Lion dancers, Hong Kong. February 2017
(Photo by author)
Just a quick update, since I'm pretty blitzed from two intensive work days. I've had more encouraging news about my job prospects I can share here.
First, it seems 60 is not the universal maximum age in China for foreign teachers. Some provinces allow teachers work until age 65, and I've already talked to one university about such a post. One main drawback would be a pay cut of about 1000 RMB a month -- about US$145 -- and relocation to a less scenic part of China. Still, it bears consideration and I will soon be getting more information from the uni about accommodations and teaching responsibilities.
I still have to depart China by June 30, because transferring my current teaching credentials and whatnot to the other province would take too long. Bureaucratic red tape is universal, you know. That means I would have to apply for a new visa once I am back in the States. Not an onerous task, but still a nuisance.
A friend at the university put me in touch with her friends, who run a private school in Guangdong Province. The pay would be really quite a handsome raise above what I get now, but with a giant catch. They asked if I would work there on a tourist visa!
In case you didn't know, working with a tourist visa is illegal in practically every country. For many years, Chinese officials have looked the other way, because native English teachers are in short supply here. But in the last two to three years, police in the large cities have done surprise inspections of businesses and school, looking for illegal workers. If found to have only tourist visas, the workers are deported, they have to forfeit any money held in a Chinese bank account, and they are banned for life from visiting China again. Their employers also face stiff fines and perhaps criminal charges.
So, I declined the offer, though the money was good.
An Internet friend teaches English in the Czech Republic, and it seems I could work there. So I shared my CV with an agency there. We'll what happens.
Well, that's all for now. I said I would try to make daily updates, but made no promises. I had a boatload of paperwork to do these two days about the final examinations -- new regulations, it seems -- so I had no time to blog here.
Thanks for following my journey. Appreciate any support, moral, upvotes, resteems, whatever you got.