We are the Laowais

What then is freedom?

The power to live as one wishes. Marcus Tulles Cicero

 Marcus hits the nail on the head concerning my experience of living in China. It's one of those strange contradictions we love about the Middle Kingdom that for all the bad stuff we read about Communism the reality for us expats is somewhat different.

We have the freedom to be who we want to be. Didn't like yourself back home? Hell, you can make up your own biography and tell the story of your life to every other barfly you meet. You can be the man or woman you really want to be.  We are anonymous; no one knows who you are or where you came from.  And to be frank no one cares – most friendships are here today - gone tomorrow, sort of affairs. Most of us in China have an edited past we trot out in conversations. Things we don't want our newfound pals to find out about us. Those things that set us on the road to China - and keep us here. Failed marriages, failed businesses, failed careers, failed personalities. We can then impress our newfound best buddies with the tales of our travelling - fiction or non-fiction - who cares? If it's a good story its worth repeating. Let me tell you about the wonderful times I have had wandering around lonely as a cloud through S.E. Asia with only bar girls as company. Or the great money I was making in Korea. Or that time in Cambodia when... recounted a hundred times to the similar faces, in similar bars all doing similar things to maintain our sanities.

  There are many other freedoms. The UK has one of the largest totals of CCTV cameras in the world. The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) estimates there are between 4-5.9 million cameras. In the UK I am constantly being surveilled. This is for my own safety I am informed. In China I can go about my legal business without being filmed and analysed. This is a joy. There’s a weightlessness that goes along with this freedom – it can make one feel a little giddy. The positive side of CCTV in China is all the road junctions are monitored and in the event of an accident there will be film. But still I remain giddy - the iron cage of rationality has not imprisoned me yet.

  At work, I am not being constantly micro managed. I get on with my teaching with little interference. We all know our classroom practice gets fed back to the managers and parents through the spies in the classroom. I have never found out who my classroom snake in the grass is but whoever it is they seem happy enough with what I do. So I enjoy my work and get to be creative and feel I am helping my students get to the foreign universities they dream about.

The consequence of the freedoms I enjoy in China is a lack of stress in my day-to-day life. I can do what I want, go where I want to without having to constantly look over my shoulder or worry that my 'performance' targets are not being met. For me that is a massive plus in my life.  That ‘freedom’ does not give me the right to break Chinese law though.  Let me quote my namesake Robert Burton (1621) here – ‘When they are at Rome, they do there as they see done.’ Many foreigners ignore this maxim parading about as if the laws of the country do not relate to them. For instance, our local police come to the campus (where I live) once a month to check up on us. They are friendly and chatty, they do not want to enter my apartment, they are just checking everything is okay. A British colleague told me I should refuse their visits as it was a 'bloody cheek' and this would never happen 'back home'. I think he has been away from the UK for too long and is out of touch with what is happening in the world. 

Other expats work illegally, drive motor vehicles illegally, take and sell drugs, despite the very severe penalties should they get caught doing so. It's like they live in a bubble of 1st world privilege that saturates a colonial mentality evidenced by the way the use racist language to speak about their friends and colleagues - 'chinks, slopes, chinky, japs, gooks and other racialised ethnic slurs.  

  China is not without its idiosyncrasies. Many of the things expats hate are things that are culturally different to the ways we think things should get done. As a sociologist I am more patient, understanding we can get too ethnocentric about the way life is lived here. One thing that irritates even me, Dr Laid Back, is that last minute management thing when they call, 'Oh Dr Rob there’s a meeting tomorrow do you have a PPT for it?'  'What? You just this moment told me, how can I possibly have a PPT ready?' - 'Oh Sorry.'  Or your phone rings at 7:48am  'Dr Rob, you have a class, where are you?' 'I'm in bed, my first class is this afternoon.'  'No Dr Rob we changed your timetable, you have a class now. Class A Room 3.' 'But no one told me.' - ' Oh Sorry.'

  Yet the Chinese teachers suffer the same problems, for less money, I am told it’s a management thing whereby they expect employees to jump to their slightest whim to show commitment to the employer. I still don't get it though and it’s annoying.

  This forments within many expats a resentment that allows them to witter on about 'Oh we didn't do it like this in my last school' or just ignore last minute requests from the people who pay them. It's as if we are so much better and worth more than our Chinese teacher colleagues who have little say in how their employer treats them. It annoys me that some expat 'teachers' (I am using the word 'teacher' advisedly here because some people I have met in schools are plainly not teachers) think they can swan up to class, fill their 45 minutes with something or other they might have put together at the last minute, and swan off down to the local bar for another evening of telling each other the same stories they have told each other a hundred times.

That attitude breeds an arrogance (not far removed from the racism mentioned above) where we can blame the Chinese for all the things that go wrong with our easy life. How often do we hear - 'Oh the bloody Chinese, they haven't got a bloody clue, bloody idiots.' I will admit I have fallen into the same trap myself – it’s so easy to push the blame somewhere else, mindlessly disregarding that this is their country and their systems. We are the visitors; we are the aliens, the immigrants, and the refugees if you will. It is WE who are different - not them. We are the Laowais.

This is my sixth year here and I am not yet tired of the Middle Kingdom. I will be here for many years, my adventure is not ending - I will continue to live as I wish.

