Damn. If only I were willing to move to Hong Kong.
But you wouldn't enjoy icon status, Ben. Q: Does this make you cry, even just a little bit? A: No. No, it doesn't.
Every now and then, I see something that makes me want to have a lot of money, and then I realize what I'd have to do to get it, and I give up my dream.
This state of affairs has come to a head! For my entire professional life I've managed to do work that aligned neatly with my values in labor, government and nonprofits, while noodling creatively on the side.
No more. At the dawn of 2008 I'm pulling a Moira. Gave notice. Need to come up with a plan to stay in cheddar, which will probably involve doing jobs for pay for people who Lloyd Dobler would never want to be.
Wish me luck in the Hong Kong of my soul. Also, it's my birthday.
It's pretty lucrative here, too, though not so much for the tutors that work for big companies. When I was working for Kaplan, the total amount paid by all the students in a class was something like $20,000 for 12 sessions. Of course I didn't see but a small fraction of that.
happy birthday, wrongshore.
and good luck in the hk of your soul.
You think that's a banged-up Ferrari? Ask Dieter about a banged-up Ferrari.
Happy birthday and good luck, Wrongshore.
Happy birthday Wrongshore!!!! Hope you have a great day.
Thanks, will, teo, kid. Off to get birthday coffee. With extra froth!
I don't think it's a banged-up Ferrari.
It's not? Balls. The Hong Kong guy had two, so I figured...eh. You're still hot.
Happy bday Wrongshore, and enjoy being rich.
I hope y'all will enjoy Hong Kong and lead a wonton life and end up lo mein on the totem pole.
BTW, put this on your practice test question:
Who said "Cogito ergo dim sum?"
In an hour, you'll be hungry again.
English teaching overseas is one of the few good jobs for liberal arts types, if you want to travel. (Europe isn't so good for Americans because EU citizens are favored, and besides, everyone wants to hang out in Europe).
The money can be excellent, and people are often very, very nice to you. I loved in Taiwan.
Back in the day, you could get by without much of a credential, but a credential helped even then -- though it didn't have to be in English. By now the biz has hardened up a bit and I suspect that an MA in English or ESL is almost necessary.
By now the biz has hardened up a bit and I suspect that an MA in English or ESL is almost necessary.
No, a certificate (of the sort you can get at any number of somewhat shady ESL-training schools and some community colleges) is sufficient most places other than the real big-money countries like the Gulf monarchies. The main exception is East Asia, where most places don't require any credential at all (aside from native-speaker fluency in English).
One word of advice: If you decide to teach overseas, please do not embarass us by confessing to some unsolved murder.
Thanks, B. I should remind everyone that my birthday wins.
The money can be excellent, and people are often very, very nice to you. I loved in Taiwan.
A very poetic way of putting it. I guess the people there really are nice.
I loved in Taiwan.
A very poetic way of putting it.
It took more than one woman to change his name to Taipei Emerson.
OK, happy birthday wrongshore, minnea, and anybody else I may have missed.
As long as I'm the only non-carnal desire-sating commenter, I will posit a question to the East Asia hands: how serious are the Chinese about their mental health requirements? I'm sane by western standards, but I do like my paroxetine. I suppose I could give it up if the money were right, but I'd much rather the PRC welcome me with open arms and some kind of subsidy.
so i finally read the wsj links.
isn't the real story here that the 'tutor gods' are in deep cahoots
with the testing ministry, and either stealing advanced copies of exams,
or persuading ministry officials to write the exams to order?
i.e., the students are paying not so much for any general pedagogical ability that ken sir has, as to get illicit advance copies of the exams.
which is no less rational than what u.s. kids do with kaplan and princeton review.
it just reflects a different level of corruption in hk.
or did i read that wrong?
I'm out of touch but my guess is that the Western doctors and pharmacies on China prescribe stock it; they may even have a pirate generic version. According to Wiki it's marketed there as paroxetine.
There's a big Western community in China, including some fair-sized players, and I'm pretty sure that they, and the wealthy Chinese, get most of what they want.
China is pretty hard core on recreational drugs, though I imagine that enforcement is inconsistent and corrupt.
Every now and then Fairly often, I see something that makes me want to have a lot of money, and then I realize what I'd have to do to get it, and I give up my dream.
Story of my life. Not that I'm any more ethical, of course. Just very lazy.
A friend of mine just came back from Dubai, where he was teaching music to expat kids without much more than a music BA and a little ESL training. Apparently, it's very lucrative if you don't mind working in an extremely caste-stratified shopping mall for the obscenely rich.
Talk about net neutrality--except in a few free zones, Dubai blocks Skype (among other net technologies) in deference to the State run phone service.
I live in Hong Kong. As a founder member of "Filth" (failed in London try Hong Kong) I think I ought to warn you that there are quite a large number of folks here who come 'just to do a two-year contract' and who never leave........... so BEWARE! If you like the buzz of a 24 hour city, excellent restaurants, very little crime, the best cheap public transport in the world, hill walking just minutes from your apartment, beautiful beaches, low taxes (Max 15% on income and none on interest/capital gains), near-free medical services etc. There ARE drawbacks inc bad air & noise pollution at times, accomodation/private education costs on par with NYC etc but after 30 years I've more or less got used to this place.
Ok, this is the downside of divorce. You are stuck where the other parent lives.
I would love to move to Costa Rica or Hong Kong, but the ex is stuck here. So I am too. Dont get me wrong. I love Virginia, but it would be nice to be able to consider the fantasy.
Um, that's the downside of marriage too, you know. It's what happens when you have children and you're a responsible human being.
In marriage, it is easier to decide jointly to move somewhere else.
When you divorce, you have the other parent, plus new spouses or significant others. Twice as hard.
And, of course, less personal incentive to cooperate. Persuading your spouse to move to Hong Kong because you've always wanted to live in Asia, and it'd be really cool, has got to be easier than persuading your ex.
OTOH, you can kill your ex without worrying about your emotional loss. I'd say it's a wash.
otohotoh, you probably have more life insurance on your current spouse. Although you should have life insurance on the ex too.
31, 32: Fair enough. I'm just feeling wistfully grumpy b/c I got back from seeing the boyfriend last week and he's so fucking far away.
34: That's just bad planning, not something structural.
37: Thanks tons, and actually no I don't think it is so there.
How would it work if boyfriend and hubby lived 5 mins away? Talk about an emotional energy toll on everyone.
Well, the current emotional energy toll is trying to keep those things both very very separate, which is actually quite difficult. If things were a little more in-state, at least, I could see bf more often and there'd be a lot less of that longing/distracted thing when I'm here, and a lot less of the all-or-nothing thing when I'm with him (which is kind of a pain, really, I'm sure). Plus maybe free babysitting!
I would think that the emotional toll on them would be increased tremendously.
I would think it would be easier to have things very separate. The "What happens there, stays there" mentality.
For several reasons, I think I could do what you do. But, I havent dont it and I havent been with anyone who would be open to the idea.
42: The problem with the "easier to have things very separate" idea is that I'm still the same person, and that's pretty hard on me. Which in turn affects everyone else.
But anyway, I don't really want to get into it, and shouldn't have said anything.
I am glad that you talk about it. It is interesting and I think it helps people to realize that marriages can be very different things. There doesnt have to be one set way to be married.
So thanks for talking about it.
