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[pubba]

looks like i'm off to china in February, got my passport all visaed up with a z entry sticker... looking forward to gving a new type of career a go, teaching a weird mix chemistry/maths/english


anything to recommend to take along to the middle kingdom with me, apart from my vita and 3ds, some smart clothing and some books?

Cold and flu medicine, painkillers and favourite snacks. You can buy a lot of comfort foods from back home online but expect to pay a lot for it..

The medicines here in china are weaker. I always get family to send me some supplies every 6 to 12 months.

 

[WoodWERD]

Interesting developments with EPIK. Do they have some competition or is the market just shifting?

And to echo Pubba, I usually pack 8-10 sticks of deodorant with me. This time I grabbed some cold remedies too.

 

[sasimirobot]

I will never understand the dudes that move to china and have a suitcase full of doritos, 3 years of deodorant, guitar, xbox and ps4 on a wheelie cart, and enough medicine to kill a small horse.

All of these you can find in China, and probably cheaper. Medicine weaker? First I heard that, just bring in a google translate of the medicine you want and most pharmacies have what you need.

Maybe you guys are talking about some obscure shit here (medicine wise), but I just don't get it...

 

[Chairmanchuck]

I will never understand the dudes that move to china and have a suitcase full of doritos, 3 years of deodorant, guitar, xbox and ps4 on a wheelie cart, and enough medicine to kill a small horse.

All of these you can find in China, and probably cheaper. Medicine weaker? First I heard that, just bring in a google translate of the medicine you want and most pharmacies have what you need.

Maybe you guys are talking about some obscure shit here (medicine wise), but I just don't get it...

We really need that Chinese OT Gaf

And I think taking consoles is still important. Why buy new ones from HK/Taiwan when you still have perfectly good ones.
Another thing is, that hygienic products here are expensive. There is a reason people sell imported ones. I mean I can get a good deodorant in Germany for 1-2€, while even Nivea one here starts at 30-40RMB.

 

[numble]

You can buy strong cold medicine with pseudo in China (you will need to ask for the brand and give them an ID number/passport). Over the counter cold medicine in the US don't contain pseudo since you need to do the same thing (sign a book, provide your ID).

 

[sasimirobot]

Taobao 男士止汗 "deodorant" starts at 9RMB and American ones at 20RMB. One usually lasts me 3/4 months, so now 7kuai a month is breaking banks here? I understand first timers, but at this point not being able to use taobao is the same handicap as not being able to say 你好。

 

[Chairmanchuck]

Taobao 男士止汗 "deodorant" starts at 9RMB and American ones at 20RMB. One usually lasts me 3/4 months, so now 7kuai a month is breaking banks here? I understand first timers, but at this point not being able to use taobao is the same handicap as not being able to say 你好。

Of course there is still taobao, but I rather use well known brands. Besides even if you buy on taobao you should know that even Chinese dont trust that if you buy a brand product whether its fake or not.
And in general hygienic products are really far more expensive (same with makeup) than in europe.

I mean there is a reason that Chinese that have a vacation in europe buy all those things there and put it in her luggage.

 

[sasimirobot]

Most of those are well known american brands (sorry don't know about Euro stuff). And I don't think you understand how TB works, the fake shit falls to the bottom very quickly and those shops are called out. We are not talking about pearls or LV bags here, its a cheap stick of Deo, how you gonna fake that and pull it off?

Chinese tourists are not bringing back oreos and under-arm spray from Europe. They are hauling big money items like bags/clothes/iphones.

If you really scared of knock offs and what not just use Tmall.com.

Here is a ChinaGaf 7 bucks home sick care package:

Mountain Dew .50 cents US
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.74.jG7x8H&id=40480334830&ns=1&abbucket=9#detail

Doritos 2.50 US
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.10.hYS2Mt&id=41216537981&ns=1&abbucket=9#detail

Speed stick deodorant 4 US
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.22.sFI2aJ&id=26097320787&ns=1&abbucket=9#detail

 

[Chairmanchuck]

They are not just bringing LVs/Gucci bags and such back to China. Besides that make-up and hygienic products are totally asked for.
Whether its a lipstick by Catrice, some Perfume, body lotions, besides cheap chocolate (besides milk powder and cheap baby products).
And you can easily fake deo sticks. Just use different and cheaper chemicals. I know about Tmall though.