Happy New Year.

Dr Rob Burton

Teaching ESL in China - Advice from the "Handsomest Teacher in Dongwai" - Official.

Teaching ESL in China. Lesson 2. Thankful for Thanksgiving No. 2. The competition. (Is the real title of this blog)

Todays Blog is coming to you from 'The most handsome teacher in Dongwai' and one of the most popular teachers in Nanjing.  In my defence, this is because I was part of an online poll of teachers carried out by a newspaper in Nanjing and I eventually came in at joint seventh (see pic above) in a poll of 16 other teachers and that I became the 'most handsome teacher in Dongwai' (the short name of my school BTW) is simply because there were no other contestants - so I am 'handsome' by default.

Lighting Incense in Thanks at the local Buddhist Temple

Nevertheless this has been told to me number of times by staff and students around the school and they seem inordinately proud of my success. One of the many reasons to be cheerful in China. Little things matter.

This week has been Thanksgiving Week and although not being an American I still have a role in educating my students about the ways of the West as some of them will be enjoying good old American hospitality in the near future.   So this week my Grade 10 students have been immersing themselves, as much as they possibly can in the 3 x 45 minute lessons I have with them, in what the message of Thanksgiving is.

So I talked to them a bit about the general idea of Thanksgiving and showed them this little cartoon which sort of skims the surface of the genesis of the holiday.

We had a listening gap fill exercise which re-enforced vocabulary

Then generate vocabulary around the dinner and the holiday and talk about giving thanks for things.

Then I made them read a poem aloud about giving thanks.

Thanks for the fire,

That keeps me warm.

Thanks for my family,

Keep them from harm.

Thanks for the corn,

Cobs stacked in a heap,

Thanks for the squash,

And the crops that we reap.

Thanks for the grains,

They’ll feed us till spring.

Thanks for the cows,

And the milk that they bring.

Thanks for the stars,

And the sun and the moon.

Thanks for the snow,

That’s coming here soon.

Thanks for the rivers,

The lakes and the seas.

Thanks for the mountains.

Covered in trees.

Thanks for all life.

And last, but not least,

Thanks for the turkey

We’ll have at our feast.

Homework was - Write  200 words about what you are thankful for in your life.

During the second lesson they get to read what they have written. I choose them as I have mentioned by a random number generator. 

It is interesting to note the differences between these Chinese teens and kids back home. These Chinese kids write from the heart with no sense of embarrassment and shame. They write heartfelt thanks to their parents for their life, for the love they receive and for the ongoing support by their mother and fathers who they recognise work hard to get them into this expensive school. I am not so sure Western Kids would so openly write about their emotions and feelings and then read them out aloud to the whole class. I would be interested to hear what a western teacher says about this. 

So thats the second class seen too.

For the third class I wanted a bit of a sense of occasion so I found an online Thanksgiving crossword and created a Thanksgiving word search using some of the crossword answers to give them a hand because we hadn't covered all the vocabulary.  

Now Chinese students love competition and so its always great to tap into that competitive spirit and offer some prizes for the best work. And boy don't they go for it. 

My prize was a box of Dove chocolate for 1st prize (chosen so if it gets shared around the class by the winner everyone should get a piece) and two smaller tubes of M&M's for second and third prize. 

In Grade 10 class A I had one girl finish before the 45 minutes were up with a 100% score (23 crossword clues and 23 word search words to find) and in the summing up another girl handed in a 100% paper and the boy at 3rd scored 80%.  Not one of my Grade 10 Class A finished the quiz in the 45 minutes and the best score was 80%.

I also ran this competition with my two Grade 12 classes as we had done thanksgiving in the past years - with less success - no one finished the paper in 45 minutes and the winners scored around 80% (Smaller class - fewer chocolates)

But if you want to keep your students busy, keep them engaged, and have some fun and a quiet class any sort of competition in the classroom gets these kids going. 

A snapshot of teaching ESL English in a Chinese High School

A different view of the school - the boys dormitories - hanging washing. 

This semester sees my third year at this school. On the whole its okay - that's why I stay here.  The school is in Jiangning which is an 'outskirt' of Nanjing - but it won't be for long because these super Chinese cities are expanding as quickly as the Chinese economy is. Even in my short two years and counting the neighbourhood has changed with large office buildings and accommodation blocks rising into the skies.

The new buildings lit up opposite my apartment

But at the moment it's quiet, the air is cleaner than downtown. My apartment is nice and the campus is safe so Snook Doggy Dog can have it all to herself.

So what about the teaching. Maybe you are starting to think about coming to China, have an adventure and come English teaching. Why not - do it, is what I say, what can you lose?

 Top pic - some of my senior students - my third year of teaching them and below two Junior students who I have know for the same time but only taught them during my first year - but we still like each other!!

I have written elsewhere about what you need to come to China to teach but I'll briefly re-itterate it here. A degree is needed. Any degree it doesn't matter really. A TEFL course of at least 120 hours. Groupon do one for £49 - click here is also required. Or a CELTA if you want a better job and more money. And most bona fide places want two years teaching experience - but you can write your CV to match that if you have been involved in any form of training, teaching or whatever. My advice is don't come for a teaching job if they will not provide you with a Z visa - those jobs are illegal. Do not come for a teaching job, at their request on a tourist visa on the promise that they will convert it later - they will  not and you will be illegal.  Also I have heard on the expat grapevine that the Chinese government is now requiring foreigners coming here for teaching jobs to provide 'proper' criminal record checks - to weed out sex offenders and paedophiles wanting access to school kids. When I came my 'background check' was basically me writing and signing a letter stating I wasn't a criminal. (I'm not by the way).

