Blog Break for a Month

Today's weather: High = 2 Low = -1
Cloudy, some showers

So after a rather long but productive semester at a new school, new job, teaching new courses, in a new city (relative to the last four I was in), I think it's time for a break. Hopefully this will be a genuine break without anything going wrong! The last three years have been fraught with 'fighting fires' and other kinds of stress as it were, too many stories to recall.

Recently, things look to be settling into a stable pattern for life and work again. Both on the job and off have been very fruitful since September. I signed the form to stay on this school for another year. This is actually the first school since 2006-08 Dalian where I've in fact decided to stay longer than a year.

In retrospect I could have hacked the other past schools I worked at and stayed longer than a year. At this particular point in time, it's awfully tempting to say that Wuhan was a better deal since they have 5 weeks of winter holiday, whereas we only get 3 weeks. But overall life is pretty good here, and all this experience at various schools can help draw up a summary table of the various pros and cons. I'll try to stick with 5 each.

Dalian and Wuhan

+ 5 weeks winter break
+ more students, so more course selection and offerings (now a semester school)
+ excellent focus on university prep and study plans in general for students.
+ pay is very good, costs are lower in these cities
+ good scooter riding opportunities (Wuhan only)
- located in the suburbs (Wuhan better)
- strict rules, long working hours, lesson plans, too much face-time (non-productive time filling), they have to stay an extra week in July.
- social life is terrible (Dalian better)
- weather in both cities is harsh.
- traffic in Wuhan is atrocious

Sino Canada (outskirts of Shanghai)

+ 2 weeks break for Christmas, none of the others schools have this
+ really, really good students and principal
+ best place to learn how to ride a scooter/motorbike and the general adventures of exploring with it
+ it's a semester school, so the course offerings are better and more convenient
+ nice working hours, Friday's finish at 11am which is perfect for the scooter ride downtown in no traffic
- location is terrible, if wanting a life, requires countless long commutes to/from downtown SH in all weather, either on sketchy transport or on a scooter. This is especially a problem in winter.
- only 2 weeks available for Spring Festival, not enough for major trips. Before Spring Fest, need to spend time on campus in the weeks right up to event, even during. This can be a real problem with all the noise, crowds, fireworks, etc.
- housing not provided, can really add up if getting a place in downtown Shanghai or going there on weekends all the time
- they pay in RMB, not Canadian dollars

Nanyang (presently)

+ located right in downtown Shanghai, no commuting, very little traffic hassles
+ school takes great care of the teachers (housing allowance, medical insurance, etc.)
+ no tax on the salary since they quote a net salary after the company pays Chinese tax
+ social life in Shanghai is excellent
+ class periods are 40 minutes, working hours are relaxed, classrooms equipped with video
- living costs in the city are very expensive ; life is also quite stressful
- photocopy reources are underdeveloped
- not enough students to offer a variety of courses, also not a semester school
- students tend to be lacklustre and they don't work hard
- winter weather is a problem

Of course, you take the good with the bad at any of these places, and you can always put a positive spin on things if you want to. For example, the commuting situation at Sino Canada will forever be memorable, and it made a daily dose of adventure that is not found in downtown. Similarly, the bad traffic in Wuhan made for a satisfied achievement every time I crossed the river.

Part of the overall problem is short-sightedness when it comes to all this stuff. In the specific moment, I'll be thinking of the benefit or the cost about a certain item, compare with the alternatives, and overlook the big picture. For example, now I'm saying how jealous I am of the Wuhan colleagues who get 5 weeks winter break and we only get 3 weeks. But these are the same guys who worked their tails off daily for the whole year. We routinely finished around 2pm and had leisurely hours, so it's only fair they get a longer winter holiday than us.

Somehow it all balances out. For now, I'll be signing off this blog and taking a break from the internet.