I spend like 30000 RMB on Taobao for small things in the last 2 years and I would still say, if you want such things with the same quality, it is always more expensive.
I am not just talking about Deodorants, but also things like chocolate, baking ingredients, make-up, body- and skincare products etc.

Besides the Doritos you posted are too expensive
In Carrefourre they are like 8RMB.

And btw. the Nivea Deodorants start at about 37 at Tmall. The same I can get in europe for like 2-3€

 

[sasimirobot]

They are not just bringing LVs/Gucci bags and such back to China. Besides that make-up and hygienic products are totally asked for.
Whether its a lipstick by Catrice, some Perfume, body lotions, besides cheap chocolate (besides milk powder and cheap baby products).
And you can easily fake deo sticks. Just use different and cheaper chemicals. I know about Tmall though.

I spend like 30000 RMB on Taobao for small things in the last 2 years and I would still say, if you want such things with the same quality, it is always more expensive.
I am not just talking about Deodorants, but also things like chocolate, baking ingredients, make-up, body- and skincare products etc.

Besides the Doritos you posted are too expensive
In Carrefourre they are like 8RMB.

And btw. the Nivea Deodorants start at about 37 at Tmall. The same I can get in europe for like 2-3€

I get what you are saying.. and yeah I don't really know the going rate for Doritos and other American junk food because I never buy that shit. But I still don't understand how with all the gutter oil, dangerous roads, tofu apartments, and other things that can easily kill you here how somebody would be concerned about 3$ deodorant quality.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

I get what you are saying.. and yeah I don't really know the going rate for Doritos and other American junk food because I never buy that shit. But I still don't understand how with all the gutter oil, dangerous roads, tofu apartments, and other things that can easily kill you here how somebody would be concerned about 3$ deodorant quality.

I mean I rather use products I know wont burn my skin than ones that might use even cheaper chemicals that could affect my skin
I mean afaik there are potentially harmful substances inside those fake perfumes you can buy everywhere here.

I try not to take risks which I can avoid

Spoiler

I will still buy the hell out of street choudoufu!

 

[WoodWERD]

sasimi, your posts are really condescending sometimes. It's cool you're a Chinese vet/pro making tons of cash, but as you said not everyone has the same experiences you do. The guy asks a simple question as a first timer, and you're scoffing that deodorant is breaking the bank for some people. What? I buy deodorant while I'm home because it's convenient and I have more than enough room in my suitcase. What difference does it make? I don't disagree with your general point, but not all of us laowai are helpless dumbasses.

Spoiler

Just brought back a PS4, 14" laptop, wireless router (why buy one in China when I have one in storage?), Kindle and more. Guess what? It all fit easily in my suitcase and carry on. I was surprised getting through security on both ends was such a breeze.

 

[sasimirobot]

sasimi, your posts are really condescending sometimes. [/SPOILER]

you are right, I should tone it down. sometimes I treat neogaf like its shit talking in a bar after a few beers, that doesn't always come off right on a forum...

 

[WoodWERD]

you are right, I should tone it down. sometimes I treat neogaf like its shit talking in a bar after a few beers, that doesn't always come off right on a forum...

It's all good, and yes I know what you mean haha.

 

[Valkerionseven]

Interesting developments with EPIK. Do they have some competition or is the market just shifting?

Government nonsense. Tons of long winded reviews of budgets and officials, "stamping out" corruption and what not gums up the works for everyone. They probably are getting some competition these days as well given the number of foreign travelers wanting to stay and needing a quick job.

Thinking I'll be filling out the EPIK application this year next month just to see what happens.

