Ping' An village, Guilin China

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zboy1
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Ping' An village, Guilin China

Post by zboy1 »

I will be teaching at a high school there in the fall. Does anyone know anything about the place? I would've preferred living in a city, but I guess a picturesque, small-town mountain atmosphere isn't the worst thing in the world. Plus, at least the air is fresh and I'm not surrounded by pollution--even though there probably isn't much for me to do in that place....except look at the pretty surroundings.

Ghost got a job in a city in Northern China, near the N.K. border (I think) so he got lucky in his assignment. But it gets pretty cold up there during the winter. I expect the weather to be much more moderate where I will be at, than up there...
Repatriate
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Post by Repatriate »

Guilin is close to the picturesque karst mountains and it's near a touristy area by the yellow river I think. I remember it was a pretty chill place, you might like it.
zboy1
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Post by zboy1 »

Repatriate wrote:Guilin is close to the picturesque karst mountains and it's near a touristy area by the yellow river I think. I remember it was a pretty chill place, you might like it.
Yeah, I've seen pictures of the place on the Internet. My only problem with the village is...I have feeling I might get a little bored and won't have anything to do while I'm there. Any suggestions?
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xiongmao
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Post by xiongmao »

Ghost won't like that Chinese winter... nowhere in China escapes really, except for Hainan. If you're at altitude it could get cold. Plus in the South they don't have heating.

Yes escaping the pollution will be great although contaminated food is a problem everywhere. Rice plants love those heavy metals.

As you say, boredom will be a big problem - I remember there was very little to do in Hubei. And you'll find it hard to find foreign stuff there - you'd better like Chinese food.

Still, beer is cheap in China and the 1 Guangxi lady I met was awesome. I can't remember the name of the place, but there is a town in Guangxi full of foreigner bars - it looks quite a chilled out kind of place.

Just remember to live in a decent building - there's a heck of a lot of rain in that part of China and landslips and other catastrophes are common. I remember looking out from my Guangzhou balcony in the night and seeing what was nearly a perpetual thunderstorm out in the countryside.

Also I don't know what the humidity will be like in your place, but don't take anything expensive (especially clothing) as it will just get ruined.

If it all gets too much, then you're welcome to join the HA enclave in Bangkok for a bit of R&R.
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Post by ethan_sg »

Zboy,

I thought you were going to Wenzhou in Zhejiang? Or did I confuse you with someone else?

You can check out Yangshuo in Guangxi - that's the place Xiongmao is referring to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo_County

It's a great place for adventurous backpacker types, I had a great time visiting it a few years ago.

Teaching in a Chinese village will be a radical change from what your life is now. People are from the villages are the nicest, but you'll need to speak Chinese to communicate with them. Do you? They obviously will have their own dialect in Guangxi as well, but most Chinese people, especially in the younger generation, can speak Mandarin, albeit with varying accents depending on which part of China they're from.

I would personally prefer a place larger and more diversified like a 2nd to 4th tier city within China, as opposed to a village. Don't you have a say on where you get posted to? Can't you specify your preferences to them? Anyway it's probably worth a try first - if it's not your cup of tea try to find another part of China to teach in. You don't only have to rely on this one organization. Who knows, you might find some really great people over there.
zboy1
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Post by zboy1 »

ethan_sg wrote:Zboy,

I thought you were going to Wenzhou in Zhejiang? Or did I confuse you with someone else?

You can check out Yangshuo in Guangxi - that's the place Xiongmao is referring to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo_County

It's a great place for adventurous backpacker types, I had a great time visiting it a few years ago.

Teaching in a Chinese village will be a radical change from what your life is now. People are from the villages are the nicest, but you'll need to speak Chinese to communicate with them. Do you? They obviously will have their own dialect in Guangxi as well, but most Chinese people, especially in the younger generation, can speak Mandarin, albeit with varying accents depending on which part of China they're from.

