It reads: "Spend over $100, get $20 duck blood free"
I appreciate saving on my duck blood as much as the next person, but do you think this coupon is still valid 3 years later? Better hold on to it, just in case.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Extreme Couponing: Taiwanese Style
It reads: "Spend over $100, get $20 duck blood free"
I appreciate saving on my duck blood as much as the next person, but do you think this coupon is still valid 3 years later? Better hold on to it, just in case.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Success!
So glad it worked out in the end- we were stressing a few weeks ago! Our school had to fedex our original physical exams back to us (thankfully they still had them!) and we had to take them, and all our other paperwork, to the consulate in Ottawa to have everything processed. $168 later, and we're good to go for our trip to China in just... 19 days. Ahhhh!!! Better start packing.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
How To Get a Teaching Job In China... and Then Bang Your Head Against a (Great) Wall Over Paperwork
Something I've never done before either of our teaching ventures abroad is discuss on here how we've gotten our jobs and how the work visa application process went. Something about going through this process for China has inspired me to write this all down, trust me, you'll soon realize why.
We got our jobs at the end of January. Mel and I went to a job fair (TORF) held at Queen's (where I was a student and she was- and still is for another few weeks- a teacher). We will both be working for the same international school: she's teaching Grade 6 ESL and I'm teaching Grade 1 as a homeroom teacher. From the get-go, finding a "real" teaching job as a certified teacher was totally different to what it was like as an uncertified BA graduate heading to Korea and Taiwan. First of all, you can teach anywhere. Every continent was represented at the job fair we went to. Second, the pay and benefits are significantly better. Makes sense- a qualified professional should be paid better and have more opportunities than an unqualified schmuck (AKA me, for most of my twenties).
We had a strategy: prior to attending the fair we researched hard core and pre-applied to schools that would be there and that we were interested in. For the research end of it, we joined internationalschoolreview.com and got access to hundreds of very informative reviews from teachers who had worked at schools all over the world. Some of those reviews crossed places right off our list (such as the school in South America where teachers had been kidnapped and blackouts were common) and some reviews bumped other schools to the top of the list as #1 choices for us. Some of these schools wrote back to us before the job fair and some didn't, but- hey- we were just trying to build a rapport, right?
On the first day of the job fair we registered and received our personal envelopes. In the envelopes were interview invitations from all the schools that had reviewed our resumes and were interested in us. Between the two of us, we had one interview invitation (from a school we'd pre-applied for). One invitation, and we both have over 3 years of teaching experience... we were disappointed. Especially when we could see other applicants strutting around fanning themselves with alllll their interview invitations and complaining that they would never be able able to attend that many interviews. But, the one invitation we got was from one of our top choices, so we just hoped for the best.
Next, there was an opening ceremony in my school's auditorium. After a little while they told us that the fair was ready and we were now allowed to go into the gym, where all the schools had booths set up. For a crowd of 300 job hungry teachers, this was the equivalent of being at a marathon and the ref has just shot off a pistol and exclaimed "GO!" Everyone, in their suits, fine dresses and high heels, raced to be the first to the gym. Mel and I went straight to a Turkish school we were interested in and were second in line. Not too bad! But then we started hearing a phrase that we heard over and over again that night "Sorry, not interested".
For one reason or another- they didn't want a couple, we didn't have the right background (looking for English grads rather than History), too many interviews already set up- no one was interested in us. It's disheartening to wait in line after line and to introduce yourself and pass over a resume, only to have it passed right back to you. For some reason, no one was interested in a pinky swear from me that I'm a really good teacher, PWOMISE, and no one at all cares about experience in Korea. It's too common. At the end of the three hours, besides the one pre-arranged interview, we had only managed to set up one interview- with a school in Qatar that was hiring "assistant teachers" at the primary level (a level which Mel wasn't interested in at all). By the end of the night, we felt pretty crap about our chances during the interview rounds the next day.
