Until now we are not sure about our destination. Will it be Shanghai or Austria? The uncertainty is killing me but anyway, I was thinking that in case we move to Shanghai I should maybe go back to teaching. I am happy with blogging but would be happier if I can teach as well. I can teach in the morning and blog in the afternoon. Something like this would be really nice. So, I searched for teaching jobs in Shanghai but this is what I found:
With their wallets bulging, more and more wealthy Shanghai families are hiring Philippine maids to speak English with the kids, despite an official ban on hiring foreign workers.
Some rich Shanghaiese are willing to pay 6,000 yuan (750 U.S. dollars) a month to hire a Philippine servant with a college education background, much higher than the average salary of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan (375 to 500 dollars) that most Philippine servants can get.
Yep, looks like more and more wealthy Chinese are hiring educated Filipinos as maids or nannies. I honestly don’t know how to react. If I were single, I’ll probably consider getting this job. Why? Because of three reasons
1. You cannot get such salary by being a maid or a (professional) teacher in the Philippines.
2. Filipino English teachers in China are not in demand because of their color. Yes, Chinese people prefer blond-hair-and-blue-eyed red necks from an English speaking country over well qualified Filipinos. It’s totally racist but that’s life. Note: I am not saying that all Filipino teachers who come to China to teach are excellent teachers or that all white people who teach English in China are terrible and are unqualified teachers, I am just stating the fact that white people have a higher chance of get a teaching job in China than the brown island people.
3. If you are a Filipino and you are lucky enough to land a teaching job in Shanghai, you will probably not get a salary more than 5K RMB because you are a brown.
I know that by doing so I am damaging the market for Filipino teachers and I am sort of giving in to racism but given my three reasons above, who is there to judge me? It may seem like it’s all about the money but if you have a poor family back home who is counting on you, you’ll do it too. Anyway, I am glad that I am not put in the position where I have to choose whether to accept such job or not but this is to say that I do understand those Filipino professionals who stomach working as a servant.
urgent hiring!!! i’m looking for good filipino english teachers to work in china this coming semester. email me your resume and contact details as soon as possible. thanks.
cuesobee_2309@yahoo.com
Hi Vienna!
Excellent and realistic viewpoints on Filipino OFWs (house servants and teachers) in China.
My American husband and I have a 3-year old daughter that we want to bring to China with us when we teach there. If you have been living in China or know someone who have been living there, will you please share your take on this idea of bringing our daughter there?
Thank you and God bless!
Hello Martina!
My husband and I are here in China at the moment. We are in Shanghai.
I think big cities in China are generally OK. In cities like beijing and shanghai, you will surely find a good preschool for your daughter. Just don’t expect a lot of green.
Let me know if your destination is Shanghai… i can maybe help you with some things.
Vienna
Sorry, not…. Martina but Martina’s mom.
Hi Vienna!
Thanks so much for your kind reply. Our destination will be Hebei (spel) Province and I have looked at the map many times, and still couldn’t figure it out
.
I have been reading quite a lot about China lately (and that’s when I saw your blog) and it really helps to know I have kababayans there that I can ask. What is comforting is that some are (at least they seem) even happy with their stay in China.
My real concerns are:
1. Since my husband and I are both working same hours each day for 5 days, are there reliable day cares there that I can entrust my child to? How safe are they?
2. Do you have any idea how much it cost to put her in a day care center? I have been searching the net with no success. In the states, my hubby says day care costs a lot.
3. Is it more practical to go there with her (my daughter) or wait a few months for her to join us there? I am thinking of my husband and I settling down first and getting adjusted to a whole lot of new things and issues.
Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs. God bless!
Hello Martina’s Mom
,
Hebei province.. i think Beijing is in that province. Where in Hebei are you going to?
You see, if there are a lot of expats in the place where you are going to, there is a big chance that you’ll find a good day care there but if you are going to second class cities…. hmmm… maybe not.
I know a lot of expats who came here with their babies but they (the mom) usually look after their own kids. The husband goes to work, the wife stays at home with the kids.
