Introductions

Hello Laurel and may I be the first to say something you will hear many, many times: "Welcome to China!", "Do you like Chinese food"...ok, that's over and done. Well, you are right, being sane is not fun, as I told the staff at the Tigger Institure for the Mentally Unhinged that, albeit it was nice of them to want to cure the voices in my head, I had talked it over with them and we all thought it was a bad idea 

Also, on a more practical note, being insane in China is a plus. It will be easier to acclimatize to the place 

Welcome to the Nuthouse,Laurel 

Welcome   Nice to see a "new" face.

Welcome   

Welcome laurelgc! Look forward to hearing of your experiences in China.

I thought I'd drop in and say a quick hello...

My name is David - I'm a 25 y/o Business Graduate from Cambridgeshire (UK).

I studied Business in Sheffield and graduated in 2010.. since then I've lived and worked in Vienna, Berlin and Malmö /Copenhagen.
During Autumn 2012 I started learning Mandarin via a Swedish University, and part of my course was the option to study at a partner University in China for a semester. I decided to partake, and as a result I'm moving to Tianjin in just over a week.

Look forwards to hopefully meeting and talking to some of you guys in due course.

Also, If anyone has any feedback on the city, or adjusting in general then I'm all ears!

Cheers,
David

Welcome to the Saloon   

Before you leave for China, buy some good quality particulate face masks.  You will need them in  Tianjin and Beijing.  Maybe not every day but often enough to make the purchase worthwhile.   

You can buy face masks in China but you can never be assured about the quality and efficiency of the masks.   

 
Hi all, I'm Cheryl and can't believe I have only just found this forum.

Did my TESOL cert in Beijing years ago and have been going back and forth on short term contracts for 6 - 7 years, all in small cities in Zhejiang and Anhui. Now I'm heading back for a more permanent gig - just can't decide where.

I live in Australia (Tweed Heads), have retired from work here, have some business in Memphis, Tennessee (so have regular trips there) and now want to see out a few years in China - until I can really retire.

I want to teach adults so am probably looking at college jobs, but who knows what I will end up doing?

It's nice to be here - have already had a few drinks in the bar.... cheers all

  welcome 

Welcome Cheryl! Nice to have another Aussie join us. I grew up in Tenterfield but now live in Brisbane. Look forward to seeing photos and hearing about your adventures.

Welcome cafank   

I am glad you found the saloon. 

I hope you will enjoy your time here 

Welcome

Thanks guys, I'm really enjoying searching the posts for info and picking up lots of tidbits to help me in my quest to get back to China

Hi all,

43yr old male, married with a 3.5yr old son, working in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. I'm not an english teacher and not planning on going the expat route anytime soon. I do however have an interest in getting at least a basic grasp of putonghua and Chinese culture for a couple of reasons.  I am studying traditional Chinese martial arts and am interacting fairly frequently with guests my teacher brings over from China.  Also, I manage several Chinese expats that are now US Citizens.  In both cases it's very wierd when I'm outside of the conversations and can't participate. 

As part of my hobby, I've picked up a couple of close Chinese friends.  Frankly, I've been lurking here to just try and get an idea of how you expats are dealing with the cultural differences so I can better understand my friends.

p.s.  No, I don't wear the silk PJs, but I have been known to don a kilt.

Aha. I'm a Chinese person who's studied Western styles like Krav Maga and Brazilian Jujitsu.

We're like...opposites or something.