The Cool, The Weird, and the Scary

So I have been in Jiaxing for three days now. Trying to sum up the experience in one page is difficult so I thought I would go over highlights and post a few pictures. I have school work to do tonight too, so this will be brief!

The Cool

My co-worker, Angel, asked if I would come with her and her friend to see Jiaxing and of course I said yes. We went to the nature resort where you can grill, walk on the boardwalk, and see all the unique plants. They have these trees that look insane. They have lily pads the size of a two year old and you can eat the lotus flowers??? I thought was a thing only in The Odyssey. 

After that we went to the Moon River Market. It used to be a popular place for tea shops so on the gates going in you will see a couple sitting with tea and instruments. They are to represent that the shops used to do a lot of entertaining and was a source of pride (that's what I was told anyways). Angel joked that they do that now but with alcohol and bands. Same concept! They have these beautiful buildings, canals, and street vendors alongside contemporary bars and restaurants. 

My school is huge and very open. When westerners hear "open floor plan" they probably imagine big windows and wide indoor spaces. There are hallways in my school that are OUTSIDE. I literally will walk from my classroom, down the hall, walk on a staircase that is exposed to open air, and walk down to another classroom. It is one of the nicest private schools in Jiaxing and praised for being a green building. We haven't gotten a full tour of the school yet but we are excited for that day to come.  

I literally walk down from the room to see this. All open air.

The Weird

Mopeds are big in Jiaxing. Many people drive those things around but what they wear is...odd. There have been multiple times where I have seen people drive with oven mitts on or snuggies. That is right SNUGGIES and it will be 40 C or 104 F. The reason is they don't want their hands or arms to get tan and are willing to suffer through sweaty hands to keep a pale complexion. Sun proof umbrellas are big here too. 

You know those tassels people hang in their car windows? They look cheesey but are supposed to represent good safety or fortune? Yeah, those are real. I thought that was something that Americans took for their own without understanding the real life implications, but everyone in China has those tassels in their car and it is for those reasons (that I know of). They even have Buddha statues glued to the dashboard. 

The Scary

I heard driving was scary here and at first, it wasn't that bad. Sure, people honk a lot, and get really close, and park on the sidewalk, but nothing insane. 

Until today. 

Today we got picked up by a taxi to go to school. There was road construction that turned a two way lane into a one way lane. Our taxi driver could have gone around but decided, no, he was going to go anyway. Ya'll, we went down a one way road THE WRONG WAY for THREE blocks. Cars got out of our way but I felt like Richard in Tommy Boy. It got to the point where I was so scared that I just accepted death with open arms. This isn't even considered "bad" compared to Shanghai...which we plan on going to this weekend. 

Get me pink roses for my funeral and I won't forget you. 

Travel Visa Info!

Maybe you want to go to China on a short fun trip. Visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, or see night life in Shanghai. Maybe you want to visit your good buddy/relative over there. *wink wink* What you need is a travel visa. Again I would recommend Visa Mail Service if you need to do any of the paperwork and your consulate is far away. Email them nicely about what documents you need and they will give you a detailed and updated list.

This can take up to a month to get if not longer so do it ahead of time!

For 2017 you need these items. 

Your plane tickets for going to China and coming back to your home country. 

Passport

Copy of your Passport

Fill Out This Form It has to be filled out on the computer. Nothing hand written. 

      -On this form you will fill out the first pages as directed. The part that might trip you up is page two. 

   -Check the box that says tourism. 

   -Check the box that says One Entry. In the end you don't choose how many days you can get, the consulate decides that. Even if you are planning on living there, click one entry. 

  -Write when your ticket says you are going and how many days you plan to be there. 

  -Hotel you are staying at. Even if you are staying at a friend's house, you have to check in to a hotel or a police station when landing in China. 

  -Say you are paying for yourself 

  -Ignore the part that says inviter. 

Fill out the rest and sign and date! 

This part you have to hand sign. Basically, you print off the form, sign, and then scan it for the signature, print again and to send off to the consulate. 

I know on Adobe you can sign on the screen so it is real but when I did that the document was sent back to me saying that the consulate didn't want that. My firm had to sign for me in the end. It is a pain to print, sign, scan, print but that's the way they want it. 

Hope that helps!

I'm Not Crying...You Are!