Mid semester exams

Teaching in China.

So I'm halfway through my first semester of my third year with the school I am at right now. I currently teach 4 classes. This is made up of Grade 10 Senior A & B. These are the newbies. They only entered the school this semester.  I also teach Grade 12 Senior A & B. They were new students to the school when I first started teaching them in 2012 and I have taught them each year since that first semester.

This year I am teaching 'Oral English'.

Grade 10.
This is more difficult than it sounds.  In Grade 10 I have 61 students split between A & B (30 + 31).  I only see these classes for 3 x 45 minute classes a week. So you can imagine how difficult it is to get around every student to get them to speak, let alone teach content which will impact upon their ability to speak.

In  terms of classroom teaching aids I have a book. World Link - Developing English Fluency. You can see more about the books on the website here. But my main problem is lack of time given the number of students in each class.

Other problems stem from both the book and the classroom set up. The book comes with a CD for the listening and other stuff I haven't even had time to look at or use. Problem 1. Is that the computer in the classroom does not have a CD/DVD slot.  I tried to download the CD to my computer (Apple Macbook) so I could put it on a USB stick - but despite the instructions on the CD telling me this was possible I couldn't do it - and Im no slouch with computers.  So the solution was to buy my own portable CD/DVD drive/player. Often to no avail because just today - after writing this I went into my classroom to teach and the computer wasn't working - so all my lesson planning was down the drain and I had to teach 'on the fly' - again.

Problem 2 is if I use the book - how can I teach Oral English? As the book is meant to support the full range of English learning. And how to do it in such a short time? My solution is to work with the book on the first lesson, simply to raise a topic and to generate new vocabulary.  At the end of that lesson the students get homework - basically something which relates to the work and new vocabulary - they have to write a 250/300 'essay'.  On the second class - they have to speak what they have written ( It will have been handed in and marked by me by the time of the second class). But how to get 30 students to speak in 45 minutes.  Well, its simple you can't.  So I use a random number generator and pick the kids to speak that way. Classroom discipline has to be strong because a lot of the kids think if they are not speaking then its ok for them to stop listening, chat with neighbours, sleep and so on. I want my students to listen to and respect their schoolmate who is maybe struggling to speak - maybe they can learn something this way.

Problem 3. Is the school expects me to 'test' each class once a week. So I have three lessons, one of which has to be a test! Its frustrating because I am not sure that things get any better.  However, I do have some good speakers in my class and some bad ones I admit.  But having a test lesson each week is defeating the object - so this often slips - like today - where I will develop new vocabulary on the topic we started last week - get them to write about it next week - do the speaking and this time (Thursday) next week do the test.

 The reality of the mid-semester exams

Grade 12.

Grade 12 (A&B) is my biggest worry. This is their final year and they all expect to enter foreign universities. In their first year with me, with the confidence of youth, they all told me they wanted to go to (or their parents wanted them to go to) Harvard, Yale, Oxford or Cambridge. The sky was the limit for these pampered kids from rich backgrounds.  Now barely 20 odd weeks from leaving school I think some of these ambitions have been reined back. I'm not sure if some of them will even pass their IELTS or TOEFL English tests at the right levels to be accepted into higher education - let alone the Ivy League universities.

I technically have around 24 students in each class.  But since at least the spring/summer semester many of them have been missing from the classroom. When I ask why I'm told they are out with tutors - this is because they are and have been sitting the Cambridge A Level exams. Indeed one of the tutors used to be the Physics teacher here, but no he's set himself up as a tutor and making big money over 500,000 rmb (£50,000 approx) last semester I've been told.  So this last semester and a half I have been seeing between 6 and 12 students from Class A and around a more regular 12 students from Class B.

The changing numbers also brings with it its own challenges. Its difficult to teach classes with items that I want to run over a number of classes because I never know who is going to turn up or be missing. If I organise groups or pairs to prepare work - then the next class half the group or one of the pair is missing or students turn up unprepared for what I want to do it just causes chaos.  If I plough ahead, the students with nothing to do will chat, or sleep or disrupt the class. Note once again these students are expecting to go to a foreign university at the end of this year and still they fail to pay attention.

Todays update, I had a class at 13:30 - first class of the afternoon. I turn up - there are 5 students - three of whom have barely been in my class these last two semesters - the rest were in an A level exam - I wasn't told of course.  I had planned the 'weekly' test as I haven't done a test with this group for a while.  Then 2 of the 5 decided they needed to be elsewhere leaving three.  So I stood around like a lemon for 45 minutes - attempting to get them to converse with me. All of the final three are expecting to go to an American university at the moment their TOEFL level is around the 80/84 mark - which is pretty good as the overall TOEFL average for entering a US university is around 80 but the prestigious Universities like Yale want 100 plus and they specify scores for reading, writing and speaking and so on.

