Greetings from Shanghai (a most amazing city!):

             My name is Vincent, and I will soon be coming to the end of my current contract with this Foreign Languages School. I’m writing this letter in hopes that it will help acclimate you better here at the school, and in Shanghai.

No doubt you will experience many strange and wonderful things about China, but I am not going to write about those things, rather, some information you might find useful.

If you are a coffee drinker, you will not find brewed coffee anywhere, unless you travel to a Starbucks. But if you are a coffee drinker like I am, you will get used to instant coffee that comes with sugar and cream already mixed together. If you need brewed coffee, try to find a small Mr. Coffee or other machine you can pack in a suitcase. There are Marlboro cigarettes sold here, but Chinese smokes are very good too.

You get to bring to suitcases that cannot exceed 70 pounds each (in addition to what you can bring on the plane as a carry-on).

Your school apartment comes equipped with a high speed internet connection (which is free), TV (there is one English channel, otherwise, 34 Chinese speaking channels) phone, kitchen, fresh water cooler, desk top pc, shower, kitchen with all the utensils, furniture and 1 or 2 bedrooms. Get used to walking up many flights of stairs daily, both in the school and in your apartment.

You will be coming here in the late summer, and it will be VERY hot, and quite humid. But in the winter, it is very cold here. I would advise you not to waste room in your suitcases with winter coats. Clothes here, like everything else, are cheap and well made.

Bring a laptop if you have one. Bring deodorant. Bring shaving cream. Bring Pepcid AC or Pepto Bismal. Bring Tylenol. If you can manage, bring your printer along as well. Bring your DVD’s and CD’s. Leave books behind (too heavy, and what you’ve ever learned about teaching before, will not apply here. I will explain about that later in the letter. Never drink the tap water. Never. Bottled water is the only water you should ever drink in Shanghai.

People are incredibly sweet and curious about foreigners, though Shanghai is becoming crowded with foreigners, still, in this area, you will be a curious sight. There is no violent crime. Streets are always safe, even in the middle of night. Amazing. You will want to get a mobile phone as soon as you get here. They range in price from 800 rmb to 4,000. These phones are incredible. Mine makes movies and takes photos. People usually message each other by text rather than talk on the phone. You buy airtime. Very easy. Very convenient. No monthly service plans. No contracts. Just phone and airtime to buy.

The school will provide health insurance for you, but I find Chinese medicine lacking in areas such as antibiotics and simple things like flu vaccines and cold remedies. I have found a superb western clinic that charges western rates (quite expensive, but worth every penny). The clinic is located on Nanjing Road, at the Ritz-Carleton Hotel. The doctors were educated and trained in America. Excellent group of doctors.

If someone from the school does not meet you at the airport for some reason, find a taxi (there are 10’s of thousands of taxis in Shanghai) and tell the driver, Longhua (pronounced…long-wu) Lu (means road/street), Baise (pronounced… bye-sa) Lu. So, Longhua Lu, Baise Lu… in Pu Shei…pronounced pu-shee. Chances are you will fly into Pudong International Airport. Beautiful airport yes, but on the opposite end of Shanghai from where the school is (about 40 miles). Taxi fare will be approximately, 140 rmb (18 bucks). In my opinion, taxis are incredibly cheap, and are the best way to get around Shanghai, but most people take busses or ride bicycles. You will figure out what is best for you once you are here.

The school is located in the southwest part of Xuhui, which is located in the southwest part of Shanghai. I like the location. It’s close to Xujiahui (very cool area, very modern, VERY crowded).

You will teach 16 classes a week (8 classes twice a week). Each class has approximately 50 students each. Yes, 50 students! I love my students very much…VERY much, but they are a handful. Teenagers like to be noisy, like to be lazy, and would like to be somewhere else, yet, they are all so nice and respectful. But in the early fall months, when the weather is hot, and the classrooms have no air-conditioning and you are tired and over-heated, you will feel lost, perhaps a little hot-blooded because the students might not respond the way you want them too. I advise you to take a couple of deep breaths, relax, and try not to lose your temper. You will understand this better once you experience the teaching environment. However, the opposite can also be said when you feel exhilarated after a great class.

It will be your job to teach conversational English. Easier said than done (excuse the pun). Students are on such a broad range of abilities. Some can barely speak English, and some are quite talented at it. How to organize a 45 minute class that can include everyone? That is your daily challenge. And it will become a grind. I call the classes, meat-grinders, yet, I love teaching here. If you find yourself just responding to students who respond to you, you will lose the other 40. You must be clever, patient, and warm-hearted; otherwise, I think the job will swallow you whole in two months. It really is a mind-bender. In addition to teaching, students will ask you to judge their debates, help them with speeches, plays, contests and other assorted school activities. I suggest you do what you can do, otherwise, you will feel pulled in many directions and lose your arms and legs.

Each student (you will have over 400 students each week) has an English name (some are so funny!). Just to learn all their names is a huge task. The school year is almost over, and there are still about 100 students I do not know their names yet, just their faces, but they will certainly know your name.

The Chinese teachers are all very friendly and helpful. I mean that, but their time is limited. You will need to develop a semester long lesson plan to be handed in to Noel, the dean of the English department. She is helpful, but the lines of communication at the school are different than where you come from. So, be ready for surprises. Haha.

There is a lot of time off due to holidays. It’s always a good time to travel around China. It’s never boring here. I haven’t watched TV for 9 months except for CCTV International (English speaking channel). My time is spent traveling around China and exploring Shanghai. Each street is a new adventure. There are a million other things I could tell you. In lieu of a 10 page welcome letter, I will offer you my email address if you have any questions I can help you with. I will sign-on for another year. Hope to meet you in September!

Sincerely,

Vincent