So today is officially my last day in the USA. I woke up this morning feelings really excited but also sad. I am leaving my family and friends that I love and they have been very supportive to me. I don't want to leave them. However, being able to see China and get to meet my co-workers is going to be great! The next two years I will learn about the language and the culture not to mention work with cute first graders! The conflicting emotions between sadness and joy has my stomach in knots. It got even a little crazier.

Let me tell you, today was a roller coaster of emotion. My firm sent my passport and visa yesterday and overnight shipped it so it was going to be here today. I was refreshing the tracking page like crazy and a weird thing happened. The day changed from August 24th to August 25th. Naturally I did what anyone else would and FREAKED OUT. I am leaving for my plane tonight, what was I supposed to do? I called FedEx and this nice lady named Desiree listened to me calmly freak out and told me that I could pick it up. Thank the stars my sister was in Lincoln today and picked up the package at the FedEx store (who is now on my list). No idea why they didn't just ship it to York. According to the tracker it was in Lincoln at 11:30 am so they had all day to send it to York and just didn't. Naturally I went from scared, to anxious, to happiness. So to my sister, Bless Your Soul.

After that my friend Skyler wrote this lovely message on Instagram about how she was going to miss me. The tears were being held back. She asked what messaging apps I was going to use and I remembered I should do that. I set up a WeChat account. My dad and I figured out Skype last night. For some reason Facetime and WhatsApp aren't working on my tablet or ipod so I will download those once I get a Chinese phone.

After that my dad asked about selling my car. I set up a buyer who is supposed to come next Wednesday. My dad asked if I had signed the title. Crickets were chirping.
"Is that the same as the registration?"
"The pink slip? No. It's the title."
"Oh, no I didn't sign it and I have no idea where it is."
Thankfully my dad had it on file and I signed it so it could be sold.

So now it is just waiting to leave. I have all my stuff packed up. Got my documents. Now I am off to finish a TV show before I leave. See you on the other side!

Am I Finally Leaving?

I got a call from my firm a few days ago and I am supposed to get my travel visa and notarized document on August 23rd. My plan leaves on the 25th at 5:00 am. So it seems that I will finally be able to leave! 

My co-workers are already in China and they are being super helpful with what I need to pack or not. Right now I am currently all packed up but my luggage is kind of on the verge of bursting. I bought these bags that compress air out of your items and they are AMAZING. If you a traveling far I would recommend buying them. I got mine from Walmart for $10. Anyways, I was told that I might need to bring bed sheets and pillows which obviously take up a lot of room, even when they are compressed. My co-workers just let me know that they are pretty cheap over there and would recommend I do that. Thank heavens!

What are other things I'm packing? I went off a few other people's check lists but some of the items seemed like overkill. One woman likes to vlog so she packed three cameras. Well, I won't need that on my checklist. 

What I am bringing is... 
*Casual Clothes I wear often. If I don't wear them regularly here, why bring them along?
*Professional clothes for school. This is the thing that I keep cutting down on. I brought over 10 outfits. 
*Formal wear. Not sure when I might need these, but I do wear dresses to school from time to time. This also I could cut down on.
     As a side note. I have a white dress that I love but then I remembered that white is usually only worn for funerals over there. Something to keep in mind! 

*Coat, jackets, boots, bathing suit, umbrella, shoes for all four seasons. This takes up a lot of room but there is no way to cut down on this one.
*I am bringing my tea strainers and a pair of ceramic steel chopsticks I own. I was told to bring my own chopsticks to restaurants. 
*Electrical converter and charging wires.
*Books for my classes and for entertainment. 
*Planner that I can keep notes and important documents in. I am required to carry copies of my passport, visa, insurance, and notarized documents. 
*Laptop, tablet, and ipod. BE SURE TO GET A VPN!
       I am using VyprVPN as it was most recommended to me by my employers and co-workers. 
  
*Toiletries and extras. This I could cut down as well. I know they have stores over there that sell these things but I keep seeing on blogs that stores are hard to navigate. That could be a total myth because my co-workers haven't mentioned it yet. 
          -I am bringing extra contact solution. It will last me two years in China. 
          -Deodorant
          -Shampoo
          -Face wash
          -Soap
          -Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and since I have permanent retainers I need floss threaders.
          -Towels and wash cloths
          -Go Girl. It allows girls to, uh, "go" standing up. Squat toilets are a thing in China. 
          -Menstrual Cup. Menstrual items are really expensive in China. (Not really sure why yet) so many girls moving there buy hundreds of tampons or pads and pack them up before leaving. I think the menstrual cup is way better though. You only need one to last you for a lifetime. 