 

[Banjotanooki]

Soooooo....JET just announced who in America would get interviews! And I'm on it!!!

Only problem is that I already accepted a position with Interac for Spring 2015. What to do....

 

[banagher]

Congrats! As for your situation, I'd probably stick with Interac. I mean the jobs have small differences here and there but they're largely the same.

You don't wanna find yourself in the situation of rejecting Interac and then possibly not getting short-listed for JET.

 

[Banjotanooki]

Congrats! As for your situation, I'd probably stick with Interac. I mean the jobs have small differences here and there but they're largely the same.

You don't wanna find yourself in the situation of rejecting Interac and then possibly not getting short-listed for JET.

Thanks man! That's what I've been thinking of as well. The main difference is obviously the pay but I've heard Interac caters more to your placement and you can get a second job while you work for them while JET's a little bit more anal about that.

Still waiting on Interac to tell me where I'll be placed as well as when I have to fly in. I'm debating on going to the interview and see what happens. Only problem with the JET interview is that the place is 3 and half hours away. :/

 

[oyoshimaru]

I also made it on the list. Now to do my best for the interview. Any tips from past/exisiting members would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Aizo]

Not on the list. Gonna cry now.

 

[Valkerionseven]

Just checked my email... made it too super excited, now I just gotta find a way to make it to the interview site in Atlanta.

Yup.

Glad to see other Gaffers making the interview as well, sorry for the ones that did not, hopefully other plans/future trys get you further along. This is my second time applying, first time interviewing.

 

[roosters93]

I'm pretty sure EPIK isn't gone, but they're definitely downsizing. All the EPIK teachers in my city got this email last month:

NOTICE:2015 RENEWALS (Edited)

We apologize about our belated notification for FEB&MAR renewals.
All government organizations were under parliamentary inspection, where we get the answer for budgets from, and its finally about to end. We would like to ask for your kind understanding. Application for renewal will be sending out to your main school today.

However, Some of you may already have heard but 30% of Jeollabukdo Office of Education’s budget on Guest Foreign Language Teachers has been cut. Due to this reason, there is a possibility that you can be transferred to another city/district within Jeollabukdo after you successfully renew your contract.

Please be advised that screening for renewals will be intensified as compared with the preceding year. (Besides scores from school evaluation and interview result, we will be reviewing your co-teaching video and your yearly performance reviews)

If you have any questions or any concerns, Feel free to email me to ****

EPIK isn't gone, but they're cutting positions. Mainly high school and middle school positions, and smaller/rural elementary schools. There's no need for some of those schools to have their own dedicated native teacher.

Interesting, thanks for the info guys.
I was hoping to be doing it in 2016, ideally in Seoul (where all my friends from my semester at KU last year are) but would be willing to live anywhere as well knowing it's difficult to get into Seoul, maybe now difficult to get an EPIK job at all!
It just seems so much easier to go through EPIK than trying to find a hagwon or whatever and working in the day appeals to me more too.

 

[Lavalamp1138]

Anyone here from JET Canada? They said sometime in January but I haven't heard anything yet.

 

[Aizo]

Anyone here from JET Canada? They said sometime in January but I haven't heard anything yet.

I hadn't received an e-mail, but the admissions are out. Just use your application ID number and search for it on the admissions page. I don't think not receiving the e-mail is a good sign (because I didn't make it).

 

[Jintor]

Gosh, time goes by so fast. Seems like only last month I was sweating bullets about my interview.

Anyway, I handed in the paperwork for another year. Time will tell if that was the right decision or not...

 

[Jaffaboy]

Interesting, thanks for the info guys.
I was hoping to be doing it in 2016, ideally in Seoul (where all my friends from my semester at KU last year are) but would be willing to live anywhere as well knowing it's difficult to get into Seoul, maybe now difficult to get an EPIK job at all!
It just seems so much easier to go through EPIK than trying to find a hagwon or whatever and working in the day appeals to me more too.