My empty classroom

I am using Book 3 of  World Link - Developing English Fluency and to be brutally honest it is useless for these students. Despite being university candidates and being at the school - a "Foreign Language School" for over nearly three years their English is abysmal. I've given up blaming myself because I know they have paid little attention to their lessons either in school or outside of the school - where, in my opinion,  they should be using and learning their English as much as possible. Even some of the  basic words, concepts and ideas are beyond them in these books.  I have tried to give them the benefit of my 20 years experience teaching and working in excellent universities in the UK (Exeter and Plymouth) but it seems to no avail.

This might seem strange as I have indicated above that these self same students are achieving TOEFL and IELTS scores which would see them gain entry to Universities worldwide. But does this mean they are good at English? Well the answer to that question, in my opinion has to be a resounding no.

They achieve these IELTS and TOEFL scores through the use of well worn tricks of the trade that are passed on through the years. The learning is all done through repetition, memory and rote learning. There is no real attempt by these students to try to speak like a native speaker which the IELTS test is premised upon. The learn to speak to pass the test at the required level, notably a 6 or a 6.5.  That the UK and other universities have cottoned onto this is no surprise. Even when I was working at Exeter Chinese students would turn up with their IELTS certificates and be barely literate in English. That over 8000 students were sent home from the US last year for plagiarism and not being up to scratch is no surprise - I wonder what the worldwide number would be?

Also this will turn into a nice little earner for the Universities who are now providing English Language Schools - at a price for their international students who turn up not being able to cut the mustard. For example a 13 week course at a London University costs around £4.500 whereas a 42 week course at a university in the South West of England costs about £9000. All extra money that these students hard pressed parents will have to find on top of International Fees and living costs.

Some idea of the cost of extra English lessons in England

Friday was parents day - gridlock prevailed outside - double parking is de-rigeur 

And for those parents or students that get out of hand, the school guards have the right equiptment 

Packing for China for the TEFL - ESL, English Teacher.

If you are reading this you are probably on the cusp of a great adventure. You are coming to China to teach English.  You have probably already started to stress about what to fit in your luggage let alone what, how or who you are going to teach.  How the hell can I live for 10 months when the baggage allowance (on most airlines) is around 20 kilos you ask yourself as you look at the pile of packing on the bed?  If you are lucky your chosen airline might give you a bigger allowance, once Cathay Pacific gave me 30 kilos, which was a huge bonus.  Or you might be rich enough to buy a premium airline ticket which gives you a bigger allowance, or you can afford to pay the extra for extra bags, whatever, you are probably still wondering what to bring.

I have written two or three earlier blogs about packing for China the first one is here. But it might be timely to write another one about packing for those of you who are frantically pulling stuff in and out of your cases not sure what you will actually need.

Lets look at what most airlines will let you take on board.

1. Most airlines seem to restrict checked in luggage to around 20 kilos. For instance Cathay Pacific post their limit as 20 kilos, but when you speak to the check in staff, you can get away with 23 kilos, some airlines post 23 kilos, maybe they are more strict if you are over your allowance.  Some airlines will charge you for excess weight and some airlines will allow you to pay for an extra bag.  There's a handy list here posted in June 2015 but do check your ticket and terms and conditions and your airlines website first.

2. The airlines also allow a carry on bag weighing, depending on the airline, between 5 and 18 kilos, again check your airlines terms and conditions.

3. Most airlines will also allow you a computer bag/handbag or both - probably more likely if you are a female.

What I assume is that you will have your large luggage, your carry on bag and a 'computer bag'/handbag. So you have to be really creative about what goes in where, what you will wear on the trip and once you are in the departure lounge how you can rearrange it all to be more comfortable.

Personally I travel with a largish suitcase, a rucksack (not a large one) for my carry one and my computer bag/briefcase and I do make sure they are packed to the absolute limit.

These are my bags the big black bag is a Jeep canvas bag with wheels etc. This got trashed by the airline (Cathay Pacific) when I came back to China the second time (and it was relatively light then) and I only got 100rmb (£10 approx) compensation. The red bag is my daypack-sized backpack and the grey bag is my computer bag.

These all went onto the airplane with no problem, the Jeep bag into the hold, both the other bags as carry ones into the cabin.

Lets start with packing my computer bag.

Computer Bag 

This weighed in at about 7 kilos so it was packed with stuff. This is what I took in it - with commentary.

Spare dog lead (I took my dog to China) This could have stayed at home you can buy them here cheaply

Neoprene knee brace – I’m a runner, you can get these here so this could be jettisoned but I haven't seen neoprene - these come from the £1 shop in the UK

Office folder containing papers, certificates etc - obviously important. EDITED 2017 - YOU NOW NEED original documents - notarised AND ratified by the Chinese Embassy in your country of origin.  I also have scanned copies on my computer.

Ventolin - I packed a three-month prescription supply of Ventolin from my Doctors in the UK - but you can buy this over the counter in China no problems. I also bought it over the counter in New Zealand.  So just bring what you need for now. 

Hair clay - you can get gel/clay etc here – so it’s not needed.

Olbas Oil 10ml - Personally I would pack the bigger bottle or two of the 10ml bottles. During the long cold damp winter you will get a cold/flu - you work in a school - it’s a germ factory. Steaming your head with this is just what the doctor ordered - and actually he does. I haven't seen similar in China - but I'm sure you could get menthol oil or something similar to steam those sinuses.

