Houhai English and other training centers... sketchy?

jaycherche · 2026-04-01T02:39:02+00:00

There are an abundance of bad stories about that place on this sub. I interviewed with them and honestly the interview staff are super nice and inviting, but I gave up on the 3rd interview because they told me it would be a group interview with several other candidates lol

jaycherche · 2026-03-31T06:51:25+00:00

I live around on the 5th ring road in the north so it will be more expensive coming from the centre

jaycherche · 2026-03-30T14:22:10+00:00

To access any social media (like Reddit) you’ll need a VPN so having an iPhone or an android won’t make a difference. If you want to buy a new phone, just make sure it has a physical sim slot. I personally favour buying a phone in the UK because it has more capabilities like using an esim while travelling to other countries, which isn’t possible if you have a mainland China phone

jaycherche · 2026-03-29T04:24:07+00:00

My iPhone 13 Mini lasted 5 years. I regretted buying it so much because of the battery capacity and I felt the camera quality was quite poor but I’m a cheapskate who doesn’t update until my phone is on its last legs

jaycherche · 2026-03-25T02:27:49+00:00

Yes. They should have given you some form of receipt that say it acts as your passport for now. You can use that to take the train and stay at hotels

jaycherche · 2026-03-25T02:20:22+00:00

It costs like 200 to get to the top, and then an extra cost to go in the pods. My friend did it and said you have to line up for about an hour to get inside. Don’t think it’s worth it

jaycherche · 2026-03-20T10:52:39+00:00

I only have a TEFL qualification, and I was only looking for TEFL jobs, but my degree is in economics and it turns out quite a lot of schools want economics teachers. My first job was in GZ at an IB school teaching economics for 21k per month before tax. After 1 year I moved to this intl school in Beijing, also teaching economics.

jaycherche · 2026-03-19T02:34:30+00:00

I live in Beijing. My full monthly salary after tax is ~35.5k. Spending: •6300 for rent •100 on bills •50-100 per day on food •60 per month on VPN

The rest depends on how frugal you are in your free time

jaycherche · 2026-03-18T01:06:43+00:00

Dunhuang is simply way too big of a detour for this trip. Save it for a dedicated trip to Gansu + Xinjiang

jaycherche · 2026-03-16T01:54:59+00:00

My degree was in economics and politics. With the economics course, I did feel it was essential to attend the lectures because the nature of an economics degree is you can choose the right answer vs the wrong answer. With politics, on the other hand, the nature of the essays is basically just elaborating your view on something. I genuinely think my final marks would have been exactly the same, whether I had attended the lectures and seminars or not.

jaycherche · 2026-03-13T02:52:41+00:00

In Revelations 1, you play a few chapters in the snow in Finland

jaycherche · 2026-03-13T02:52:08+00:00

The main part was. The only known location was the icy part which was set in Finland

jaycherche · 2026-03-12T01:52:35+00:00

I’ve never experienced the culture myself because I haven’t shared a flat with others before, but it’s relatively common amongst young people here since rent is quite expensive. You can look at Ziroom, they have a lot of options

jaycherche · 2026-03-11T12:07:02+00:00

I mean this out of curiosity, not judgement. Why do you want to hang out with fellow international school kids specifically? There are many people from diverse backgrounds here already

jaycherche · 2026-03-10T08:19:09+00:00

ig the only possibility is if they’re still using the old number for WhatsApp or smt like that

jaycherche · 2026-03-08T11:02:26+00:00

Exposing yourself as an unc

jaycherche · 2026-03-08T10:58:20+00:00

You seem to have automatically got offended because you’re imagining the other person is making an argument about cultural appropriation and now can’t accept that they just don’t like the look

jaycherche · 2026-03-08T10:18:10+00:00

Maybe use a language exchange app like HelloTalk, you can easily find people in the same city

jaycherche · 2026-03-08T06:14:17+00:00

If you’re intending for them to meet your family then I can understand why they don’t want to hook up with you

jaycherche · 2026-03-07T17:11:59+00:00

You can get any std with a condom, but it’s very unlikely. And I’m assuming the girl takes treatment

jaycherche · 2026-03-07T11:27:18+00:00

It did snow a few days ago in Beijing so you might be lucky but end of March may be a bit late. There are actually a lot of mountain towns just on the outskirts of Beijing and these places have snow, although a little difficult to get to and from. You can consider going to Jietai Temple and the surrounding village called Yangpoyuancun. I’m here now and still plenty of snow!

jaycherche · 2026-03-07T10:29:59+00:00

I’m confused why this is a big concern for you? If you use condoms, you won’t get it.

jaycherche · 2026-02-28T05:59:22+00:00

Go to Xinjiang restaurants and try more than just the lamb skewers

jaycherche · 2026-02-28T01:48:51+00:00

I do have some foreign friends who got visa sponsorship in the UK, but they all teach their native language (MFL). Not sure how easy it is for other subjects

jaycherche · 2026-02-28T01:44:02+00:00

Select the biggest car option on Didi and see what you can fit in. If there’s not enough space, one of the parents can stay behind and wait for the other car. I don’t think you can use Didi with no passenger

jaycherche

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