Aspies For Freedom

So, has anyone here done this? I may or may not be doing this soon, and some pointers would be great. Thanks!

I travelled to London once

(norwegian)

I guess you probably meant English litterature.

Woops!

I thought wrong.

You see, teach and learn is the same word in norwegian so sometimes I am confused.

Yep, done it. I taught English in Japan for a summer. It was an interesting experience. My advice is to find out what exactly is expected of you and make sure you don't do less or more than that. People get offended even when you have no clue what you did to offend them, so be sure to assure them you are new and still learning and up for suggestions (some people only want justification that you are a stupid foreigner). You'll have fun mostly, just keep in mind some people are just jerks.

Thanks zatojoshi, that was great advice! I'm probably going to head off to South Korea in a few months.

Daniel Tammet taught English in Lithuania - see his autobio Born on a Blue Day.

Sorry if this comes as a necropost. I taught English in China for 3 years and while I may still not understand everything that went on, I can put my experiences on the table. Note that I have struggled to write a book about my time there; I'm completely unable to do so. This little post must leave out much.

I studied China before I left US -- for a couple years. I joined a mailing list specifically for EFL teachers in China; I got all the background possible. Also, I took a short course in TESOL, so I had some idea what I was doing and the paper to prove it.

I went to China "naked" -- no visa, no job waiting. There are real advantages to this. I flew into Macau and walked through the border and applied for a tourist visa on the spot -- and got 90 days on it. A Chinese consulate in US will typically only give you 30 and the visa will cost more. I went through into Zhuhai and there I was, free as a bird. You can do the same thing from Hong Kong to Shenzhen but since it's a more popular route, you'll be less well served.

I did make a personal contact in my target city -- now, my "home town" -- of Nanning. When I arrived, I had an apartment waiting. However, it was of poor quality, in the wrong neighborhood, and had no furnishings -- such as a stove or hot water heater. This is completely normal for China. Soon, I found better quarters -- but any time I moved, I ran into the same trouble. Chinese landlords have no obligations -- none -- and tenants routinely install all fixtures and remove them when they leave.

My personal contact failed badly soon after I arrived; it turns out I had seriously misjudged her. I was then on my own, stranger in a strange land, unable so much as to speak the language in a city that sees very few visitors. I quickly picked up a number of Chinese "friends". It turns out that many Chinese, male and female, see so much value in having an American buddy that they will bend over backwards to help in any way. There are some serious problems with this, though. For one, what my new buddies thought was best for me was sometimes not. For another, many were simply out to exploit me -- to a degree you might find less than credible.

Employment itself was never a problem. People would use any excuse to approach me and offer me work. I found no need to present my TESOL Certificate; my big American nose and fat American belly were the only credentials I needed. Nor was it ever a problem that I was in China on a tourist visa. If I had only wanted work for money, I would never have been idle.

The nature of "teaching" English came as quite a shock, though. English is a fashion item in China, like a cell phone or motorscooter. It is bought by those who can afford it usually *not* for practical use but merely as a status symbol -- "hey look at me, I'm going to English classes". As such, the product is watered down just as far as possible. Local instructors may not even speak English; they play cassette tapes and speak Chinese to their students. A real live American is desired not for skill in teaching but to lend an air of credibility to otherwise bankrupt programs.

Another issue is contractual obligations -- like getting paid. As a foreigner, you have essentially no recourse. Chinese themselves have no recourse to law in a country where the police are feared and the courts dreaded. Chinese do not form durable binding contracts -- a written contract is the starting point for negotiations, not the conclusion. I found that any relationship was subject to constant renegotiation and power plays. This kind of no-holds-barred warfare is perhaps more difficult for autistics but when discussing the matter with Westerners, I found consensus that Chinese were more or less impossible to do business with.

As a liberal, I found myself especially unprepared to deal with the reality of daily life. I went to China burdened with the principle that all people are more or less equal, that people are basically good, that if I treat people with respect I will usually receive it in return. Particularly, I have always objected to the idea that an entire culture might be significantly more dishonest or corrupt than my own. The thought smacks of bigotry, even if the observation is limited to Chinese culture rather than Chinese ethnicity.

Now I can tell you the truth. Chinese culture does not value honesty highly; indeed, skillful lying is rewarded to an extent I still find hard to believe. Chinese do not see non-Chinese as human, period. Rather, we are meat animals. I was frequently amazed, even after years in country, by the eagerness with which Chinese rushed to take advantage of any weakness or need I might show. The prevailing view seemed to be "I have never seen an American in my life. I may never see one again. I have a positive duty to my country, my family, and lastly myself, to exploit this unique opportunity to the fullest. If I leave any meat on the bone, I have failed." Confusing the picture, Chinese approach with broad smiles and every appearance of willingness to help selflessly. It often took me days to discover the hidden agenda.

Being not a human was very difficult for me. Besides a source of food, I was viewed as a somewhat dangerous but stupid beast, to be corralled and curbed; and as a sort of visiting rock star. Chinese who took the latter view thought the best way to maximize their gain was to bask in reflected light; they, too, did not see me as human but rather as a sort of teevee projection. Nothing I said was ever considered of any consequence.

