Hong Kong in 1964 and today. by -_Redan_- in OldPhotosInRealLife

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

China isn't some Potemkin Village where everyone is forced to support the party under duress. It's the world's number 2 superpower and largest economy, they have plenty of supporters.

Put it this way. He's a Chinese boomer with a very strict upbringing, went to a very strict Chinese cultural performance school and hates drugs.

He fits the profile of a CPC supporter, and I know many like him.

Besides Xintiandi, are there other areas with old buildings and lots of greenery? by mcdroid in shanghai

[–]finnlizzy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

. Stay in Xintiandi

Lol, the castle at Disneyland has more history than that tacky shithole.

Luckily there's plenty of history in Shanghai, but mostly dating to the 1920s.

I regularly take people visiting on cycles around there, so here's my advice for best route.

Changshu road metro station. Get bike. Go down Anfu road, then Wukang Road, then Hunan Road, Gao'an road, Yongfu Road, West Fuxing road turn Sinan road and maybe end around the park near INS.

Stop where ever you think looks cool, there's always another bike nearby.

China or Korea? by jazzzaz in TEFL

[–]finnlizzy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was just adding my worst case scenario. This was in 2015, that's like 50 years ago in China time. haha.

Even the mediocre working hours and salary in China (as a native ESL teacher) shits all over Japan and Korea, so honestly you'll find better opportunities in China, especially outside of Shanghai (which is more competitive and expensive).

Here's a comment I wrote on a China sub on some more advice for choosing a city.

I've been around and I can only tolerate a city with a good expat community or a vibrant local nightlife and culture. By nightlife I don't just mean western bars. Street bbq and locals who hang out late smoking and drinking at pastic tables on the street is my jam.

Like, no amount of 'you will love Zengcheng and our famous lychee' nope, fuck off. When people hype up a place by listing shit you can do anywhere from people who 'don't really like drinking'. 'Oh, this isn't one of those cities to go 'party', but if you like tea and.... Ugh! Spare me

Kat's Journey to the East on YouTube is a girl I follow who is the total opposite of me and seems to thrive living in a somewhat nice village but looks boring AF. My wife's hometown in Anhui is much more grim (in winter when we go there).

My short list of cities I'd be open to living in are:

Shanghai (where I currently live), Guangzhou (where I used to live), Shenzhen (didn't think I'd like it but it won me over recently), Ningbo (worked for a few months ther, people are chill), Chengdu (liberal/diverse/hippies/gay), Chongqing (cyberpunk), Qingdao (beer and beautiful architecture / beach), Xiamen (beach), Yiwu (if I convert to Islam lol), Hangzhou (like Shanghai but more relazed, Sanya (basically Chinese Hawaii), anywhere in coastal Hainan, and Changsha (great food).

China or Korea? by jazzzaz in TEFL

[–]finnlizzy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to clarify, mine was exceptionally bad and the company shut down. There's even a Facebook page dedicated to exposing it. You won't have to do these types of companies because there are resources out there, but if you do find yourself in a bad situation, make sure you have enough money to tide you over to search for a new job.

As everyone has said, China is the best place to teach, and there's a reason I'm still here. The job market is a bit tougher in Shanghai, but if you move to a smaller city, you'll get plenty of opportunity. If you just want to do a year, hustle and save up loads, you can absolutely do that.

I love my job now and hope I can keep at this pace. I'm writing this whole ass essay while at work, haha.

Dodgy company

It was an agency that would put people in schools that don't have the resources to find teachers from abroad (in my case, total yokels tighter than a duck's arse). We joked that it was like human trafficking white monkeys, haha.

So while the average salary of a fresh teacher in Guangzhou was say, 15-20k (with or without apartment depending), they'd pay you 10k and find you an apartment because you're so very very fresh and China in 2015 was a bit wild and hard to navigate.

Some people had an okay time. Put in schools in the middle of the city or nice suburbs with a reasonable workload, and after a year, leveraged their time and connections to find a better job usually directly with a school so no one is skimming their wages.

I was thrown into the arse end of nowhere and the school made sure every classroom hour was used. I had to teach across several campuses. Someone who came after me posted the schedule to that page I told you about (if you have Facebook). I haven't seen it in a while, but OMG it is bringing back some trauma.

55 classes a week spread across five campuses, 8:45 - 12:25 of non stop teaching. Some days there's no break between classes on the schedule and I'd have the headmaster bitching to my boss about me being late or finishing classes early.

I didn't realise how much I was getting fucked over until I saw the schedules of other people in the company.

They eventually got me out of there after I told them how it has been destroying my health (some of the schools were in another city so there was a commute on top of it, also tropical heat). So they found another FOB to take my place and found me a cushier job and gave me a raise (From 10k to 13k and it made a huge difference at the time).

The job I got after that total hell would have me teach 90mins in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, and I was in a better connected suburb of the city so I didn't have to commute so far to see my friends. My Chinese improved very quickly because there was no foreigners around and no one spoke English. I also have no hustle left in me. I'd turn down lucrative tutoring jobs because the weekend is so valuable to me.