Kindle - obviously as its difficult to get English books/novels here. Kindle works well. Its easy enough to download books here - no problems. 

Google Nexus tablet - Personally I don't use this at all. I’m not a tablet sort of person and I have my iPhone. 

Hanky (cotton) - for the colds - stops you getting a big red sore nose using all those paper tissues. 

Notebooks x 2 - Didn't need these at all. 

Spare mobile phone - this is important. I have a Chinese Sim in my iPhone. This spare phone has a Tesco PAYG Sim in it which I can top up if I need to online. It is useful for example my bank is Santander and when I move money or pay a bill online it sends me a code by TXT - so I need my spare phone with the UK Sim in it to receive that text. Plus it means people at home could txt me if there was an emergency (not that I have it switched on all the time). It’s a Nokia - it cost me £9 brand new in Tesco. 

Glasses x 3 (reading) - Bring your reading glasses and optical glasses - but once here you can find, or someone can take you, to the optical/glasses market where you can have your eyes tested and glasses made while you wait for about 150rmb (approx £15)

The optician I use

 Theres a lot of choice

Business cards - business cards are an important part of life in China - get some done. Use Vista Print it’s cheap and quick. 

8 x USB memory sticks - You will need USB sticks, maybe not 8 but that’s all I had. They are cheap enough to buy here in China. In my local supermarket 8GB is about 400rmb (approx £4).

Oxford School Thesaurus – Useless - I shouldn't have bought it not with so much access to online dictionaries/Thesaurus 

Apple Mac Book in case - Very important - see below. 

Dr Dre Headphones - Personal entertainment 

Dogs papers - Important

Lead and Harness - I could buy here but this lead is a 'Jogging ' lead a bit springy so it was important. 

My computer bag is both a computer bag and a briefcase so it’s pretty large. Its never been weighed. If I’m asked what I’m taking on board I say my carry on bag - my rucksack - which I have on my back - NOT obligingly offered out to weigh and my computer bag which is either over my shoulder or down by my feet - OUT OF SIGHT. So far it has never been problem and I have come to China 3 times now on International Airlines. 

Rucksack

The next bag is my rucksack - you might have one of those little carry on suitcases - I personally prefer a rucksack for travelling. It’s on your back and out of the way so you at least have one hand free when you are travelling. (The other dragging your big check in luggage). Of course once you are in China you will want to travel, so the rucksack once again becomes indispensable, especially if you want to travel around China or further a field. I travelled to the Philippines and then onto Australia and New Zealand this last Spring Festival (Feb 2015) with my rucksack as my carry on luggage with no checked in luggage at all - I was away for three weeks. Your rucksack also works for you when you want to go shopping locally. My nearest local supermarket is 5K away, my local big supermarket, Auchan is 10K away. Although you will probably get a taxi having the rucksack is a godsend not having to deal with all those plastic bags. 

When I had finished packing this was about 5 kilos when I had a 7 kilo limit. I wanted to err on caution because of my computer bag and for any books etc I might want to take on board with me and I added stuff later. 

2 x electrical plug adaptors - important at first, but you can get Chinese plugs to fit your devices. So I don't use mine at all now.  Don't buy the expensive travel shop ones, the £1 shop ones are good enough. 

Camera - Digital SLR so hefty - I suppose you might get away with carrying it around your neck.

All the charging leads for gadgets - yep you need these, but once here you can source replacements cheaply and easily, especially those pesky iPhone cables that don't last long at all. 

These are all about £1

Camera lens wrapped in scarf - important - I purchased this zoom lens in the camera market in Shanghai at a really good price (The first time I was in China)

2 bags sweets for friend’s kids - precious weight given up for a mate. 

Spare glasses and sunglasses - as mentioned, spare glasses are important - but once here you can find the local optical glasses market and get replacements cheaply and easily - I only wear Raybans (including optical sunglasses) now dontcha know!

Spare razor blades (1 pack) - these cost much the same in China as they do in the UK - looking around the chemists in the UK sometimes you can see multipacks at a good price. 

Hat (warm for the winter) - but cheap enough and easy to get here. 

Moist toilet tissue - just in case!

Head torch (wind up) - useful - but I've not used it in two years I've been here - perhaps more useful if you are out in the sticks. 

Anadin Extra - a favourite pain killer that works well with me.

3 x Typhoo tea packs (I know coals to Newcastle etc - but you can't beat a good cuppa, even in China!)  Any and all extra space was taken up by tea bags. You can't get good tea in China - good British tea I mean. Just that Twinning’s abomination they call tea. Although some Cities do have a Marks and Spencer where tea is available as well as other goodies. 

Packing your suitcase

Now for the main event – packing your checked in luggage. Bearing in mind this was my second visit to China - you can check out my first packing list here. Although the airline had confirmed my baggage allowance at 30 kilos the following weighed in at about 25 kilos. 

You also need to bear in mind what part of China you are going to. If you are going North you need to think about warmth in the winter - but you can buy suitable clothes when you get there  - but note if you are BIG say UK XL or larger it might be difficult. However, you could get say a down jacket made to measure relatively cheaply - maybe £40 or £50 or less. 