Simple daily tasks became monumental projects. There are, for example, no laundromats in China. You wash your clothes in a bucket and dry them on a line. This does not work well in the tropical south; shirts may get moldy. I found it nearly impossible to pay my electric bill. Cashing a check was an involved process requiring a 30 day wait for clearance. It took me 3 months before I was able to telephone US during American business hours. I found it wise to have all mail sent Priority to the main post office; I'd check in a couple times a week to see if my name was chalked (in characters) above the counter.

Chinese do not drink water that has not been boiled. Nuff said.

Food in China deserves a book of its own. I preferred the steam-table eateries where I could at least see what I was getting; this poor fare frequently disagreed with me. I was ill for the entire first 6 months, losing on average 2 pounds a week. Well, I'm fat and could stand to lose a little -- but that is too much, too fast. About a week before I'd have had to be hospitalized, a McDonald's opened downtown. Doctor Ronald's prescription -- Big Mac plus chocolate shake, daily -- saved me from a gruesome fate.

I was always hungry and always unhappy about it. For a time, I went to one "international" hotel to enjoy the Sunday breakfast buffet, at a cost of 100 /kwai/ -- equivalent to $100 in local terms. There was cold cereal, pasturized milk, scrambled eggs and bacon, real brewed coffee. It was worth it.

There is no end to the bizarre stories I might tell. I rented an apartment above a storefront; a tenant moved in and paid a boy with a hammer and chisel to cut into the concrete mortises, for laying in a loft. It took him six weeks of 12-hour days.

Urban China never sleeps. If I left my apartment in the middle of the night, I would always find people eating and drinking on the sidewalks. Many shopkeepers live in their shops and never close for business. If you catch them napping, just tap on the window and they'll jump up to sell you a Coke.

Despite the ruthless nature of Chinese when doing business or exploiting social relationships, I never felt in the slightest danger when walking about. Violence is taboo. Chinese do not get into fistfights; they rarely shout in anger. If they are finally pushed over the line, they are most likely to bring out a knife; this is very rare. The police are indifferent to almost anything but they take a dim view of anything they might have to clean up after -- and Chinese jail is ugly. So while I might be defrauded, I was never mugged.

I may as well mention sex. I was propositioned by an astonishing range of ladies; the offers ranged from instant sex through marriage and came from ages 16 to 50-ish. China does not protect workers from sexual harassment and I found, when trying to hire a student as an interpreter, that all young women seemed to assume that the position was discreet, ongoing prostitution. Men simply would not consider the work, as beneath them. Less discreet were the various massage parlors and "hair salons". I often found myself swarmed on the sidewalk by girls from such shops; they would rush out 5 at a time to drag me inside. Needless to say, such amusement carries with it a price.

For a time, I found myself rather unexpectedly served by an older Chinese man. He said he was an English professor at a local university and appeared to have unlimited time to guide me around the city. I discovered in time that he had his own agenda, which often ran at cross purposes to mine. One Westerner commented that any Chinese of his age who spoke good English had probably been recruited long ago by the local police as an informer or counteragent -- and while my "friend" was probably not employed by the police now, he certainly hoped to bring them evidence that I was indeed a CIA spy.

I made the mistake of shipping personal belongings to China by sea. These were held by Customs and I was dragged over the coals. It was not important that my belongings were entirely innocent. I was forced to pay a large duty, only after months of delay. The explanation is simple: smuggling is continuous and Customs officers highly corrupt. Their greed is such that many overstep government tolerance and are arrested and executed. It was never possible for me to bribe any official; rather, I was a golden opportunity for them to show their zeal, since there was no possibility of an ongoing relationship. They spent all their time sifting through my pots and pans, while continuing to ignore the intermodal containers crammed with contraband Japanese teevees.

You may wonder that I managed to teach illegally for so long. I simply travelled to Zhuhai every 3 months, walked through to Macau, turned right around and walked back to where I started and bought another tourist visa. Chinese have absolutely no concern with what is legal; only in vested interests. In any case, it is always illegal to teach English at a privately-owned school, since they do not have the ability to validate an application for a work visa.

I did, finally, decide that it might be better to take a legal job with a state-owned school, which signed off on my legal work visa application. This worked very badly. Having bought me, the "waiban" (= foreign affairs office) treated me as a piece of property -- a slave in all but name. The waiban boss openly demanded kickbacks, refused to pay per contract, and withheld my passport. In the end, I found that she had also screwed up my work visa.

Unexpected difficulties came often. For Lunar New Year, I was treated to a solid month of round-the-clock fireworks. There seem to be no limit to the size or quantity of explosives that a Chinese citizen may purchase; anyone may walk up to a sidewalk vendor and come away with a box of rockets that would, in US, merit Federal detention as an "enemy combatant". There is no way to describe the experience of hearing a dozen ten-pound shells going off under one's window at 3 am.

