Monthly Archives: October 2014

A Smart Tongue Twister: Teach English in China

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Julianne Jennings 8/18/14
Previously Posted at:
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/18/smart-tongue-twister-teach-english-china
There is a surging demand for learning the English language in China. English is the language of global business; and it has turned the export-intensive country into an importer of American teachers, creating thousands of potential jobs for native speakers from the West to teach in schools and public institutions.

There has also been an explosion of private language schools and companies around the country in feeding the insatiable Dragon. As many as 300 million Chinese people are learning English. The emerging middle class in China aspires to send their children for private instruction just as in the capitalist countries of Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. So a great many opportunities exist, and are being advertised abroad especially via the Internet. Most requirements for teaching posts in China are not always stringent: a university degree (and in some cases not) is often sufficient and teaching experience counts for more than formal training.

In many cases teachers receive free apartments, airfare, a local salary, and other perks. Wages are best in the big cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai) where there are scores of English schools. But many teachers feel that the drawbacks of Chinese city life are so great that they prefer to work in the provinces for less money. The western provinces like Yunnan are more pleasant and less money-mad than the east coast cities. Once you get a job make sure the school sorts out the various permits (work permit, Letter of Invitation, Z-visa.) for which you are eligible. Ask your employer for help in obtaining a temporary residence so you can avoid the tedious and expensive necessity of renewing your visa. If you’re unsure about how to navigate through the job morass overseas, there are also a number of recruitment agencies that will assist you. However, beware, there are companies that preform unethical or substandard practices that result in poor job placement, not to mention time and money lost. I strongly suggest you do your research before embarking on your teaching adventure in China.

So, why would teaching ESL overseas be of interest to American Indians? Teaching overseas is a great opportunity not only to learn about different people and their cultures, but to help educate foreign students, continued professional development, and for résumé building. Derek Yazwa, along with his partners Brendan Gibson and Monica Weintraub, the creators of New Life ESL, “The only American expat recruitment agency in Asia” explain, “It’s one of the best ways you can bring incredible change and adventure to your life. It will give you the chance to travel the world while earning a great living, making a difference in people’s lives and making lots of friends from all around the world.” New Life ESL works closely with candidates to help them secure a teaching position matched to their qualifications, experience, and interests. The agency offers free consultations, review offered contracts, provide city options, ESL training and certification, lesson planning workshops, mandarin language study (not necessary, but opens doors to many other work possibilities) and more. The group is partnered with hundreds of schools guaranteed to help find you the perfect job.

Just a few months ago, I reached out to New Life ESL wanting to try something new and exciting as part of my professional development as an educator. Brendan put me in contact with their friend and partner, Susie Zhou, a recruitment officer for Education International Culture Exchange Center—a human resources company in Beijing. With my qualifications and teaching experience she was able to place me at a middle school in Rongjiang County, Guizhou, which included a full-benefit teacher package: free furnished apartment, airfare reimbursement, medical, tax free salary and other substantial benefits, in just two weeks. I start my new teaching post in September! You can follow me on Weebly: An American Indian in Guizhou.

For contact and information on New Life ESL:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NewLifeESL
Instagram: http://instagram.com/newlifeesl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/newlifeesl
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NewLifeESL/videos

Julianne Jennings (Nottoway) is an anthropologist. e-mail icon You need to be logged in in order to post comments

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/18/smart-tongue-twister-teach-english-china

Rice and Beans

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20141019_125941Yifei is about 14 and stops by for lunch sometimes.  He helps me learn Chinese and I teach him English.  On a Sunday we cooked rice and beans, and talked about the process in both Chinese and English.  It is a good learning experience and good food.20141019_130023

First we went shopping and picked up some ingredients. Then we fried the meat with mushroom and onions. We added some peppers, both Chinese and American. Finally, we mixed the beans and bean juice, which I had bought (already cooked) in the local grocery. While this was going on we cooked the rice. It all was really nice.

