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The first thing everybody asked me when I told them I was moving to China, was “Why China?” and my answer was: “Why not?” That was only the beginning. I did a lot of research before deciding to look for a job, I wanted to make sure the culture, customs, and food was going to be bearable.
Once I was decided on which country, the next thing I did was put my resume on various websites that employers have access to. There, you can select which countries you are interested in. I put China and two other options. After a couple of days I started to get emails asking me for more information, more pictures, and asking me also for the copy of my passport, something that is very usual when you are looking for a job overseas.
After looking at all the different options I decided on the one that was closest to the city I wanted to visit often, in this case Shanghai. In this city I had a few offers, I went with the one that offered me to work with children, which is what I wanted to do, because of my experience and my love for children. I did a list of pros and cons on the options I had and decided to accept the offer at the one private school in Wuxi.
Since the beginning the employer sent me a copy of a contract so that I could see the benefits and my obligations, once I accepted, they sent me my contract and I send it back signed. Once you accept, all these questions start popping into your head, in my case the vice-principal who hired me was always available, and always answered every question I asked.
She told me to get a tourist visa to get into China, and once I arrived they were going to help me get the work visa. I also asked her about my apartment, and she sent me pictures and told me what I needed to bring. She also told me that someone was going to pick me up at the nearest airport. Once I bought my ticket and gave her all the information, she confirmed me that a driver was going to pick me up.
Make sure to bring your personal necessities for the first couple of nights, before you locate a supermarket to buy the rest. I bought a lot of cleaning supplies to make the apartment clean and make it feel like home.
The school helped me get registered with the police, something you have to do right away. Also they took me to get the health exam to get my certificate for my visa. They have been really helpful on fixing things that do not work in my apartment; like the hot water, you need to turn on a switch to turn on the water heater. Also regarding adapters, I recommend not buying them beforehand in the US, as they will not work here. You can buy adapters in the supermarket, really cheap and they work well.
If you decide to move to China, just make sure you bring an open mind and try to say “yes” to everything, try everything at least once, and don’t ask what you are eating, just eat it! |
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From 21 People