* * *

I cannot tell the whole story of teaching English in China. For one, I saw only a tiny part of a vast country. Your mileage may vary. I will, however, make certain recommendations. All possible disclaimers apply: Anything may happen to you, including serious injury or death. No matter what, I won't be responsible for your choice to stick your head into the dragon's mouth.

Chinese are extremely social -- "neurotypicals on crack". If you have trouble playing the social game in the West, you will be lost in China. If Westerners find you difficult because you are not social, Chinese will find you impossible. This is slightly offset because you are not Chinese, therefore not human; therefore standards are considerably relaxed for you. My rationale was that I was hated in US; it couldn't be worse in China. I was only half wrong. If you are autistic, China may be a mistake. On the other hand, if you are at all capable of learning social graces, China will be an excellent, if brutal, learning opportunity.

Go as I did, "naked", with no prior commitment. You will have no trouble getting a visa at the border, unless of course everything changes overnight, as they may. Again, as I did, do your research beforehand. Make contacts with other Westerners in China. Stay current. Guidebooks are more or less useless.

Feel free to teach illegally. Nobody cares and you retain a degree of freedom. Do not expect however to *teach*. You are merely a showpiece. You battle to teach substance at your own risk.

Avoid anything official or state-owned. China is rapidly abandoning Communism and embracing free enterprise. Only the most reactionary and xenophobic hold out in state-owned schools. Chinese window-shop at the state-owned department store and buy elsewhere. Minimize your contact with any element of the bureaucracy; it is worse than your worst caricature of your local US government office.

Learn the local language as best you can. This is difficult but essential. Never mind learning the national language; the locals may not even speak it. Beware that Chinese will often deliberately refuse to understand you, no matter how accurately you speak.

Consider one of the larger, more Westernized cities. You may feel you will be more comfortable in a smaller town but don't underestimate the value of living in a city where other Westerners have blazed a trail and are there to offer support. Think of it this way: If you were an African on an extended visit to US, would you choose to drive a cab in Los Angeles, California or Baton Rouge, Louisiana?

One way or another, you *must* have one Chinese go-between. There is basically no way to trust such a person unless he or she considers you part of the family. Let me repeat this: You cannot do without one trusted friend, lover, or spouse. This is not just a matter of your partner doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. Other Chinese will be extremely uncomfortable if you cannot show that you are part of a social unit. Do not trust this person under any circumstances until you are certain that his or her entire extended family looks to you for support. This is not a joke.

Do not expect your money to go nearly as far as it should. You will find yourself paying exorbitant sums for certain things. Don't expect to go completely "native". We are all different but one way or another, I predict you will want something that you cannot have without paying more than you would in US.

Try to have a realistic picture of the people around you. They do not see you as human; you should be willing to lower your standards far enough to accept this. Chinese are extremely polite. They are also taught from the cradle that Harmony is the highest social virtue; Honesty takes a back seat. Do not take anything at face value. Chinese will think you are simple.

Above all, have fun! If I've painted a bleak portrait, it's because the road is indeed very rocky. I would not, for anything, spend another 3 years in China. But I don't regret that I did it. Nothing I have ever done -- or likely will do -- so broadened my horizons or gave me such food for thought. No matter how miserably spent, every minute in China was, for me, pure gold.

I confess I don't understand how this whole TEFL/ESOL thing works. When I look back on my experiences of learning foreign languages (French, German, Italian & Swedish) to date, I can't see how I could have grasped the finer points of their grammatical structures if my teachers hadn't been able to explain it to us in our own language. And how on earth do you get by in a country where you don't speak the language, can't read the signs/food labels etc.? I found my one ex-pat experience traumatic enough and that was a mere five months in Sweden!

Well, I've already talked about everyday practice, which has little to do with effect -- it's only for show. As for a method that truly is effective, given any real interest in results:

OpenTutorial: How To Teach English to Speakers of Other Languages

I just want to know--after travelling thousands of miles to live in a foreign land for the longterm--how you handled all those constant changes with no ability to have an established routine.

For me, I imagine just moving into my own apartment in the same town would be very difficult and trying for me, as I still live at home at age 26.

I don't understand how some AS folks have no trouble travelling to different places, adjusting to insane changes (like, a new culture that doesn't treat you as a human being, and has a premium on social skills..!?!), and apparently have no executive dysfunction.

You make me jealous.

Yeah, there's no way I could have coped doing something like that.

Yes, I taught English in Costa Rica for about 2 years.  It was an enjoyable time.  Being an Aspie, it was a great place to hideout for awhile. Traits that here in the U.S. might draw attention to myself were not as obivious in CR.  

I had a friend in CR that had taught in Korea before and didn't have a good expierence.  She taught mostly young children in a very regimented system.  In CR we taught mostly business people and college students.  My last year there, I traveled to companies throughout CR and taught both private and small clases on their properties.

As far as working in CR as an English teacher, the best way to get a job is to just show up and knock on the doors of the schools.  Dress professionally and speak English.........that's about it.

The money wasn't great but I could live.

good luck