 

Wine Expo Video — Alco-tourism

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The Guizhou Wine Expo had a promotional video detailing the attractions of Guizhou.  I captured part of it on my cell phone camera.  Then I pulled out an old video from when I visited the Miao countryside.  The song of the Miao Women when they ask you to drink their sweet rice wine is really extraordinary, and in no way exaggerated by the promotional video.  I’ve added a couple clips . . .

 

 

Eye in the Cloud ?

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If you suffer from paranoia about being watched in China, the following may aggravate your condition . . .

Previously published on: The Verge

http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/20/7013409/china-is-staging-a-nationwide-attack-on-icloud

iCloud and Microsoft accounts

China got its first official shipments of new iPhones last week, but a new report from web censorship watchdog Great Fire indicates Chinese users may be facing an unpleasant surprise when they try to connect to Apple services at large. As of last night, the Chinese firewall is blocking all local connections to iCloud.com, redirecting those connections to a dummy site designed to look exactly like Apple’s login page. If you’re using Firefox or Chrome, you’ll land on a warning page like the one above, but if you’re using Qihoo, the most popular browser in China, you’ll be routed straight to the dummy site with no indication that it’s not being run by Apple. A similar attack is also being leveled against Microsoft’s Login.live.com, the company’s gateway for all account logins.

INSTEAD OF ICLOUD, USERS WERE DIRECTED TO A DUMMY SITE

 Because the attack is taking place at the level of the Great Firewall, it seems likely that this is an attack by Chinese authorities meant to harvest usernames and passwords. Great Fire also provided traceroutes and a wirecapture to verify the attacks. If a user logs into the dummy site, it will give the attackers complete access to the user’s account, including any photos, text messages or emails stored in the cloud. Apple recently added default disk encryption to iOS, a feature that drew disapproval from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, leading many to speculate that this attack might be a strike back against the company’s new security efforts.

It’s still possible for users to circumvent the attack and get through to the real iCloud andlogin.live site unscathed. The attack only targeted one of iCloud’s many IP addresses, so anyone routed to a different IP should reach the real site. A VPN service can also be used to redirect users, provided the VPN service is not also blocked by the Great Firewall. It’s the first time China has directly attacked an Apple service, but Great Fire also notes that Apple has complied with the country’s surveillance requests in the past. “Apple has a long history of working with the Chinese authorities to self-censor content in China,” Great Fire said in a statement. “While we worry for Chinese users who may have their accounts compromised, we are shedding no tears for the Apple executives.”

Octoberfest at the Kempinski Hotel

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The Octoberfest celebration is finished and it was a good time. The Paulaner brew pub on the sixth floor of the Kempinski brewed an Octoberfest beer that was very good. It was very German, but not too heavy and not too dark. The happy hour (two for one) prevailed all night, rather than cutting off at 8 pm. The Manager, Aynur Ozcan, has put together a friendly and competent staff. A fine time was had by all.

The menu is very cool, with many items for 58 RMB, which includes a salad bar. There were two bands, who alternated to keep the evening lively. . .

For more information about the Guiyang Kempinski, go to:
http://www.kempinski.com/en/guiyang/hotel-guiyang/welcome/

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR ENLARGEMENT 

There were many good times and good songs.

Julianne Jennings in Rhongjiang

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I visited Rhongjiang and  the new Native American Indian English Teacher, Julianne Jennings. She has a magnificent place to live and work.

DONG IN THE BACK

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I was in Rongjian with Julile and a butterfly landed on the car.  I told her that it is good luck, and sure enough, a Dong lady stopped by and asked us for a ride into town.  We were beside the river and going into town, so we picked up her up.

I told her when she asked that we were both Americans, and she said to Julie, “Not you.”.  Jule is a Native American Indian, and the Dong lady thought she was a cousin or something.  They hit it off well and we had a couple “selfies”. She tried to pay us when we dropped her off, but we asked for a picture instead.  She was very friendly.