It's easier to go through EPIK, and a little bit on the safer side in terms of job security but it's definitely more competitive for that reason. One of my friends who is a qualified teacher with a year experience has been put on the waiting list to start in August rather than March like he was hoping, and that's with no preference to location either. At least with a hagwon you could apply to a school in a specific city and there's lots of schools to look into, rather than it be an absolute lottery on where you're placed and it's just that one application. Both options are a lottery anyway, there's some really great hagwons and some really shit jobs with EPIK. Both offer free rent and flights though! (Although I think most hagwons now don't pay for the flight home).

It's not so bad visiting Seoul though from most of the other major cities with the KTX high speed train. It's about 2 1/2 hours from Busan to Seoul, $50 each way.

 

[WoodWERD]

Just got my schedule for next semester...Wednesdays/Thursdays, 4 classes total. Gotta love university life.

 

[Lavalamp1138]

I hadn't received an e-mail, but the admissions are out. Just use your application ID number and search for it on the admissions page. I don't think not receiving the e-mail is a good sign (because I didn't make it).

I can't seem to find a page like that

 

[Banjotanooki]

Well, I just rejected JET in favor on Interac.

Hope I made the right decision. I really hate how long their application process takes. Interac makes everything so seamless and hassle-free.

 

[Izuna]

It's time for me to look into this.

As a UK breh I am able to stay in Tokyo, Japan for 180 days without applying for a Visa (have to renew half way through).

Now I finish Uni at the end of May, so the original plan is that I am going to book a one-way at early June. Accommodation is sorted but I'll need to apply for a Work Visa while I am already there which takes two months.

So I figured the better idea would be to go up during Easter and look for a job then and return to the UK and apply for a Visa before going up in June.

What are some good sites for this? Gaijinpot is the only one I have seen. I know there are tons of English schools in Mejiro but I'm not sure if I can just go up and give my CV or if agency is better.

 

[morch]

more of a side question to life in china, what VPN can people recommend?

 

[Jaffaboy]

It's time for me to look into this.

As a UK breh I am able to stay in Tokyo, Japan for 180 days without applying for a Visa (have to renew half way through).

Now I finish Uni at the end of May, so the original plan is that I am going to book a one-way at early June. Accommodation is sorted but I'll need to apply for a Work Visa while I am already there which takes two months.

So I figured the better idea would be to go up during Easter and look for a job then and return to the UK and apply for a Visa before going up in June.

What are some good sites for this? Gaijinpot is the only one I have seen. I know there are tons of English schools in Mejiro but I'm not sure if I can just go up and give my CV or if agency is better.

Other than the stuff in the OP you could try Dave's ESL Cafe, jobs in Japan are in the International Job Board.

Here's a couple of recruiters too:

Teach Away
Footprints

I used Footprints to get my public school position in Korea a few years ago, they're good people.

Also, the Guardian Jobs website sometimes has a few jobs posted for Japan.

If I were you, personally I wouldn't go to Japan and try to find a job on your first gig but go through a recruiter or apply for a school that'll sponsor your visa. You'll also need your degree certificate or transcripts to get the visa afaik.

 

[Meffer]

I'm really interested in doing this. I want to go into localization as a career and this seems perfect to learn Japanese and their culture and would be a great boon for what I want to got for. What are there any requirements like needing a type of degree? I was originally going into software development since I figured that would in localization field, but I realized I'm not great at math and doing something with that much math would be a nightmare for me and I wouldn't love it. Are there any degrees that compliment well with localization?
Sorry for such an off question, guys lol, but I really want to choose the best path with what I want to go into.

 

[Izuna]

Other than the stuff in the OP you could try Dave's ESL Cafe, jobs in Japan are in the International Job Board.

Here's a couple of recruiters too:

Teach Away
Footprints

I used Footprints to get my public school position in Korea a few years ago, they're good people.

Also, the Guardian Jobs website sometimes has a few jobs posted for Japan.

