jbray

I suspect much of it is related to previous teaching experience... I had none, and I think it made a big difference. I've been taking some masters courses in education this year, and would for sure do things differently.

Like GDBILL said, it depends on what you mean by "good". Personally, I preferred working for training companies. The students were there because they wanted to learn, so they paid attention, and were more interactive... I wasn't interested in a work visa, or paid vacations... If you want some sort of stability, Universities are probably the best. They don't pay the best, but the benefits are pretty good... To get a good job, you will need to look around. Often, jobs are posted in expat bars/restaurants.

Atlanta has a pretty big Chinese community. You mentioned a technology focused military base, Dobbins AFB in Marietta, has a fairly large Locheed-Martin facility... Many of the Chinese here are working at the CDC or Emory University in the Medical field... Atlanta doesn't exactly have a "china town", but there is an international area with plenty of Chinese stores and restaurants... BUT, that being said, many of the Chinese that I know (we go to a church that has a huge Chinese population) don't really like it here (my wife included). They don't like the fact that it's so spread out, and it's not a very good walking city.

Honestly, I thought that most places in China were pretty low cost... I recommend several places in Yunnan. I liked Lijiang. Just north of there, if you are in to hiking, Tiger Leaping Gorge was awesome (but take the high road, it's more interesting). Around Kunming was great... In Sichuan, Emei Shan and LeShan were nice. The bus ride to Kangding and LiTong were great. ZhouZaiGou (the place with all the blue water) was great too. In most of those places, you can easily find cheap hotels for less than 100 RMB.

I used to have this problem. it was because the DHCP was trying to assign my laptop an IP that wa already in use. Once I set the IP to static, it worked fine.

When my wife goes back to China (every year), she takes one carry-on sized rolling bag full of vitamins for her family. Seriously, it's hundreds of dollars worth. Anyway, she has never had any issue, and has never declared them. Myself, I've flown in to China many times and have never had any issues with customs on the PRC side (US side, yeah, lots of issues).

Use a management company (or family if that's an option)... I know in Chengdu, there are LOTS of management companies. It's pretty big business. Many people do that. They buy a few houses and rent them out, using a company.

My wife uses pingo. I think it's less than $0.02 a minute to call her mothers cell.

When I moved to China, I bought a fairly large DVD collection with me (about 100 DVD's). My Chinese friends wanted to watch movies with me, but they needed subtitles. I ended up buying most of the movies again in China (plus about 1000 more). If you ever go to China, you may want to load up.

Thanks for posting. I am glad to hear this... I went there 4 years ago, at the hight of SARS. My brother and I were the only ones on the trail. We took the high trail (a 2 day hike). I'm not in the greatest of shape and was tired at the end of a 35 mile hike, but when I got to the end, I wanted to turn around and do it again. It's so beautiful. I strongly recommend the hike.

We had the same problem... When she asked her family what they wanted her to bring, her younger cousin wanted an IBM Thinkpad ($2500). We ended up going for his second choice and got him 10 hershey bars... Yes, they can buy those in China, but they can also buy IBM Thinkpads... For most people, we bought them vitamins and dietary supliments.

My wife wears sun glasses all the time... Wear what you wear here. No matter what you wear, people will be staring, pointing, and laughing. So, if you wear shorts, what's the difference...

It took us a month to get our letter. We mailed it to Texas.

True or not, some of the conditions at the schools are terrible. Some of these brokers are very threatening. I had a terrible experience with one in Chengdu (I would LOVE to mention his name). This guy threatened the foreign English teachers. He made us sign contracts and then he would change the schools we were teaching. He would try to doc our pay for EVERYTHING. This guy was really bad. He faked Bank of China documents (he had the bank books and a bank printer), and he blackmailed a principal from one of the best schools in Chengdu to fake student records. Everyone feared him... He was Chinese, but a Canadian citizen. Anyway, I strongly recommend that people that want to teach get certified and make sure you are working at a reputable program. Do you homework!

Yeah, if you CAN DCF, do that, before you return to the US. It only took us 8.5 months... I am not sure what all has changed in 2.5 years, but you have to have a residence permit (just tourist visa's aren't enough). Others can tell you what else you need to DCF.

If you travel before the GC expires, the letter shouldn't matter, but if you have it, I would take it with you... If you travel after the GC expires, take both the expired GC and the letter with you.