I work in Nanjing which has a short spring and autumn an OK winter in British terms -1/-2 degrees at worst (I'm from the South West) and really hot and humid summers 34 degrees and higher with high humidity - so my packing reflects that.

Running shoes- I use these a lot, for running of course, not fashion - you can buy trainers and so on out here cheaply enough but these are for running and I haven't seen any specialist places.

Black shoes for work _ I don't use these as much as I thought I would - In the winter I usually wear my black walking shoes for warmth - the black dress shoes are just too thin and cold. 

Running shorts - Lycra – but you can buy standard sports shorts here cheaply

Running shirt - long sleeves - again these are available - running/jogging is popular in China or just wear a tee shirt

Polo Shirt x 2 - for casual wear only - this type of shirt is available but note the caution I give about sizing - women take note also.

Waxed type Jacket - really useful for those showery days and when it starts to get chilly

Black and White Kefeya Scarf - could have stayed at home.

Casual Rugby style shirts x 1 - long sleeve  - I have not seen rugby type tops here  

Tracksuit bottoms  - new and thick and warm x1 - Handy for slouching around my apartment when it gets chilly. I bought mine at Primark - on the basis that if they get left in China then its not a great loss - plus once you are here you can buy tracksuit bottoms for about £3 to £4 pounds (30 - 40rmb)

Towel (small hand towel) - this is just for when I get here. Don't waste precious weight on large bath towels you can buy towels here cheaply.

2 x blue jeans - my waist is 36in that’s about the biggest I've seen in the shops, especially the shops that carry western sizes like H&M and UNIQLO although I've seen some large Chinese guys and large western guys but I wouldn't know where they shop - once you are here you could use the online shopping site TAOBAO I guess. You'll need a Chinese friend to do it for you. 

7 cotton shirts - for work etc 5 x long sleeve formal 2 x short sleeve casual - At school when I teach, I dress like a professional, so I wear shirts and ties. The long sleeves are to cover up the tattoos on my arms when I teach - in China tattoos are the sign of criminals and low people. The short shirts are for casual use when I am not in work mode. You can get shirts made to measure by a local tailor. They usually cost less than what you would pay in shops like UNIQLO where shirts are usually less than 200rmb each. (approx £20). A UNIQLO XL shirt is just about OK on me (they do not sell above XL) as long as I don’t drink too much! 

2 x thermal vests and 2 x thermal long johns - In the main, there is no heating in Chinese classrooms in Nanjing, even if there is the classrooms are open to the elements and the heating really does not compete with the cold weather. 

Chinese classrooms

To clarify - once upon a time a Chinese bureaucrat drew a line across China. Above the line was cold. Below the line was warm. So buildings above the line have good insulation and heating, below the line it’s not appropriate. Nanjing is just under the line.  In the winter thermal underwear is everywhere in the shops. The main issue, as always, is sizing. Bring some thermals with you - unless you are really down south. 

6 pair’s underpants  - once you are here you can buy decent replacements in supermarkets like Auchan, C&A (Yes C&A exists in China) or any of the high-end designer shops if you have the money. I pay around 20rmb a pair (approx £2) in Auchan. Of course no problem for women's undergarments here - although I would say all the bras I've seen have straps that would hold up the Forth Bridge and enough padding in the front to make even Madonna think twice. Some cities do have an M&S.

7 pairs of socks - ditto UNIQLO, Auchan and so on. 

2 x ankle socks for running - I buy the packs of ankle socks in JB sports in the UK - they suit me, but you can buy them here.

1 woolly hat  - you can buy them here - this one was a gift from my daughter 

Bobble hat - you can buy them here.

2 x pair thick socks - Recommended buy for the winter - but you could probably buy them here.

Running trousers (Lycra) - Ron Hills - I’ve not seen these here.

8 ties - I dress professionally at work I wear ties, especially when I meet parents. I buy all my silk ties in a charity shop in the UK for 99p - a lot of this stuff has to be disposable. They will not come back to the UK so why waste money upfront?

Lumberjack style hat (bought in China last time) - Just for fun - but its warm.

1 x neck scarf - you can get them here.

Long sleeve top - tee shirt style - for summer/autumn and layering in winter. I believe I bought this in UNIQLO the first time I was here.

Polo neck top - long sleeve - fleecy material for layering in winter purchased in UNIQLO the first time I was here

White England Nike rugby top - all important for those nights down the bar when the rugby is on. Especially if there are Ozzies, Springboks and Kiwis about!

Linen Suit - for work in the summer. I bought it in M&S - but to be honest you can get one made to measure here in China like I have done by a local tailor for 800rmb - (approx £80).

Trousers (work) - standard work trousers - not jeans - to go with the shirts

Grey work jacket - This was a favourite tweed type jacket, it started to look tatty and worn out this year, so the tailor made me a direct copy (bespoke) - different pattern tweed, for 800rmb (approx £80)

Micro fleece - I really like micro fleece - warm but not too bulky - I got my first one in UNIQLO in London (honest I'm not being paid by them) and my second in Nanjing, China. 

 My Local Uniqlo

Swimming shorts – you can get them here – if you are not too bothered about style.