If I were you, personally I wouldn't go to Japan and try to find a job on your first gig but go through a recruiter or apply for a school that'll sponsor your visa. You'll also need your degree certificate or transcripts to get the visa afaik.

Well it wouldn't be the first time I went there. Applying for a school is a money issue, there is basically no way.

The degree certification probably won't be delivered until mid-September which would be a real bummer since that would mean I would have to go back and return. Which of course would be another money issue.

Well I have already got the ticket for Easter. If I don't find it there and really need to wait for the Degree papers then I guess there's no harm in waiting a couple of months before seeing if I can sponsorship while in London.

EDIT: And now I just paid for an online TEFL course. It was 30% off until tomorrow so whatevs. Gunna have it hard on cash from now on haha

 

[sasimirobot]

more of a side question to life in china, what VPN can people recommend?

I used to use free ones like Goagent but all of those stopped working a few months ago. They are really hammering google, so I bought Astrill recently because of high praise from friends that also live in China. It works really well, I haven't watched this many youtube videos in years. Highly recommended!

PM me your email and I will send you a free trial.

 

[Chichikov]

more of a side question to life in china, what VPN can people recommend?

I use 12vpn and I'm very happy, many servers, great speed, awesome support.
Not the cheapest, but honestly, you get what you pay for.

 

[Lavalamp1138]

I made it through to the interview stage with JET!

Now I gotta figure out my travel arrangements since I'm a Canadian citizen living in the US.

 

[TimeEffect]

As a Canadian, I've been neglecting teaching overseas as an option. But no job offers on the table since graduating in summer of 2014 have made me anxious and desperate. I am young, and will probably not get an opportunity like this again so I'm wanting to take a giant leap like this

...I have some friend teaching in Europe, but I am open to teaching overseas in general. Any advice from fellow Canadians?

 

[Sarcasm]

Anybody have a good resource for homework making? I have two classes (one grade 1/2 - 7 year olds and other are 11 year olds) that have I have to create 10 pages per class. Their English levels are pretty decent. Can argue and fight in English lol. 7 year olds I just started getting their creative kicks in since they had 0 creativity to begin with.

 

[Branduil]

So, I did well enough on a phone interview with Interac to get invited to a seminar. Unfortunately the seminar is this Saturday, so now I'm going to have to scramble to get ready LOL.

 

[Jaffaboy]

So, I did well enough on a phone interview with Interac to get invited to a seminar. Unfortunately the seminar is this Saturday, so now I'm going to have to scramble to get ready LOL.

In London? Good luck!

Also, anyone have any advice on where to get a health check up in the UK? My local GP aren't very helpful. I need a statement of health, including a chest x-ray, sight and hearing test amongst other things to send over by mid-February to secure my job with ECC (starting mid-March in Nagoya!). I don't mind paying privately, and I already contacted BUPA but they won't do an x-ray without it being for an actual condition. Anyone had to do anything similar?

 

[morch]

In London? Good luck!

Also, anyone have any advice on where to get a health check up in the UK? My local GP aren't very helpful. I need a statement of health, including a chest x-ray, sight and hearing test amongst other things to send over by mid-February to secure my job with ECC (starting mid-March in Nagoya!). I don't mind paying privately, and I already contacted BUPA but they won't do an x-ray without it being for an actual condition. Anyone had to do anything similar?

as annoying as it sounds, chest x rays aren't done here in UK unless you're at risk, because of the high level of TB vaccination, x ray induced cancers are common in asia because they love doing them...

i dodged mine for china, until i get there

anyway, you're best bet is to talk to your regular gp to arrange it, if you explain it's needed for a visa, they can arrange it privately at a hospital. It'll be a few hundred pound though :s

 

[morch]

i want to take my ps4 to china with me, how is it best to do this? anyone done anything like this?

I'm leaving in 5 weeks, i've sorted out 90% of my bills, and arranged for one of my parents to be my proxy voter, but i honestly have no idea what kind of other things i should do before i leave the UK...
im so scared but excited

 

[Valkerionseven]

Did my JET interview today... ugh.