When you file, 2 to 6 weeks later, they will send you an extension letter, extending the grean card for a year. You are fine to travel with that letter. As far as the biometrics and/or interview, i think it depends on how long you are gone. If you are gone for just a few weeks, I wouldn't think it would be a problem. Hopefully they would give you a few weeks notice before the interview. We just filed in September, and 2 weeks ago got the extension letter... I have heard of people filing and then moving overseas, while the I-751 was still pending... That's what we might end up doing. BUT, if we don't get the biometrics done in time, or need an interview, we would have to fly back

I have several favorites... I tend to prefer large cities, so I love Shanghai and Hong Kong... But sometimes, I like to relax. So, i also loved Tiger Leaping Gorge. I did the entire hike in about a day and a half. As soon as I was finished, I would have been happy to turn around and do it again. It was so beautiful... I also love DuJianYan, about 30 miles west of Chengdu. It's not VERY interesting, but it's pretty. My wife and I rode our bicycles from east Chengdu (near the Tower park, close to ErHuan Lu, 2nd Ring Road). We spent about 2 days there and rode back.... Ugh! I miss China!

My wife started looking for a job as soon as she was legally able. 3 months after she got here, she started volunteering at a school. A month later, she was hired as a registrar. Over the summer, she started a Chinese class for kids. She's a really hard worker, so she wouldn't be able to stand staying at home...

If you want to stay our of big cities, I recommend Laos. It's very nice, and not too expensive... In a month, you can skim through 2 countries, like Laos and Cambodia, or Laos and Vietnam, or any combination... My wife hates Vietnam, but I don't mind it... I also love Thailand. Chang Mai in the north is nice, as are some of the Islands... I love Cambodia. Angkor Wat is AMAZING... BUT, there are many great places in China... If you will be teaching, you will have plenty of chances to travel. Every winter, you will get 4 to 6 weeks off (for the Spring Holiday). That's usually too short a time to get a part time job... In the summer, you will get 3 to 4 months off. Most teachers get summer jobs, but some also travel. On summer, I took 6 weeks and went to Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam... The previous winter, I spent 6 weeks in Thailand and Cambodia... I envy you... Right now, I am sitting in my cube at work, about to start a 9 hour day.

Just to let you know, it's probably good that you didn't get a chance to ask your questions when you filed... The workers often don't know the answers and might mislead you... You don't need the evidence of the bonifide relationship until your SO has her interview... Many Chinese don't have a birth certificate, so you probably don't need it (my wife didn't).... I'm don't think she even needed the police background check. As dnoblett said, if you haven't been filing your tax returns, get that taken care of now. I hadn't been. All I did was download the forms for the missing years, fill them out and mail the to the IRS. If you don't owe anything, you don't need to worry, just get it done. If you need a sponser, make sure you have that lined up. I used my parents. We had no problems... You can see my timeline below. From start to finish was about it took me about 8 months... Yeah, about 6 weeks later, you will get a letter saying that it's being processed and sent to GUZ

Thanks Charles! Since I am in Atlanta, that's exactly what I needed to know...

OK, Thanks for your replies! I guess I'd better call the office and find out... SHe's been at the job for almost 2 years... And yes, we are still married .

My wife is having some serious "issues" at work (LONG story). It looks like she might get "let go". Is she able to collect unemployment, or since she is under the I-864, is she barred from that? She has a 2 year green card.

At the first school I taught at, in a small town in Sichuan, several teachers and students (at different times) talked about this issue. They all basically said that Chinese only do good deeds when someone else is watching, when it will benefit them... Those were their words not mine. The "good samaritan" doesn't seem to be as much of a Chinese principle. Oddly, the golden rule of "Do un to other as you would have them do un to you" was also a strong message in confusianism, but doesn't seem to be widely practised... I would always, each semester teach one or two classes on doing good deeds. I would tell the students that you don't do them for you, you don't do them to make you feel good. You do them to make the other person feel good... Often, my students would go out in the town with me. When ever we would go out, I would make it a point to help someone in need... This one time, a woman was pushing a cart across the street. It was too top heavy and overturned. Her stuff was all over the street. A crowd gathered to watch her. Cars were honking. No one helping. I said to the boys I was with, "let's help her". They said, "but Mr. Bray!". This woman was panicking. people were yelling and laughing... 5 minutes later we have picked everying up and pushed her cart... It took 5 minutes, cost us NOTHING, but I am sure it made her day. BUT, we had a similar experience here in Atlanta... A woman was stalled in the left turning lane in a busy intersection. Everyone was honking and yelling stuff, but no one helped. We helped push her across to a gas station. once people saw up pushing, they helped, but not until then. So, from my view I think the US is becoming more of a watching bystander culture.