Monkey-
Yes, unfortunately I need a service. I live 5 states away from the consulate in my "region". Despite being 1 state away from another consulate. So I can't make it there in person (I miss when I lived in DC!). And I can't mail it, so I have to use a process. This has proven to be such a complicated endeavor. The one the school recommended is just insanely expensive and not really helpful, and actually quite rude when you ask questions. I feel like I've been nickel and dimed to death during this process with the company I've used, I'd like to switch to a different company.


Monkey wrote:
> Do you need to use a company? Do you live too far from a Chinese consulate?
> I did mine on my own; I wasn't in the U.S. at the time, but another
> country. I happened to live close enough to the consulate to go on my own
> (with a few documents mailed to me by my new employers). It really wasn't a
> terrible process--much less painful than I thought it would be. The worst
> part was getting the medical stuff taken care of, as the people at the
> consulate were not very clear about what was required when I called to ask.

My question is for anyone who has gotten a work visa (Z) from the US to China in the past few years. What company/service did you use?

Wilcoman-
Just a note, the IBR uses your tax return to decide on your monthly payment for that year. Living overseas, your income is tax-free in most places, making your taxable gross income 0, thus making your payments considerably lower for those next 7 years. ....Just something to think about.

wilcoman wrote:
> Psyguy is correct. I've paid for 3 years and still have 7 to go to have it
> forgiven. May just defer payments if I end up overseas and then when I get
> back will finish the 6 or 7 ....
>
> I don't know for certain, but according to some of the packages I have read
> about here and cost of living, I would make more money overseas. I work in
> North Carolina(one of the lowest paying states) and live in the most
> expensive city in North Carolina. So, financially it seems on the surface
> to be better. However, it's difficult to factor in the amount that I'd be
> putting into retirement working in the states and wouldn't be able to have
> a retirement fund overseas unless I end up in Europe. That's unlikely.
>
> Anyway, thanks for taking the time to comment. I have some thinking to do
> about future plans. May try the Search Boston/Cambridge next year and see
> what happens.

Hi,
I travel with my small dog, and she always goes in cabin with me. I make that a stipulation when booking my flights. In fact, when choosing schools I always ask can I bring my dog with me and share my concerns about traveling with her. So far, I have not run into any problems. European airlines are incredibly friendly towards animals and I loved traveling with her there. Going to Asia is far more difficult, but also manageable. There is a Korean airline that will allow small animals in cabin, most of the other Asian airlines require the pet to be cargo or excess baggage. Quarantine requirements are also more specific in Asia, but if you do your research, you can find which airports to go into. If you are going to China, there are a few airports that have "home quarantine" rather than institutional quarantine- many people will fly first into those airports and then move onto others. You can always contact a pet travel company and ask your questions without committing to using their services. I used one the first time I went to be double sure the paperwork was correct. But then I learned what to ask, and how to do the paperwork, and I've done it on my own ever since. Let me know if you have specific questions. I know how important our little dogs can be- and I've loved having her with me, and she has loved every home we've had. My friends in the state are jealous, as she's traveled more than they have!

I am going to China in the fall too. And for the visa, I have to do a physical exam. You have to show you don't have any blood diseases, as well as have a chest x-ray and EKG. I did not see anything on the form about cancer. They want you to be healthy for visa purposes. Not sure about the health insurance - but I think as long as you have continuous coverage, prior conditions shouldn't be a factor...

It depends on how you view this. If you look at it the way the other poster does that mastery learning means lower standards, then he is correct. However, I've taught using mastery learning with QSI as well as with other schools because I actually believe that every student can achieve the standard of mastery and some students can move beyond that to higher level skills within the concept. I have taught English, History, and MS math through Algebra I and have had very little problems getting my students to do high level work. It's important that you start where the student is at and then work to the level you want them to be. Does it mean you invest more time and effort into each student, absolutely. But the great thing about QSI versus other schools that it's easier to do this as class sizes are very small - so you can differentiate between students. I have not once lowered what constituted as "mastery" --> it's very clearly spelled out. You can look online at their website under curriculum to see what constitutes mastery. Their curriculum is aligned with the common core in the US in math and english. In history and science its very similar to their American counterparts. After all, QSI are American curriculum schools. They just won't accept grades of D's and F's and even C. Because if there is only a C level of understanding of a concept, they haven't really mastered it and it will come back to cause problems in later classes. I however do share the philosophy of QSI and I don't mind the extra work it takes to make sure that all of my students are successful. I have run into teachers who think that it means lower the standards, and it just infuriates me. If you don't believe in the mission of QSI whole-heartedly, then they definitely aren't the schools for you.

Screech wrote:
> Try GlobyPet (http://www.globypetrelo.com/). They have a great reputation
> for helping with pet movements to/from China. We are in a similar situation
> and they told us that we can enter China at Guangzhou and there will be no
> quarantine (in Beijing it is 30 days, Shanghai it is 7 days). So we're
> going to fly into Guangzhou, clear customs with ours, and then get an
> internalflight North.