The next day started out with our pre-arranged interview, and it went well! It went really well- we liked him, he liked us, AND the positions were exactly what we were looking for (Grade 1 and ESL in China). After recommending us, and getting the go ahead from his bosses, we watched as he ERASED the names of people who had been tentatively hired for our positions and replaced them with our names. They were single teachers, you see, and with this school the preference is given to couples. We couldn't believe our luck, especially after the night before, so we canceled our Qatar interview and headed immediately to the pub to celebrate and dream of the future.
After getting hired, we embarked on the task of getting Z work visas for China. It's very tricky, and China is notoriously difficult and fickle with visa requests. First, we had to fill out some simple forms with our contact information, work history, etc. No biggie. We also had to compile reference letters, passport photos, diplomas, teaching certificates (which I hadn't gotten yet- kind of tricky- they accepted a promisary note from my university instead), resume, signed contract, and a physical examination record. This was by far the hardest part of the process, because the tests required are really extensive. We had to have a physical, a chest x-ray, dozens of obscure blood tests and an ECG! And we had to pay for all of it because it was for work and not requested by a doctor or anything. Though our school reimburses us later, it probably cost about $200 each, and it took weeks, and every doctor we met gave us a hard time for asking for these tests because they aren't commonly done for 30-year olds... they're usually done for the very sick. Anyway, we sent all of our paperwork to our school in China and waited for the next step.
In between all of this, we decided to bring our cat. Actually, we'd always planned to bring him with us if we moved abroad again because a) he's our responsibility, b) we love him. He's already 11 years old and we couldn't fathom leaving him for another 2 years. So, we started the lonnnng process of bringing him abroad. After a lot of research we decided to do all of the stuff on the Canadian-side of things by ourselves and hired an agent to handle the Chinese side of it all. We could have hired someone to do the whole thing but the cost was over $4000, which was slightly prohibitive. On our end of things, we've gotten him microchipped (a microchip not even used in Canada- it had to be special ordered for us- but it was the type China requires), got him some weird shots that no one ever gives their Canadian cat (again, because China said so) and bought all the things he needs to travel, like special food dishes and stuff. Our agent in Hong Kong (we're flying into Hong Kong and then traveling to our school in China because it's right on the border, which makes things even trickier because we had to adhere to the regulations of two countries) has filed all of Rufus's paperwork and now he's all ready to go, we just need to book his Air Canada Cargo flight, which can't be booked more than a month early. All in all, it's probably cost $2500 to send him over, but our school gives us nearly that amount to cover moving expenses so that's how we're paying for it and it's worth it to us.
So the cat is ready to go, but the last step for the people (that would be Mel and I) is to get z work visas. Two days ago, we received our last paperwork form China- all of the stuff we'd sent earlier was approved, so they sent us a formal invitation of employment. We just have to take it to the local consulate in Canada to get the z visas stamped into our passports. We're almost done, right? Wrong!
We're going to be in Toronto next Monday for a concert, so we thought we'd get our passports taken care of at the consulate there while we were in town. So, I called up today to make an appointment and to make sure I had everything I needed. Just before hanging up, the woman at the consulate advised me "Oh, and as of July 3 (AKA 7 days ago) the consulate in Canada now needs a physical examination record in addition to the formal invitation of employment". She laughed as she said this. It was hilarious. What?! We'd already had that done in April and sent it to China. If we hadn't, it would not have been possible for us to get the letter of invitation. Now they need to see another one? I asked if my school could just fax them a copy and, after checking with somebody, she told me that no, she needs an original. All of my paperwork from China is dated prior to the new July 3rd rule, AND I've already given their government this document and they still want another one. Oh, and when we get there we have to have another physical done anyway. Can you hear me banging my head against the wall? The great wall?
