesday 19th!  Treble bummer.  How could I make such a mistake?  "Easy" said 'M' "You're a knob!".  Harsh, but true!

After today's interview, one of my earlier contacts got in touch with me as I had sent him a request on Sunday.  We cleared up a few questions and he promised to put me in touch with a contact at the proposed school and send me a contract.  Meanwhile two other job agents/companies have been in touch and I need to start logging what is happening or I will lose track!  As for WeChat, I wish it would sync between my PC and my phone, like it used to.  Apparently the messages are not now kept on a server...for my privacy.  It is a real nuisance having half the messages on my phone and half on my PC.

Got a quick message from one of my job agents today asking about progress with her contact.  Later in the day I got a request from her contact asking for my email address and mobile number.  Why?  Not sure, maybe he was reminded by the job agent that he should do something, because after all he should have my CV and all the details are there. The plot goes on.