Beijing Hospitality Institute - The Facts... and opinions =)

An American recently contacted me about Beijing Hospitality Institute because she ran into my blog while researching the school. I told her my reply to her email would be my warmup to a blog entry... Here it is:

The most important bit of information for foreign teachers considering applying to BHI: there are two departments which employ foreigners: the English Department and the International and Vocational Program. Some of the differences are as follows:

English Department: 8,000 RMB/month plus an apartment in a fun and convenient location in downtown Beijing (subway line 10, Shuangjing station), teach approx. 18 hours/week but must spend the remaining hours of 4 days each week in one of the department offices

International and Vocational Program: 6,000 RMB/month and an apartment near the school, which is located in a boring district called Daxing (about 1.5 hours from downtown by bus or subway) OR 7,000 RMB/month and you arrange your own apartment wherever you want (more details about this later), teach approx. 18 hours/week and don't spend an extra minute on campus for a total of 2.5 days spent at school

I worked for the International and Vocational Program. I live downtown (near the Sihui subway station on line 1) with my boyfriend. Our rent is 4000 RMB/month (average in our area, which is fun and cool and expensive-ish), so I earn 7,000/month at BHI and pay 2,000/month on rent, leaving 5,000 RMB/month left over (more than enough to live better than the average Chinese person and save for traveling).

I also have a few part-time jobs; I tutor at a small business school (elementary to high school students), and I taught a ten-week "Advanced Corporate English" course for a high-tech company.  6,000-7,000 RMB is more than enough money to live a great life here. I picked up more work because I enjoy teaching in all those different environments simultaneously. AND I went back to the US during Spring Festival to defend my Master's thesis ($2,000 tuition plus airfare, boooooooo).

The people in charge of the program are pretty cool. Patrick, the department head, isn't around much, but he responds to text messages and phone calls efficiently. And by that, I mean he calls his second in command, Hilary, who gets things done with a bit of prodding. They are both chill and easy to get along with. I also appreciate how considerate they were when I missed a week of work when I was sick and another week when I went home to be with my family after my grandfather passed away. I made up a few classes, but most of the hours I missed were forgotten about.

Hilary and I in front of BHI

My 2nd favorite feature of BHI: My favorite thing about teaching is always the students... My second favorite feature at BHI is the hotel on campus that has sit-down toilets AND a western restaurant! You will often see foreigners traipsing across campus to hit up the toilets. And the western restaurant is full of foreigners every lunch. They serve hamburgers, fries, pizza, and many other western-influenced dishes. I'm a vegetarian, so my meal of choice is a mixed salad and a veggie pizza. The prices are great too, much cheaper than western restaurants downtown. There is also a Chinese restaurant in the hotel; my favorite dish is the squash dumplings. There is a cafeteria on campus that is REALLY CHEAP. They have noodles, hot pot, and a bunch of dishes to choose from. That food is ok, but most foreigners burn out on it after a month or two.

A few of my kick ass students =)
Muse, Doris, Danica, and Zoe

A Few Cons about teaching at BHI and China:
BHI is not a university. It is a private institution. The students' scores are not good enough for a university, so they basically buy their degrees here. My limited observations of Chinese teachers teaching has been disappointing; I have often witnessed teachers simply reading out of the textbook for 45 minutes. Students are permitted to play with their mobile phones, listen to music with headphones, and even to sleep. And I can't blame them for checking out when the classes are so incredibly BORING. The teachers are totally uninspired, and therefore, uninspiring. Also, the administration is chaotic and disorganized. I often received a text message that my classes were cancelled because of a field trip at 11:00 PM the night before the scheduled classes. Of course, I didn't mind those messages =) But the disorganization also means you must check your bank balance regularly to make sure your salary is deposited. Because of all the cash I earn at my part-time jobs, I rarely touch my bank account. I once figured out that my salary was short 1,000 RMB three months in a row. I had to go beg and plead and scream and yell to make sure the missing money was deposited, and it took several months to correct the mistake.

How to get what you want/need: Being nice when I want or need something works for me in the US. Americans generally choose to help me when I'm respectful and kind. That has not been the case here. If I stay calm, the person I'm talking to ignores me or repeats the same thing over and over until I lose my temper. Once there is color in my cheeks and my voice reaches a tight annoying pitch, people listen. So I've learned to add vigor to my requests right from the go. Also, try not to ASK people what you want them to do; just TELL them what to do. Otherwise, you will be confronted with ridiculous excuses.

Next year: I recently signed a contract for the 2011-2012 academic year with Beijing International Studies University (BISU). BISU is a public university, so students must score high on the national exam (college admission test). I will earn 1,000 RMB less/month, but I'm looking forward to teaching in a more rigorous environment. The Chinese teachers have PhDs and publish... It is a real university. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

I hope this email is helpful for those of you who ran into it searching for information about BHI. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions: positive0903@hotmail.com