In general day cares should not cost a lot but day cares for expats’ kids are maybe expensive. And you can get a chinese nanny for 150-300$ each month. How safe are they? I cannot tell. And I also can’t tell which is more practical for you.
Like I said, there are some really nice places in china…cities where you can find almost everything but there are also places that are exactly the opposite.
It is wiser for you to learn as much as you can about the place you are going to. Hebei is a big province… where exactly in hebei? if you are going to beijing then there shouldn’t be a problem looking for good and realiable day cares…. but if you are going to unknown places, small towns, or far flung villages… maybe you should consider “not” going there at all..
Hi Vienna! Our internet connection finally resumed today after days of uncertainty, resentment, and a lot more that I shouldn’t write here-ha ha ha.
I have looked at information about where the place is but not quite sure if I have the specifics. It says the work place is located in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province. I also found out about Xuefu Road, Gaojiao District and about the East Area which is in the southeast Shijiazhuang`s Yuhua District , near Beijing-Shenzhen highway in the west and close to Hi-tech development zone in the east. I cannot include the name of the workplace since we are not yet sure if that is definitive. And yes, you are right about Beijing. I will try to look into some search engine and see if they can come up with some day care centers in those areas. However, I will surely write you when we are finally there to bother you about the same thing and about other stuff (if that is ok).
How’s your internet experience there?
Thank you so much for your kindness. God bless you!
I think people prefer White English teachers because we Asians assume White=Good English. It is same everywhere. It’s harder for a Chinese American to be a English teacher than a European to a English teacher in Asia in General. I mean, would you prefer a White person teaching Chinese, or Chinese person teaching Chinese?
I know it’s not fair, but it’s life :/
I wish you good luck,
-jojo
hello everyone!..im may ann martin from philippines 23 years old,took up BACHELOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN ENGLISH.i saw this site and just curious and leave some messages if someone need an english teacher please kindly inform me…thank you.
mayann_martin@yahoo.com
Hello ^^
I am going to Shanghai on the 13th of of this month and try to find a teaching job there.. are you still in Shanghai?
It will be my second time to visit Shanghai, the first time was very boring because nobody could speak English…
I would be happy to meet you, can I have your mobile number?
hi!
Im ms> verena
hi!
greetings to all who are in china!
im verenai worked here for three years and willing to explore again to other country>nowplease if you know some vacant schools i am willing to work as an english teacher in primary grades>
thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon>
i forgot this is my email add v_amora@yahoo>com
I’m a filipino teacher in china who’s also involved in hiring teachers for the school. It’s not the color, it’s the fluency in the English language that’s usually the issue here. Native speakers of English are no doubt the best speakers of the language still. They may not all be academically competent, or may lack knowledge in terms of methodology (that’s what tesol/tefl/tesl training is for), or may simply lack the drive in the classroom to bring out the best in their students and not to mention the men who seem to be more interested in going to pubs and getting smashed than waking up the next morning for their early morning classes. . A lot, however, are great, sincere and effective teachers! The risks in hiring filipino teachers is this — a lot of us claim that we are proficient in the English language, fluent, yadayada, when many of us in truth are so painfully not! Lengthy conversations with a native speaker still cause many filipinos to struggle in the use of English, pronunciation, idioms and the like. What’s common sense to them is still rocket science to many of us. I blame it on taglish and our very ‘textbook’ primary and high school education.
how many times have you encountered a filipino who goes ‘aah, uuhm, you know, it’s like’ when fumbling for the right word in a conversation or resorting to speaking as fast as possible so no one notices the errors or can’t fully express oneself when required to explain something in detail or be more descriptive (or narrative) and thus end up using a broken chain of simple sentences littered with ‘and then, so, and taht’s why’? Native speakers are more forgiving of us, sad to say, not the Chinese!
Hi,
Hebei province is a backward northern province and the winter there is rather cold.
Shijiazhuang city is a few hours away by car from Beijing but it’s not a very nice city.
Northern China in generally is not as developed as southern China and the salary level is lower, except in Beijing, the capital city.
Anyway, hope things work out for you in Hebei
you are right april and that’s very very very true. hope filipinos will know where they stand.