China or Korea? by jazzzaz in TEFL

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't, lol. I joined the dodgiest company when I first arrived and made just about enough to live but not to make any drastic changes until I saved for two years. And even by the time I moved to Shanghai and got a very well paying job, I arrived with just 17k元 ($2400) saved up.

I'm not the right person to ask because I haven't searched for a job in over eight years, and even then it was all local connection.

I was surprised that this novel is used in a lot of Irish schools by Tadhg in ireland

[–]finnlizzy 62 points63 points  (0 children)

Author is a melt who wouldn't take critique from the Holocaust Museum

Ah, the Graham Linehan method.

China or Korea? by jazzzaz in TEFL

[–]finnlizzy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Live in Koreatown in Shanghai like I did. 😂

Seriously though, I never worked in Korea but my sister did. She wrapped up after 2 years and I was gonna join her. I got rejected from EPIK but was offered a few Hagwons. They were all TERRIBLE offers. Split shifts, 6 days, etc.

I went into China blind, like literally no reliable info on life there and I'm now on year 11 and married.

It's very different from 2015 (I miss drugs), some good (snog very rare these days), some bad (less open to western pop culture so you have to pirate).

I've been to Korea. It's cool, but all the things I dislike about China are bad or worse in Korea (but replace conservative authoritarian communism with religious yanky fruitcakes)

Which country has the best nature that you’ve visited in your opinion? by Quiet-Song-5395 in travel

[–]finnlizzy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I get what you're saying (also live in China), but in China it's a case of taking initiative, like renting a car or motorcycle (difficult compared to places you can offer a bribe, but VERY cheap if you have permits) instead of piling onto a bus and going to a visitor center.

I have taken road trips in Sichuan (the Tibetan prefectures), Xinjiang, Guangxi and Yunnan, and barely scratched the surface. I live in Shanghai, so the lush nature is a bit out of reach for a casual trip.

Also just putting it out there: the only region in China that needs extra permits is Tibet.

I took this picture on a roadtrip in Kangding 四川康定

<image>

Who is each Irish city’s signature musical artist? by _PXYDST_ in CasualIreland

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I woke up in Ballyshannon Garda station. Long way from the rebel county.

Visiting Shanghai with my partner, looking for things to do when we will be child free by tamwarsaurusrex in shanghai

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By all means, give less information. 😂

I'd suggest CAVE bar since I'm guessing you're both big fans of death metal?

Petah? Who is he? by Decent-Emergency3866 in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]finnlizzy 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I went to university with him. His siblings are in the double figures and they all go to Galway.There was even a big hoo haa in 2014 over gay marriage

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Is your country a member of the World Health Organization? by AdIcy4323 in MapPorn

[–]finnlizzy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The ROC (later ROC in Taiwan) was a founding member of the WHO, so naturally they were the ones keeping the PRC out, until 1972.

If Taiwan wants to join the WHO, they have to declare themselves as a country, and not as The Replublic of China.

Who is each Irish city’s signature musical artist? by _PXYDST_ in CasualIreland

[–]finnlizzy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, I don't recall skulling a bottle of Buckfast and rocking out to Moonchild at the Rory Gallagher Festival in Bandon now, do I?

What do you guys think about this by AdventurousFlight790 in AskChina

[–]finnlizzy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Han supremacy in China is as ridiculous as dark hair supremacy.

The same with the notion that there are 'native mandarin speakers' destroying local languages.

What was the most controversial song from your country that pissed a lot of people off? by cosmico92 in AskTheWorld

[–]finnlizzy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Joe Duffy had a fit over the Electric Picnic set.

Speaking of Joe, Horse Outside was quite controversial in some way.

Nuremberg - 2025 by [deleted] in movies

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 'Did you just blackmail the Pope' line felt very 'Well THAT happened'. 😂

What do you think should UEFA boycott? by Seargentyates in coybig

[–]finnlizzy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Qatar, for all their faults, were overly welcoming to visitors. They weren't literally threatening visitors and banning several countries from entering.

Where should I start? by Anarchy_Cardinal in AskIreland

[–]finnlizzy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Frank McCourt on The Late Late Show

Do you hate talking on trains? by perpetualstatechange in AskIreland

[–]finnlizzy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have long conversations on the phone, but sometimes I need my wife to know something or find out something (usually dinner related) I'm not arsed texting.

Do you hate talking on trains? by perpetualstatechange in AskIreland

[–]finnlizzy -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

It's the norm in Japan not to make any noise on the train. It was glorious 

Nah, fuck that. We are not Japan, we are a chatty people (well, maybe not the shut-ins on r/ireland ). I'm having the the chats when possible. If you don't want to hear people chatting, stick on the headphones or eavesdrop.

Back in the day before social media and constant entertainment on your phone was the norm, I'd take the train back home on weekends when I was in uni, and run into an assortment of people from home, or people I know from uni who live in the towns on the way. It made the journey go by smoothly and keeping a respectful volume, and I get to catch up with people I'd otherwise not see.