A new SA fair for early hires in East/SE Asia, focused on IB and IGCSE. Anyone going or know anything about its potential success or failure? It's a good match for me on paper, but I want to limit my time spent travelling and running around fairs. What do people think of it?

Once again thanks for your ideas and the insight that your debates provide.

My school has no interest in bringing me in on a tourist visa and is currently beginning to process my work visa. There is an issue with me providing all the needed documentation in time for the processing to go through so that I can start teaching on the first day. It is not a major issue and the solution would be for me to start a few days late. I do not want to go into more detail, but I am asking about other potential solutions, rather than things the school is suggesting to me. Thank you for your care though.

My main question was about the medical, and you guys have been very helpful about it. Thanks a million!

Thanks for all of the answers guys! You've really clarified things and put them in perspective :)

My school is asking for the medical form, and has specified that the main thing is for it to have a doctor's stamp, so I may just explain the whole thing to my family doctor and see what he can do. Of course, filling it in myself sounds nice and easy but I'm not sure that is how I want to start my relationship with a new school.

The school has not suggested that I come in on a tourist visa. I am just having some issues with visa processing timelines, in terms of getting the required documents together, so am considering what backup options I might have.

Thanks again to everyone. These kinds of helpful threads are really what make this forum great.

Incredibly helpful. Thanks! Is this what both of you guys have done?

Last question, what to put for the section that says "nest?"

(Funny but real)

Hey guys, wondering if you can shed some light. Apparently the visa processing authorities in China are now requiring applicants for a Z visa to have a the medical check for the visa done overseas, before they come to China and even before the visa invitation letter is issued. The problem with this is that the English part of the form that needs to be filled out makes nearly no sense.

Have any of you gone through this? If so, how did you explain to the doctor what to do? How will a doctor know what to fill in for a box that just says "spine" or one that asks if I have "plague?"

On a side note, I have heard that the option of entering mainland China on a tourist visa and then going to HK to process the Z visa is not allowed as of March(ish) this year. True?

MizMorton wrote:
> We're talking to a small school that looks great for us. I have some
> questions about living in SE Asia, though:
>
> 1. How bad are the bugs? The houses in this town look beautiful, and it
> looks like there's a nice outdoor cafe scene, but is sitting outside
> impossible due to constant bites, ear-buzzing and dive bombs? Ear buzzing
> gives me The Rage. How about spiders, snakes, scorpions? We'd be in a small
> city around the same latitude as Hanoi.
>
> 2. How bad is the heat? I'm a thick-blooded New England girl, but I did
> live in east Texas for a few years.
>
> 3. The rainy season. It doesn't sound that bad, I don't mind rain... but
> then, I don't mind snow either, and the last two months of being suffocated
> under four feet of it made me want to gouge my eyes out. I learned my
> limits. Level with me. Can you just not go outside for months on end?
>
> 4. Tropical diseases. There are malaria shots, of course, but plenty of
> other diseases like Dengue. How common?

1) There will be bugs. Big bugs occasionally, some ants and mosquitoes around always. However, I've never been bothered that much by them anywhere in SE Asia. I use mosquito nets and/or electric bug killers in the house, and also keep food sources sealed, etc. Other animals are scared of humans for the most part, including snakes.

2) I can't imagine the heat being worse than Texas, but definitely wetter.

3) It dumps for 5 minutes to an hour at certain times of the day, then clears. The gloom and wetness usually don't linger.

4) You might get typhus or dengue, maybe not. Vaccines don't really work. I've had both and made it through fine, some people never get them. I wouldn't worry too much unless you are in a fragile condition already. You can always be super careful about what you eat, lather on bug repellant, and so on.

I know there is info on this in past posts but am interested in recent opinions. Or maybe people won't answer because we can't comment on schools anymore? Anyway, thanks for any help.

Any updates about this school? I'm wondering about the MS/HS specifically, and what the elementary is like for kids. Also, is pay enough for Beijing, given free housing, and would it be a good move to work there early in a career?

Interesting input. So Dalian might be better, all other things equal. Would you say as a non-IB/WASC/etc. accredited school it would be a good career step for someone with not much IS experience or not particularly?

Thanks for all of the feedback. Again, some mixed reviews. Do people think that the schools at Dalian are better than Wuhan or vice-versa? Also, if you had a child would you send him or her to the foreign national school?

I hadn't read that blog, so thanks. I probably will not be in Tianjin. The reviews were about Dalian on the paid side of this site, but there were not many. I am wondering if the schools are good places to get some experience and put up with some of the challenges that face lower-tier for-profit schools in China, or whether they should be avoided, and if so, why. I will send you a PM too if you don't mind.

O helpful ones,

Any news on these schools? Most of the info on these forums seems positive, but the few paid reviews of Dalian that exist are not so rosy and there are some other mixed reviews on the internet.

Has anyone taught at the schools recently? How are conditions? PMs welcome.

Thank you for the info and input, but are you writing about BIBA, and not BIBS? BIBS seems like it has improved over the years but is still developing, and could be a good place to grow, if the salary is enough. Beijing seems to be surprisingly expensive! If anyone has any more firsthand knowledge, it would be much appreciated. Thanks to all you helpful people out there.

Does anyone have any updates about this school? I know that it had troubles in the past (bad reviews on paid site) and was taken over by a solid director a couple of years ago. A lot of positions are available, which could be due to growth or the need to revamp the staff. I understand that this is not considered a "tier 1" school right now, but it seems to have some solid people, as well as IB and WASC accreditation.
Any recent knowledge?

Hmm thanks for the perspective. I last took a break from teaching because of getting burned out by the demands of difficult admin, and have a kid who would be attending wherever I work, so maybe that's a no then. At the same time, I'm just getting officially certified back home so have to be open to a lot. Is the problem there just challenging and disorganized bosses or is it more like broken contracts and bad academics? 19 teachers in one year definitely looks like a red flag. Thanks for your help, and sharing your knowledge. This board is a great one when people are not fighting about defining tiers :)