Introductions

welcome

Welcome aboard Mark. Don't conquer too much. Leave some for others!

Welcome Mark!

Hi!

I am a uni student of Chinese culture from Estonia. Currently I do anthropological study about the Southwestern peoples (Hmong, 'Miao' and others). Last year studied in Beijing. Just arrived in Xi'an and planing to stay for some time.

I joined the forum hoping to find some help with getting through the current visa nightmare (an extended L visa is over by 18th; the shady 'travel companies' can't do 3 and 6 months F visas for some time already because of the 两会; I don't have anywhere to get the 3000USD on my bank account to fulfill the L visa extension requirement; probably gonna have to use loads of money to go and do the visa in Hong Kong, etc) ...and also finding a good job in Xi'an. Guess I'm gonna ask about visa stuff again in a suitable thread.

Otherwise I'm always ready to just discuss China too, of course.

Can you get a student visa?    Would that be easier?

Welcome aboard anyway.

Before I cam to China I picked these good folk's brains and found the answers to pretty much everything I needed.

If someone here doesn't know - it or doesn't know someone who does - it ain't worth knowing. 

Welcome aboard, Kuki. Talk to Lotus. She just about runs the whole of Xi'an....or knows the bloke who does!

Welcome to the Saloon, Kuki

....What George said about Lotus is true!!  She knows Everybody (at least in Xi'an)!!....

Can you get a student visa?    Would that be easier?

Yes, if you plan to mostly study and not work full time, getting a student visa would be your best bet. There are many affordable Chinese language programs available at most larger universities in most Chinese cities. Xian I'm sure has several options.

Tourist visas are pretty hard to get these days, and you'll run into the same problem over and over again as long as you're on a tourist visa anyhow (in that the max for a tourist visa is really only ever going to be about 3 months). Best to start working on getting another kind of visa, either work or student, asap.

Thx for the recommendation, but it's too late to do the student visa. And to be honest, I can't afford paying for the study fee of even the cheaper Chinese programs right now, anyway.

My original plan was to wait if the current visa situation eases. If, then use one of the agents to get a 3 or 6 months F visa. If not, then borrow 3000USD from a friend and extend the L visa again, and then wait for the current visa situation to ease, and then go to agents.

Visa situation hasn't gotten better. And the broken link is that the friend I was hoping on to borrow money from, hasn't replied me this time, probably finding this already too troublesome.

Tomorrow morning gonna make a try at the Public Security Bureau, trying to extend 30 days without having 3000USD on my bank account. If they clearly say no, I go buy a train ticket to Shenzhen. And go visit HK. It's a nice city anway.

Hi People!

I'm going to shamelessly paste text from the message I sent to Raoul so he would let me in here:

I'm 50, single, and living in Atlantic Canada. I did a limited amount English teaching during the 30 months I spent in Africa between 2000-03 (Ivory Coast, Tunisia). That was pretty much the "if you're a native English speaker and you can stand upright - you're in!" variety of teaching.

I've been back in Canada for a few years now, trying to make a go of it as a self-employed woodworker. That's gotten pretty tough lately. I got my CELTA last fall, thinking I'd like to go travelling again. Since then I've been doing volunteer tutoring of immigrants through the public library here. The reason I'm interested in China in particular is that the salaries seem to be pretty good by local standards, and I hope I can work and live there for at least a few years. Of course I'm interested in the cultural and linguistic side of things too. I'm chugging my way through Rosetta Stone Mandarin these days.

I'm hoping to use your forums to guide me through the pitfalls of finding a decent job. I'm definitely thinking of cooler climates, and at this point Shandong, Liaoning or Jilin are looking pretty suitable. (The parts where you don't choke on coal dust preferably.)

I don't know how much my age will be a factor in finding work -- I'm hoping my experience living abroad will balance that out. My biggest limiting factor, I think, will be that I don't have any degrees after my name.

I think that covers most of the bases. If you want to know more, just ask. I'm reading through the forums to see what I can learn. Questions will be forthcoming very soon

Cheers,
Ian

Welcome aboard, Iannou

Welcome aboard, Iannou

I wish people would stop stealing my lines!!
Welcome aboard Ian. Shandong is the place to be, of course. 50 is a reasonable age. Old enough to know what not to do, and still young enough to do it!

Hi Iannou!

Er...welcome aboard! 

I'm a newbie myself still in America planning my trip too, so you won;t really hear much from me except a lot of questions too!

Welcome!

Asking questions is great. Without the Saloon I wouldn't have been nearly as prepared for China as I was. Also, by asking questions you get the information posted so it can help others. So, fire away!