Hiking shoes - mine get a lot of use especially in the winter. The thick souls insulate your feet from the marble floors in all the buildings and of course when you are outside, and as I have mentioned elsewhere outside of the city the pavement/sidewalk can be none existent so you are walking on the verges. 

Dark Suit - I wear this when I have to meet parents, or do something more official than teach - maybe give a talk to guest or parents or represent the school in someway.

Wash bag 

Razor 

Toothbrush - I purchased a Braun electric toothbrush as soon as I got here. 

Small toothpaste – Colgate, Sensodine etc are all available here 

Large bottle Calvin Klein One - its cheaper to buy your smellies in the Perfume Shop if you are lucky enough to have one in your town, its cheaper than duty free and cheaper than China, if you can find it, and if its not fake. 

Bigger wash bag holding various medicines 

20 Lemsips (gold dust in China), 

Anti diahorrea remedy

My prescription migraine medicine

A couple of packs of Anadin Extra - because it works for me - you can get aspirin, ibuprofen and so on in China. 

My prescription anti indigestion medicine - you can buy this over the counter here.  

Pholcodeine cough linctus 2 x bottles

3 brown puffers (cenil modulate) - I haven't checked if you can get this - but in China I don't seem to need it.

4 blue Ventolin - You can buy this over the counter - so just bring what you need for the short term

Canvas bag (present)

Shoe brushes x 2 and polish (Oxblood for my Dr. Martens)

3 x pairs of insoles - 1 from a podiatrist and 2 from Lidl which are very good for my fallen arches – I was wearing the others.

Small canvas artwork 6 x 6 inches - a gift

2 x filters (for friends hot tub)

10 x anti perspirant roll ons - I buy these from the £1 shop. They are difficult to get in China. Chinese guys don't seem to use them (phew!). Recently a Japanese shop has opened up in my local mall and they do stock them at 10rmb (£1 approx) for both male and female roll-ons. I haven't tried them yet. Whilst the 'Chemist' a few doors down doesn't stock them at all.

UPDATE: - Ive been trying this 'Japanese' underarm deodorant from a shop called Miniso which seems to be a Japanese chain so look out for it. They seem to work OK.  But I can't guarantee there will be one where you are so bring your own. 

Japanese Shop

Swiss army knife - My knife has been all around the world with me, except when I only take a carry on bag. It has actually got through security twice when I have forgotten. But it is jolly useful and you should have one if only for the corkscrew and bottle open - Oh and the can opener which seems to be none existent in China. 

Vanish soap bar. I only have a cold water washing machine so the vanish soap adds that extra umph to clean my collars and cuffs and any dribbles I might leave on my shirts etc. 

Late in the day - the evening before I left actually, I added a pair of shorts that were always going to be on the list but I had been wearing them and they were then in the wash.  

I also added a fleece and a rain jacket.

I also decanted the cough linctus out of the glass bottles which I decided were too heavy to pack and put it into two 100ml plastic bottles. 

I've added some more teabags - the teabags were taken out of the box and put in a plastic carrier bag to save weigh. I think I bought well over 350 teabags.

Indeed everything that was in a separate box, the medicines, teabags and so on, was taken out of the box and packed as is. The boxes were, in my view, surplus weight. 

Snook Dogs Ducky, two extra balls, and after dropping her off at the airport her lead, collar and harness as she is not allowed them on the plane she's going on. 

All in all that made about 25 kilos. 

I also carried a heavy overcoat - I favour the Crombie style of overcoat, you might well prefer a different kind of winter jacket. This also had largish pockets into which I stuck a couple of books for the flight.  My colleague got a winter jacket made here in China by a local tailor. It was downfilled, hand stitched from a design in a fashion book - I think the tailor buys the kit, fills it with down and puts it together. It cost around 400rmb (approx £40)

My friend Louise added these thoughts for a female perspective about packing.

Take clothes (the Chinese are tiny)

Shoes

A first aid kit – you could buy the stuff here

A Spork – until you get the hang of chopsticks – restaurants do not have supplies of knives and forks just for you.

A good penknife (for fixing things)  

Duct tape (also for repairs)

Rough Guide or similar if you want to travel

Learn some basic Chinese also, it helps a lot and you’ll make friends quickly

Every year I bring back cans of deodorant, you can buy it in the PRC, but it’s very expensive and not as good. Also a 10 month supply of medicines that you use.

Ladies, it is a myth that you can’t buy tampons. You can at large supermarkets and stores like Watsons and Mannings even in smaller cities. So don’t bring those.

Packing Food

When you are shopping in China you have to be like a hunter-gatherer. You will not find everything you need in one handy one-stop shop.  You need to find where the goodies are and remember if and when you are passing that shop to stock up.

Some of the things you love in your home country you just will not find.  Also the cooking facilities in your apartment may only stretch to a gas wok burner, or an electric plate.  I’ve never seen a fitted oven. You can buy counter top ovens – they look a little like a microwave but you could hardly get a turkey in them – that’s if you could find a turkey! 

So what to pack?

The only food I have ever bought to China is Marmite.  You can buy it here but it’s expensive. You can buy a 600gms catering pack on Amazon.

UPDATE: - I forgot to mention curry powder. I brought a 500gms bag of Madras curry powder purchased from my local indian supermarket. You can get Thai curry paste here but I've not seen a good curry powder. 

