Hi everyone ! I'm a newbie here....and sorry for the long post!....and have a review of my current employer: Hunan City University, Yiyang City, Hunan Province. The information on job sent to me were and are correct and have not been the subject of any argument or discussion. However, that's where the good part stops. The only lady in the Foreign Exchange Department who spoke English (besides the Director) left the same day I arrived last August. The replacement is the daughter of two teachers who lost her job in Southern China for some "unknown" reason (I was told it was none of my business) and speaks very poor English and understands less. The other person (who is responsible for apt. maint. and generally getting things done) speaks or understands no English. So much for communication! The pictures of the apartment sent me were of a nice, good looking and modern facility at their new campus site on the other side of the city. Imagine my utter surprise upon arrival to be housed in a 50 year old teacher apartment building with so many coats of paint the windows will not close. I understand (and did before I arrived) that the Chinese idea and concept of "clean" is quite different than that of Americans. However, the apartment had been slightly cleaned from the previous tenant who must have been a real HOG !! Dirt and filth everywhere.....the kitchen was so bad it was almost a month before I could use it, the bed sheets and blankets had not been washed....nor did they offer to have them washed or purchase new ones, the air conditioner was broken (with Aug & Sept temps very high and high humidity for a newbie is awful to say the least). And....the apt had roaches...several dead ones on the kitchen floor and in the dining room. Upon seeing all this, I was ready for the return flight to Beijing and home. I was assured that things would be made right. When asked where the new apartment was from the pictures, I was told it was already rented and none were available, but that I would get the first new apartment they had.....When is that?...shall I live long enough?? Now, some 9 months later, I am still waiting. My request last week was met with "we can't get the keys" to the new apartment!! The school provided computer did not and has not functioned....nada...and attempts to get it operational have been met with great confrontations.....(Thank goodness I had forethought to bring a laptop!!)
The University has spent their money funding the building of a new campus and are cash starved.....and repairs to this apartment simply don't happen. A local attorney has told me several weeks ago the University is trying to sell this campus to obtain more cash to complete the new one. So many things requiring repair on this campus remain broken.
The ability to communicate with the office staff is almost impossible. I have been told to "get a student to help you" more times than I can remember.....but they are not in college to help Americans, they are there to get an education (or whatever they do)!! I've been told to send the office an email so they can read it and translate it to Chinese when I need/want something...I thought they were supposesd to be the people to whom we could ask questions??? The only person who is interested in providing any assistance at all is the Director of the Dept....who is having difficulty getting the 12 or so American teachers the University wants. He has provids me with much outside work every month with extra pay....nice addition to the salary...which is not bad for this Province. Oh, almost forgot...those promised Chinese lessons???.....sorry, but we don't have the funds to do that anymore.
Sorry folks, but I would not reccomend this school to anyone for the conditions above. There are many better places and I'm in the search process right now....for somewhere the humidity is not 100% most of the time and where there is a "real" winter with tons of snow!!! There are currently 3 Americans teaching here: one is staying because his Chinese wife and her family are here, the other only signed on for a year and is going back home to family, and me.