Introductions

What-ho, Jeff old chum, new faces are always welcome, especially if they could stand a chap a snifter "shakes empty absinthe glass suggestively"...There is mangagerie here, but no worries, all the creatures in the Saloon knows it is a major faux pax to widdle in a member's shoes, at least while they are being worn...Íf you haven't heard the phrase enough times, here it is again: welcome to China ...Now would you sign this petition "waves crumpled-up cocktail-napkin around"...it issh to prs...to pers...sssafe the snsa...slah...schandwich...huph....

Outlier,
warmest welcomes to you, too.
Your choice of towns to settle in was very smart, or very lucky, or both.

Do let me recommend to you (and others) that you might want to go with your "handle" instead of real names in public posts. For one thing, I can assure you that we count quite a number of Chinese schools among our avid readers.

Oh...and as for Ericthered, I trust that the word "Danish" will do much to help explain quite a number of things.

Raoul, did we forget to slip the meds into Eric's Absynthe again?

Welcome everyone!

Please remember that your primary duty here is to buy drinks for anyone who's name includes Lunatic.

Yo Jess, any thoughts of returning to lovely Dongguan?  We've got an abundance of language mills and an institute of higher education or two.  DG may not have been the best place to go to high school, but it's a great place to live.

Thank you everyone for the warm and somewhat disconcerting welcomes. And Raoul, thanks for the reminder on the name, I will strive for more mysterious identify for the future.
I'll also try to control my widdling.

I'll also try to control my widdling.

Are you a widdler on a roof?
 

Outlier, I'll assume you've been to the Bookworm by now.  Which part of town do you call home?  SND? SIP? Wu Jiang? Downtown?

Hey,

This spring, I'm going to be teaching at a public university (and/or possibly their "partner school") in Zhengzhou - if everything works out . . . Still working on getting the letter of invitation from the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power, It's a little sketchy, but they're SAFEA certified and the current Minister of Water Resources is an alum. Someone else posted a few years back asking for details about the school, but I can't view their profile to see their other posts.

I'm from California, USA, a recent graduate (with all the bells and whistles) with a BA in Environmental Studies, so I'm stoked about the where I'll be working, unless it's actually going to be at their partner school. I was most likely hired for being a young white American female who is just attractive enough to be non-threatening. They wanted an interview with me before they even knew how incredibly relevant my academic experience is to the academics of their various colleges (regarding things like river behavior and modeling using Geographic Information Systems, etc), and I doubt they actually care about that, anyway, because I'm probably not going to be given much of an opportunity to be a part of their "real" school.

我能说汉语一点儿, have been obsessed with historical 三国 for at least ten years, and read AAAS's Journal of Science for fun. I'm extremely hard to annoy, always give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and, or so I've been told, "have never met a stranger."
 
I have a slew of questions that I'm still trying to articulate. Since this is the  intro board, I'll refrain from posting them here.

Welcome!

You're right not to get your hopes up too much about being too involved with the actual academic subjects at the school as it'll probably be oral English for you, at least at first. Once you're there though you should bring up your background and possibly propose a course, if you're planning on staying for a second year. Maybe you could teach "English for Environmental Studies" or something along those lines.

Anyhow, jump right in make yourself at home at the Saloon! 

things like river behavior and modeling using Geographic Information Systems, etc

The knowledge that you have won't be considered valid or useful, no matter how in-depth it is. The reason is that you are a big goofy laowai, so what could you possibly know? English, maybe. You are kind of like a cartoon character. Sorry to say it so bluntly. Not trying to take the wind out of your sails. That's just the way the Chinese think.

I'm not that cynical.  Your credibility will have to be earned, yes, but if you want to make an extra effort, and it doesn't involve the school spending extra money, you're likely (but not guaranteed) to get support in your project.  Enthusiasm isn't always squelched... but prepared for bureaucratic sloth-like speed.

Hey how come zero gets to be a barfly and he only has 76 posts, RD?

He probably knows one of the mods personally.

Yup, sexual favours works every time   

OOh you people are SO depraved.... I love it 

Quote

things like river behavior and modeling using Geographic Information Systems, etc

The knowledge that you have won't be considered valid or useful, no matter how in-depth it is. The reason is that you are a big goofy laowai, so what could you possibly know? English, maybe. You are kind of like a cartoon character. Sorry to say it so bluntly. Not trying to take the wind out of your sails. That's just the way the Chinese think.

Don't worry, my main reason for teaching English in China is to, well, get there. My year-long goals are to erect a monument in 鄚州    eat chicken feet    become a kung-fu fighter   brush up on my zhongwen and gain some "real-world experience." Hopefully it'll give me a leg-up when applying to grad school. Even if I had the power of Doogie Howser and, like, ten peer-reviewed studies published in an internationally renowned journal, come on - I'm basically the same age as my students, and, as previously stated, am a 小白老外.

Best part, though, besides that I'm from a ridiculous place ("yes-I-see-celebrities" Hollywood), is that an obscure old meaning for my name is "small nose." They're going to think I'm a liar and will fire me for it during my probationary period