I would personally prefer a place larger and more diversified like a 2nd to 4th tier city within China, as opposed to a village. Don't you have a say on where you get posted to? Can't you specify your preferences to them? Anyway it's probably worth a try first - if it's not your cup of tea try to find another part of China to teach in. You don't only have to rely on this one organization. Who knows, you might find some really great people over there.
I was originally set to go to Wenzhou in Zhejiang, but I got transferred to another area before I signed my contract. I would've preferred Wenzhou, but what can I do? I need the job, so really...anyplace will do.
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Post by kai1275 »

zboy1 wrote:
Repatriate wrote:Guilin is close to the picturesque karst mountains and it's near a touristy area by the yellow river I think. I remember it was a pretty chill place, you might like it.
Yeah, I've seen pictures of the place on the Internet. My only problem with the village is...I have feeling I might get a little bored and won't have anything to do while I'm there. Any suggestions?
LOL! Wow that is an interesting place for you to be at. That place is a little bit BFE, if you know what I mean. Maybe setup some dates online with some English speaking women from Guangzhou and go by bus of High speed rail to meet them whenever you have free time.
kai1275
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Post by kai1275 »

Sorry they only have regular train or bus to Guangzhou. Might take 8-9 hours on a bus, 12ish 13 hours by train. Maybe you could fly there instead?
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Post by kai1275 »

How long is your contract for? Can you transfer again?
zboy1
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Post by zboy1 »

kai1275 wrote:How long is your contract for? Can you transfer again?
I already signed my contract, so it's too late. I don't mind really. I'm not too fond of pollution, noise and overcrowding; I get that living in NYC all my life. Maybe it is for the better. I'm kind-of getting tired of the city-life, tbh. NYC will do that to anyone, LOL.
kai1275
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Post by kai1275 »

zboy1 wrote:
kai1275 wrote:How long is your contract for? Can you transfer again?
I already signed my contract, so it's too late. I don't mind really. I'm not too fond of pollution, noise and overcrowding; I get that living in NYC all my life. Maybe it is for the better. I'm kind-of getting tired of the city-life, tbh. NYC will do that to anyone, LOL.
I can totally understand that. When I was in NYC, I was tired of it after 3 days. It's like going to an amusement park and after a few days, I just want to go back home and drive my own car, instead of begging and searching for a kind taxi driver....

I enjoy the country side in China alot but I am used to the country side in the US and I know that kind of lifestyle is not for everyone. Hope you like it.
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Post by ethan_sg »

The only thing about being in a village if you're looking for a good Chinese girl is that a lot of the young ones have moved to the cities. After they finish basic schooling, they move. So you may actually find a pronounced gender imbalance in the villages - not the case if you're in the cities.

So your selection is not as good. But if you're just looking to chill, looking for a sense of community, can speak Chinese, enjoy a slow paced lifestyle, low cost of living, I think it would suit you fine.

Any idea what the population of Ping An Village is like?
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Post by ethan_sg »

I just realized Ping An Village is home to the Zhuang Minority group. So it won't even be Han Chinese women that you'll be meeting. Anyhow, it'll be an adventure I'm sure. The start of your hopefully long adventure in China.

Try Ping An for a semester, when you do eventually move to Chinese cities you'll have a great story to tell people over there.
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xiongmao
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Post by xiongmao »

The Guangxi lady I dated was from a minority - the only one I've dated who didn't have Han Chinese on her ID card. She was nice. The downside is that she was the first person in her family to move from being destitute farmer to city girl, and there was a huge cultural gap between us.

When I was in Guangzhou I got loads of teaching offers. You could get the same, but I don't know if you'd be tied into a contract.

The upside is that with few English speakers around you'll really improve on your Mandarin. Although most of the locals won't be speaking it which is always a nuisance. I never really got free listening lessons on buses in Guangzhou because my fellow passengers mostly used Cantonese.

Still, at least there won't be any Starbucks where you're going!!!
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ethan_sg
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Post by ethan_sg »

Go for it zboy. enjoy yourself and see if it's for you
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