Did not go bad, went almost as expected. I was kinda annoyed though, I felt like I could have explained a few things better like why I had bad grades, then super awesome ones. And after all the hard work the SoP took, not one, NOT A SINGLE FUCKING QUESTION was asked from it. Not any.

Like damn, people work so fucking hard on that and it got ignored for me at least. Maybe it was a "we read it so we don't questions about it since it was so well done" or what.

Time for me think of myself as a failure in life for the next 4 months to see if I made it.

 

[ZackieChan]

It's the same as with my law school exams (one month until we got grades) and bar exam (4 months until grades) - you just need to forget it. Begin exploring contingency plans and enjoy life. It's not the end of the world if you don't get it. Look at this thread! There's tons of opportunity out there if you're not tied down.

 

[oyoshimaru]

Did my JET interview today... ugh.

Did not go bad, went almost as expected. I was kinda annoyed though, I felt like I could have explained a few things better like why I had bad grades, then super awesome ones. And after all the hard work the SoP took, not one, NOT A SINGLE FUCKING QUESTION was asked from it. Not any.

Like damn, people work so fucking hard on that and it got ignored for me at least. Maybe it was a "we read it so we don't questions about it since it was so well done" or what.

Time for think of myself as a failure in life for the next 4 months to see if I made it.

my interview is on the 3rd of february. do you mind sharing some of the more interesting questions? and yes, the 3 month wait will be tough.

 

[sohois]

i want to take my ps4 to china with me, how is it best to do this? anyone done anything like this?

I'm leaving in 5 weeks, i've sorted out 90% of my bills, and arranged for one of my parents to be my proxy voter, but i honestly have no idea what kind of other things i should do before i leave the UK...
im so scared but excited

pack it in your suitcase. thats all you need to do. you'll need an adapter though

 

[Valkerionseven]

my interview is on the 3rd of february. do you mind sharing some of the more interesting questions? and yes, the 3 month wait will be tough.

Sure it says to not talk about the details but shit, there is a million blogs/videos that do, and hell its gaf, who would know lol. Here is a run down of the basic questions I was asked, just know it was very organic flowing questions, next question was a natural progression of the next in most cases.


It actually was not that many, once again many flowed into each other, this is kinda the order they asked/what I remembered it:

Why JET?
What level students would you be interested in teaching?
If you got a rural placement how would you handle it/react

had a quick minute to ask questions. Hard to think of any, they kinda understood the brain farts of suddenly having to ask a question after being asked them for 20 minutes. Ended up with a generic "what was the daily life working at a school like, and what was your favorite lesson or thing to teach." Wanted to ask what they themselves thought of the program, but completely forgot, maybe its a rude question so its for the best i don't know. They seemed to move along a quite a nice pace, I wanted to talk about certain points more but they (hopefully) got their answer that they thought is enough and moved on.

Felt like 5 mins, was around 25.

In general it seemed like they were trying to:

A) make sure you are not a fucking psychopath,
B) are down for the potential hiccups that come with moving to a new country (IE Not wasting their money flying your gaijin ass out)
C) Seem level headed enough to do not only the job and be surrounded by people who don't speak your language,
D) also are not a liar with your application.

The bigger questions are the ones trying to see how you react and how you recover/how quickly you can. They seem to all be anything that can be misconstrued as a negative on your app/SoP/said there in the interview. No trivia for me, no whats big in Japanese news, name the islands, ect. Once again I think people who get these questions walked themselves into it, just trap questions to put you on the spot. Could have answered them though I'm sure. They seemed to avoid things I clearly would know about just from responses on my application or SoP.

Felt like 5 mins, was around 25.

In general they all seemed super nice. Was like talking to two professors and a meet this person a similar age as you thing.

 

[Lavalamp1138]

Thanks so much for the post Valkerion! My interview is on Feb 6 and you've given me a ton of food for thought!

 

[oyoshimaru]

indeed! thanks a lot for the response, i definitely need to prepare a little more.