This will be my third time repacking and organizing. Wish me luck!

Visas are a Waiting Game

As mentioned in a previous post, I have been trying to get my Chinese Work Visa since June. I had to give notarized documents to my school and we found out that my background check was deemed "too old" even though I got it in December. Currently still waiting for my new background check to be sent back.
My school decided that they will get me a travel visa for orientation, go to Hong Kong, and get my work visa from there. A great plan as a travel visa didn't need any of the document notarization but it did need an invite from the school. I express mailed the visa and the other documents to my firm yesterday and they got it today. Got back from work with a phone call saying that there was an error on the forms and they would email me the details.
It's been four hours and I didn't receive the email. I emailed the firm and this time I CC'd my employers. While they understand it was their fault for not knowing about the 6 month background check rule and they understand I can't come to China until I get a visa, they are freaking out. I get an email from them at least once a day asking if the forms have come yet, when they might come, and what I expect to do about the flight. They have clearly never played the American Paper Work Game AKA the waiting game. I explained to my school that there was no report from the consulate, I can't do anything about it, and had no clue what to do about the flight. Also that I did in fact write down I wanted an express visa but that was up to the consulate to decide if they should grant me that or not.

Honestly, I feel exasperated and frustrated. I am also annoyed with the fact that my school is freaking out and bothering me with a thousand questions that I don't know the answer to.

I have emailed my firm, my school's HR, and principal about it.

Now We Wait.

UPDATE: So the firm called me again (8 hours later: Thought they would be closed by now?) and that lady was freaking out too! The part I filled out incorrectly was my current employer. I wrote down the school (because they are my boss) but that was wrong apparently. They wanted my summer job. When they asked what it was I explained that the company worked with corn.
"What do they do? Sell? Farm? Teach? We need to know what to label it under."
"Uh, uh, they genetically modify corn?!"
"What? What is that?!"
"They work with corn!"
"Corn? You work with corn?"
I know it is a stereotype for a Nebraskan to be in the corn but I legit do. I pollinate (yes, like a bee) corn so that the corn has the desired traits the breeders want. I have no idea how the firm will file that under but I told them it was agriculture. They are probably really confused right now.
Sorry I work in a corn field with a difficult job to explain to someone who hasn't done it before. I have even tried to explain what I do to my farmer relatives and they are confused by it. If you are interested here is our training video.

So You Want To Teach Overseas

If you are considering going overseas here are things you NEED to know.

Choosing a Company or School

1. If the school doesn't offer insurance, an apartment, or pay then be wary. There are scam schools out there that offer you a job and when you get to the country you find out you don't have a job or a place to live. You either live off your savings until you get a job or go home broken hearted.

2. If you need to pay the school to work there IT IS A SCAM! There are no schools that would be able to do that legally. They need your services not your money.

3. Some schools will sound like roses and chocolate but when you get there it can be a literal dump. There have been people who get jobs overseas thinking it is a top ranking school and find that it has a tin roof and no running water. Google Earth your prospective school, find their website, ask to talk to former teachers. If your school won't do that, then think again.

4. How big are your classes? How long are they? What are they expected to learn in a semester? There are schools who pride themselves in teaching fast. It is impossible to teach students to be fluent in a language in a semester especially if there are 100 kids in the class and they all have different learning levels. These schools don't scam teachers but parents. Parents pay a ton of money to get their children to be fluent in English in a semester and are shocked when their students "graduate" from the program barely knowing how to say, "My name is..." It will suck for you and the kids but as far as the school is concerned, they got paid.

I recommend going to the US site to find companies they recommend. Getting a TEFL/TESL if you don't have an education degree is a great idea too. My sister did that and she got to choose her country and everything.

Why do you want to teach overseas?

Want to party? Want to see the world and get paid for it? Want to have a low-key job in an awesome place? Congrats! Teaching is NOT for you. 

When my sister and I were both interviewed we were asked this question. A ton of people have gotten a teaching job overseas and quit in the first two weeks because they realized it was an actual job with actual responsibilities. It has gotten so bad in popular tourist countries they will not give you an apartment unless you have a recommendation from your company. Another issue is that people will spend their paychecks so fast that they have to go back to their home country because they are too broke to live there anymore. 

Going overseas can be amazing but it is not for the faint of heart either. 

What To Do To Prepare

One of the first steps I did to prepare was getting an app to learn Chinese. Most people speak Mandarin and an app I use is Chinese Skill. The hardest thing to learn about Chinese for me is that it is so numbered based. Days of the week are literally Monday="The Day of One," Tuesday="The day of Two," but Sunday is "Day of the Sky." Months are similar to this as well.