It would take weeks to have those tests done again. It would cost a lot of money. And we don't really have weeks to do this and then also get the visas approved- we leave in a month. Technically, we leave Kingston in less than 3 weeks and then we'll be too far from a consulate to get anything done. So, at the moment, we're kind of in limbo. I've just found all this out today so I've emailed our school for advice. Maybe they still have our original physical forms and they can send them to us? Maybe if I go through the Ottawa consulate I'll have better luck? Maybe we'll wind up back at the hospital ordering ECGs (most likely). Either way, this has been the longest process we've ever encountered in trying to work abroad. Despite all of this frustration, I know it will be worth it. I am beyond excited to start working. Can you imagine, being excited to do a job? I actually am. It's the exact grade I love teaching and the exact country I want to live in. We're going to have our cat with us, an apartment larger than a shoebox (I've heard 2 bedroom with a balcony!), and more vacation time than I've ever dreamed of. As well, I have the curriculum already and I've had the summer off so I've just been planning away for weeks now. I really feel like I'm so prepared for this and so ready.
Now, if we could just cut through this red tape so we could get into this red country, it seems like some really good things could start happening.
PS: Changed the name of the blog. I don't know, adding "China" to the list of "The Adventures of Melodie in Shawn in Korea, Taiwan and China" made for too much of a mouthful. What do you think of the new name? I'm not married to it... but it pretty much sums everything up, I think :)
We got our jobs at the end of January. Mel and I went to a job fair (TORF) held at Queen's (where I was a student and she was- and still is for another few weeks- a teacher). We will both be working for the same international school: she's teaching Grade 6 ESL and I'm teaching Grade 1 as a homeroom teacher. From the get-go, finding a "real" teaching job as a certified teacher was totally different to what it was like as an uncertified BA graduate heading to Korea and Taiwan. First of all, you can teach anywhere. Every continent was represented at the job fair we went to. Second, the pay and benefits are significantly better. Makes sense- a qualified professional should be paid better and have more opportunities than an unqualified schmuck (AKA me, for most of my twenties).
We had a strategy: prior to attending the fair we researched hard core and pre-applied to schools that would be there and that we were interested in. For the research end of it, we joined internationalschoolreview.com and got access to hundreds of very informative reviews from teachers who had worked at schools all over the world. Some of those reviews crossed places right off our list (such as the school in South America where teachers had been kidnapped and blackouts were common) and some reviews bumped other schools to the top of the list as #1 choices for us. Some of these schools wrote back to us before the job fair and some didn't, but- hey- we were just trying to build a rapport, right?
On the first day of the job fair we registered and received our personal envelopes. In the envelopes were interview invitations from all the schools that had reviewed our resumes and were interested in us. Between the two of us, we had one interview invitation (from a school we'd pre-applied for). One invitation, and we both have over 3 years of teaching experience... we were disappointed. Especially when we could see other applicants strutting around fanning themselves with alllll their interview invitations and complaining that they would never be able able to attend that many interviews. But, the one invitation we got was from one of our top choices, so we just hoped for the best.
Next, there was an opening ceremony in my school's auditorium. After a little while they told us that the fair was ready and we were now allowed to go into the gym, where all the schools had booths set up. For a crowd of 300 job hungry teachers, this was the equivalent of being at a marathon and the ref has just shot off a pistol and exclaimed "GO!" Everyone, in their suits, fine dresses and high heels, raced to be the first to the gym. Mel and I went straight to a Turkish school we were interested in and were second in line. Not too bad! But then we started hearing a phrase that we heard over and over again that night "Sorry, not interested".
For one reason or another- they didn't want a couple, we didn't have the right background (looking for English grads rather than History), too many interviews already set up- no one was interested in us. It's disheartening to wait in line after line and to introduce yourself and pass over a resume, only to have it passed right back to you. For some reason, no one was interested in a pinky swear from me that I'm a really good teacher, PWOMISE, and no one at all cares about experience in Korea. It's too common. At the end of the three hours, besides the one pre-arranged interview, we had only managed to set up one interview- with a school in Qatar that was hiring "assistant teachers" at the primary level (a level which Mel wasn't interested in at all). By the end of the night, we felt pretty crap about our chances during the interview rounds the next day.
The next day started out with our pre-arranged interview, and it went well! It went really well- we liked him, he liked us, AND the positions were exactly what we were looking for (Grade 1 and ESL in China). After recommending us, and getting the go ahead from his bosses, we watched as he ERASED the names of people who had been tentatively hired for our positions and replaced them with our names. They were single teachers, you see, and with this school the preference is given to couples. We couldn't believe our luck, especially after the night before, so we canceled our Qatar interview and headed immediately to the pub to celebrate and dream of the future.