Veg Curry I made this weekend - 22nd June 2015

Louise says she brings the following:

Cuppa soups – Good idea for the winter!

Custard powder

Dried protein (falafel)

Squash (concentrated in small bottles)

Note: I do live in a city so there are a number of foreign food shops around, if you are in the sticks you will find it more difficult to find food that you recognize.  But as I have noted before McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut are pretty ubiquitous – you might find bars and restaurants that serve western food local to you.

Packing technology

First up – technology in China is not significantly cheaper than the West. The prices on most of the goods I have seen are much the same as in the UK.  So I would try to get yourself a bargain in the UK or US or Australia – wherever you are coming from. The added bonus is that the operating system and instructions will be in English.

Laptop.

Having a useful and working laptop is a must to teach English in China.  You laptop will be your best friend.  You will use it for work, rest and play.

In the office you might well be given a desktop computer, but the operating system will be in Chinese. This is workable and because it’s a windows machine you can get around a lot of it by muscle memory that is if you have been using windows computers for the past few years.

In your apartment you should have wifi or access to the Internet – check with your employer as this is very important.

You will want to Skype with family, do Internet banking and other stuff back in the UK, paying bills etc. You will want to watch TV, watch Movies and listen to Radio 2 or whatever floats your boat.  You might be a game-player.  You will want access to search engines. You will want to use the ESL websites that are out there in abundance to plan your lessons. You will want to use YouTube. You will Torrent movies and music. Buy Birthday and Christmas gifts for family back home using Amazon. Buy flowers for your mum on Mother’s Day. Buy Whisky for your dad all on the Internet. You will need to buy airline tickets on the travel search engines or train tickets on Trainline.com. You will use Trip advisor to find places to stay and a million other things.

My advice: is to buy a Macbook Pro or a Macbook Air.  
(Links to Amazon)
Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro (Intel Dual Core i5 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, HD Graphics 4000, OS X Yosemite)

Apple MacBook Air 13" 1.6Ghz DC i5 4Gb 128GB SSD


My reasoning is simple.  The Windows machines in the classrooms are used by students as well as teachers, they are full of viruses. You will use your USB sticks in these machines, so you will transfer viruses onto your windows machine. So your machine will be out of action for long periods of time. You have to find someone who can help you fix the problem. And so on – just too much hassle.

I have used my Macbook Pro for over three years in China with not so much as one problem (apart from spilling beer on it last year just before I left China but a quick visit to the Apple store back home and the touch pad was fixed for £50.) There are plenty of Apple Stores in China now so I wouldn’t have a problem here.  Also on the plus side the machines are tough and resilient.

You also need to think about what to load on to your Macbook or computer before you come to China.

You need to download SKYPE from your home country because the Chinese version is monitored.

You need a VPN (Virtual personal Network) to access Facebook, Twitter, BBC iplayer, Blogger, Google, Gmail and so on because these are blocked in China, you need the VPN to bypass the blocking by the government.  I use Express VPN; I’ve had no problems in the three years I’ve been with them. If you sign up using this link we will both get a free 30 days service.

Tablets: I bought a Google Nexus – but I don’t really use it. But I see people all the time using IPad – if that’s you bring it. My iPhone5 does all I need and more. I’m not a gamer.

Smartphone: My advice is that you will need a Smartphone.  If you have one make sure you have been to your supplier and have got them to unlock the phone so that you can put another Sim in it.  You will want to get a Chinese Sim in your phone asap once you are here.  It’s easy to do. Take your phone to the shop. Have your passport with you. Choose a PAYG contract. Obviously you might need a Chinese person with you.  I did it on my own as the assistant had some English.  There are two main providers in China - China Mobile and China Unicom.   China Unicom is the best provider for iPhone at the moment.

Once you have your Smartphone load APPs such as these:

QQ – social networking – its available to download in the UK

SKYPE –you need the English version – the Chinese version is monitored

We Chat (Weixin in China) – social networking - Twitter and Facebook are not available in China

Your local taxi App – ask the Chinese teachers

Trip advisor

Bravolol – English - Chinese Dictionary

Pleco – English - Chinese Dictionary

Waygo – Chinese menu reader

Air Quality – Chinese air quality app

Pinyin Chart – Chinese language

Money Changer

Tiny Scan – for scanning documents, passports etc into PDF

Booking.com – booking cheap hotels usually no deposit up front

Guardian - news

BBC - news

Spare Phone.

Buying a spare phone is important. I bought a Nokia brand new from Tesco for £9. I put a PAYG Sim in it.  This is my emergency phone in China.  Plus when I do online banking, my bank send me a text with a code number, I have to enter this code into the website to allow the transaction. So I need a phone with a UK number. Also if there are emergencies at home I can use this phone or SKYPE.

Kindle

I’m a reader so this is important for me. Finding English language books/novels is difficult.  Buying books and downloading onto my Kindle is simple. There are no issues. In fact I will probably upgrade my Kindle once I am back in the UK this summer.

Addendum

27 June 2015 -  Having purchased a tin of refried beans last week I realised that one thing you cannot get in China is a tin opener. I have looked everywhere (except IKEA) luckily I had my trusty Swiss Army penknife with a tin opener blade.

Happy Packing.