The next item I did was watch a documentary every week on China. The ones I have watched include Wild China, Forbidden City, Please Vote For Me, A Bite of China, and China From the Inside. A vlog I recommend is MonkeyAbroad.

When you teach abroad buy books on strategies to teach ESL students. The main thing you need to know about teaching is that you need to creatively repeat information over and over until students get it and have it forever.

Asian schools are different from US schools in that they are more intense. Chinese high school classes are basically general study courses in US colleges, it gets them prepared for future careers. There are high schools that are for kids interested in medicine, law, and engineering while in the US it is broad enough for any student. If you think about it, Chinese middle schools are trying to prepare students for the rigor of high school. So my elementary school kids are already expected to do well because it can change their lives forever. Not an attitude we have in the states. In my research I have read about Asian parents getting angry at teachers for not teaching more and faster. Elementary school kids in China can divide paragraphs and can even create a bibliography. Meanwhile in the states I had to convince my high school students that they would be writing bibliographies in college and I wasn't lying.

Next is your work visa. If they say you don't need to prepare IT IS A LIE. In China you will need...

1. Passport. This can take 2 months to get and costs around $100.
2. Passport Photo (this will be glued onto official forms)
3. Fingerprinted Background Check that is within six months of you going there. If you are going in August you will need to get a background check in March or April.
4. Resume
5. Teaching Certificate
6. Degree

The teaching certificate, degree, and background check will need to be notarized. To notarize you will need to go to your state capitol building and get a notary there. Then you will need to go to the US Department of State and get it notarized. Only after that can you go to the Chinese Consulate/Embassy to get a notary.

Personally, I live an hour away from the capitol building and it kind if stunk. I drove an hour there, it took 20 minutes to get the notary, and I drove an hour back. Then my Embassy was in Washington DC which stunk about a billion times more. If you recall I'm from Nebraska. (For some reason California has two embassies but Midwestern states have to go to DC?!) I hired VisaMailService to handle the other two steps. It can cost between $100-200 to get a notary per document. If it was cheaper to fly to DC, get a hotel, and wait for hours to drop it off, wait a few days, go back and pick it up, I would have.

BTW this takes longer than you think. There are expatiated services but that is up to the Consulate if you get that are not. VisaMailService wrote on their site it can take 8-10 days for papers to get back to you, but it can also be 10-12 days. It doesn't sound like much until you do the math.

(Make an appointment to get a state notary, mail that in and takes 10-12 days, get visa invite from school takes 2+ days, consulate approval can take 6-10 days. Congrats about a month went by.)

Horror story time, I was supposed to leave August 15th but my background check had expired in June. My school and myself didn't know about the six month rule. I had to reorder a background check and am currently waiting on the notary. It is the 7th of August. My school and I are working on flight plans and visa paperwork and we both know I won't be there the 15th.

Introduction: Why and How

I wanted to make a blog as a journal but also to help others. While preparing to go overseas I found there were hardly any blogs about moving to China. I hope that this blog will assist others and also let people know how I am doing. Enjoy!

For a few years now I have wanted to go overseas and help people. I would say I've wanted to do that since high school. The reason is that being from a small town in Nebraska, I knew there was a big world out there and I had hardly experienced it. I was also raised with the belief that helping others is why we are put on this earth. Why not do that overseas? So I went to the US government website and found a company called Search Associates which offered some pretty great benefits.

Search Associates asks that the schools provide insurance, an apartment, and pay. That sounds pretty good to me! If you want to apply you WILL need a degree in teaching. They do have a few positions for janitors and things, but don't think that out of high school  or if you have a degree without a teaching certificate you will get hired right away.
If you want to apply you will need a resume (also called CV), a mini biography on yourself, a background check (withing six months), five reference letters, college transcript, and sign SA's contract. From there you will have an interview and be accepted by the company. Search Associates kind of looks like Facebook where you can search schools and schools can search you. I had to apply as an intern as I did not have two years of teaching experience. What helped me land a job was that I knew classroom management well and tutored English Language Learners (ELL). Not to mention my awesome reference letters (be good to your professors and they will be good to you).

I actually didn't apply for a school, the school found me. A school started in 2015 in Jiaxing, China contacted me and after two interviews I was hired in February of 2017.

The next step was to prepare for teaching and the culture!