Hi- Thanks for the info. I've tried to contact them via their website and I keep getting an error message. Do you by chance have a direct contact? I've heard the same, that traveling into Guangzhou might be my best bet. I'd love to be able to talk to someone in China though! Thanks!

These were what the teachers at my school had! Thanks! ...Do you by chance know which size you use?

trebleclef wrote:
> We are big fans of the Rubbermaid Rough Totes. They are manageable without
> being too cumbersome, and sturdy yet flexible enough to withstand
> enthusiastic baggage handlers. We wrap them with duct tape; bring packing
> tape/duct tape with you to the airport to rewrap them, as you may be asked
> to cut the tape and open them for inspection when you check in for your
> flight.

Hello - it looks like my next post will be in mainland China. I will be bringing my dog (yes, I know, a bit of a hassle). She's a small dog, and is healthy but requires a daily pill so I'd like to avoid quarantine (or do home quarantine) if at all possible. Does anyone have suggestions for pet relocation services that might be able to help without costing a fortune. She travels in cabin with me, so I'm just looking for the easiest way to do it and my google searches are coming up with old information or info for Beijing -- I'll be in SE China. Thanks!!

Hi- I know this has been answered (probably a million times), but I can't find the thread. I am thinking that this summer when I go back overseas, I'll pack one of those heavy duty boxes as extra luggage to be checked rather than a bag. I will have 2 duffel suitcases, which I love - but I know there are these box containers. Some teachers at my last school used them with much success. My difficulty lies in I don't know what to call them - if I google what I'm calling them here, I get pallets and other such nonsense. I need them to not be oversized. Thanks!

The QSI website is http: // minsk . qsischool . org /

It should open fine with any browser. Jobs listings are not posted on the website though, only on the main QSI website. The website gives a great overview of the school and life in Belarus as well as a few resources for parents.

QSI in general I think is good with trailing spouses, depending on location. We have a teacher who is here now and has a trailing spouse. As said before, QSI has a standard pay schedule and it doesn't change based on location. You will be given an amount based on education and years of experience. Add to that amount the overseas bonus (paid 4 times per year), the signing bonus, and the completion bonus and the money is pretty decent. It's also tax free in the states, so you can live comfortably.

Minsk is a good city, and a small, but slowly growing school. In the past few years, the school population has doubled in size, so while small, there is a steady increase. The biggest downside to Minsk is the long Eastern European winters- which most people actually don't mind too much. Travel in and out of the country is fairly easy, and there are cheap flights out of Vilnius (3 hour train ride away) which makes it easy and cheap to take vacations during the school breaks. The cost of living is really low, it is very easy to live comfortably and still travel and save. The staff is great, and the kids are wonderful- none of the problems of kids trying to cheat the system- it's great to see so many kids who are sponges in terms of academics, and it is truly a diverse mix of countries- so no one country "rules".

I hope this answers your questions. Best of luck.

I am in Eastern Europe with my dog. She is a small breed, so she flies in cabin with me. However, Europe is very dog friendly. I love travelling around as it is really easy with a dog here. A larger dog would be considerable more expensive, but I haven't been to anywhere in Europe that isn't dog friendly. Many of our families came here from elsewhere in Europe with dogs of various sizes- the larger ones just have to go as cargo (expensive).

I did this last year- my director wrote a letter stating what my yearly salary was and that I was employed at the school. Since the school doesn't have W2s, the letter was sufficient and I am on the IBR plan for my student loans. I'll have to update the letter each year, and that is it. It was pretty easy to do and mail from overseas.

I brought my small dog overseas to eastern Europe last year. I was really scared and prepared for the worst. But it turned out to be a really easy process. The school didn't help with my dog's move, but they did make sure I had housing that allowed me to have a pet. My vet was really helpful and I had all of the paperwork done and stamped. I think bringing a pet into Europe is really easy. I don't know about other places, as I haven't tried it. But my dog goes back and forth with me in the summers and it's easy on both ends- stamped vet certificate and her EU pet passport is all I need now. She is small, so she goes in the cabin with me.

Also, having her here is such a blessing! As a single person, sometimes it can get lonely in a new place and new culture- especially if there is a language barrier. But with my dog, it gets me out of my apartment, walking and meeting and talking (everyone loves to meet a new dog, regardless of the country it seems!) with my neighbors. So I am glad that I brought her- also it's nice to come home to her when she is wagging her tail excited to see me!

Hi,
They don't have a salary schedule posted, but they will give it to you once they give you an offer. It's a fairly straight forward schedule- you have steps and columns based on education plus there are bonuses.

As for insurance, it really is great insurance. As long as you've been covered under insurance before, preconditions will be covered under cigna global. For medication, you can get a 1 year supply in the summer before you go overseas and the insurance pays for that (the pharmacist has to call them to get the go ahead to fill it) or you can participate in a mail-order service to get it delivered. I usually fill mine up in the states because it's easiest for me.
There is no dental coverage, but many of the places that have qsi schools you can get extremely cheap dental care that is still a high quality. Last year one staff member had to take their kid to get their orthodontics removed and then fitted for new ones and it cost next to nothing (especially when comparing to the states).