After getting hired, we embarked on the task of getting Z work visas for China. It's very tricky, and China is notoriously difficult and fickle with visa requests. First, we had to fill out some simple forms with our contact information, work history, etc. No biggie. We also had to compile reference letters, passport photos, diplomas, teaching certificates (which I hadn't gotten yet- kind of tricky- they accepted a promisary note from my university instead), resume, signed contract, and a physical examination record. This was by far the hardest part of the process, because the tests required are really extensive. We had to have a physical, a chest x-ray, dozens of obscure blood tests and an ECG! And we had to pay for all of it because it was for work and not requested by a doctor or anything. Though our school reimburses us later, it probably cost about $200 each, and it took weeks, and every doctor we met gave us a hard time for asking for these tests because they aren't commonly done for 30-year olds... they're usually done for the very sick. Anyway, we sent all of our paperwork to our school in China and waited for the next step.
In between all of this, we decided to bring our cat. Actually, we'd always planned to bring him with us if we moved abroad again because a) he's our responsibility, b) we love him. He's already 11 years old and we couldn't fathom leaving him for another 2 years. So, we started the lonnnng process of bringing him abroad. After a lot of research we decided to do all of the stuff on the Canadian-side of things by ourselves and hired an agent to handle the Chinese side of it all. We could have hired someone to do the whole thing but the cost was over $4000, which was slightly prohibitive. On our end of things, we've gotten him microchipped (a microchip not even used in Canada- it had to be special ordered for us- but it was the type China requires), got him some weird shots that no one ever gives their Canadian cat (again, because China said so) and bought all the things he needs to travel, like special food dishes and stuff. Our agent in Hong Kong (we're flying into Hong Kong and then traveling to our school in China because it's right on the border, which makes things even trickier because we had to adhere to the regulations of two countries) has filed all of Rufus's paperwork and now he's all ready to go, we just need to book his Air Canada Cargo flight, which can't be booked more than a month early. All in all, it's probably cost $2500 to send him over, but our school gives us nearly that amount to cover moving expenses so that's how we're paying for it and it's worth it to us.
So the cat is ready to go, but the last step for the people (that would be Mel and I) is to get z work visas. Two days ago, we received our last paperwork form China- all of the stuff we'd sent earlier was approved, so they sent us a formal invitation of employment. We just have to take it to the local consulate in Canada to get the z visas stamped into our passports. We're almost done, right? Wrong!
It would take weeks to have those tests done again. It would cost a lot of money. And we don't really have weeks to do this and then also get the visas approved- we leave in a month. Technically, we leave Kingston in less than 3 weeks and then we'll be too far from a consulate to get anything done. So, at the moment, we're kind of in limbo. I've just found all this out today so I've emailed our school for advice. Maybe they still have our original physical forms and they can send them to us? Maybe if I go through the Ottawa consulate I'll have better luck? Maybe we'll wind up back at the hospital ordering ECGs (most likely). Either way, this has been the longest process we've ever encountered in trying to work abroad. Despite all of this frustration, I know it will be worth it. I am beyond excited to start working. Can you imagine, being excited to do a job? I actually am. It's the exact grade I love teaching and the exact country I want to live in. We're going to have our cat with us, an apartment larger than a shoebox (I've heard 2 bedroom with a balcony!), and more vacation time than I've ever dreamed of. As well, I have the curriculum already and I've had the summer off so I've just been planning away for weeks now. I really feel like I'm so prepared for this and so ready.
Now, if we could just cut through this red tape so we could get into this red country, it seems like some really good things could start happening.
PS: Changed the name of the blog. I don't know, adding "China" to the list of "The Adventures of Melodie in Shawn in Korea, Taiwan and China" made for too much of a mouthful. What do you think of the new name? I'm not married to it... but it pretty much sums everything up, I think :)
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