Universities, rent/ homestay, public transport and jobs in Hainan.

[everydayisanadventure]

Hi all =)

I will be going to Hainan in late Feb/ March and study for a semester, I would love some advise.

1) Would like to hear from people who studied Chinese in Hainan University or Hainan Normal University. Are the courses good, e.g. structured, do teachers have experience in teaching, are the strategies they use motivating or lecture style, do the teachers follow up and try to help, are the levels of classes suitable?I'm still thinking about which university to choose.

2) I am planning to just go to Hainan and enrol, do you think that will be a problem?

3) Does anybody know of any homestay programs/ contacts? Any experiences with homestays? And usually how much are they per month in RMB?

If I can't find a homestay, is it easy to rent rooms or apartments? And how much per month would I be looking at?

4) Are there many buses around Haikou? I am a little worried about living a bit far away from either university and have to rely on public transport (I know this is maybe a hard question to answer since I do not know where I am traveling from). Are there any buses or trains from Hainan University to Hainan Normal University

5) Does anybody know if there are any schools looking for experienced English teachers? Or have any experiences(bad and/or good) working in one? Are most jobs paid under the table?

Thanks guys! really appreciate the help here!

I am super excited about studying abroad.

PS... If anybody would like to do any Chinese/ English language excahge, please feel free to contact me too =)

[Mouseneb]

1. My husband is currently a student at Hainan University. He likes some of his classes/teachers, not so much others. There are lots of levels available, starting from basically no Chinese to pretty advanced, so that's good. He thinks the books are only so-so but he does seem to be learning a lot.

2. That should be fine.

3. Don't know about homestays, but you can get a room at the university for pretty cheap. We are renting a 3 bedroom apartment not far from the university for about 1,500 a month.

4. Hainan University is closer to most things than Hainan Normal. Bus lines do go to both, though. I prefer the area around Hainan Uni for living, and many laowai also choose to live in this part of town as it's got lots of nice restaurants and some shopping and bars, etc.

5. There are tons of opportunities to teach English, some schools are better than others. Working in a training school can be a bad experience, but if you only work part time and control the situation carefully it should be ok. Salary for part time should be 100-150 RMB.

Contact me if/when you come to town, we can go out for coffee and I'll fill you in on life in Haikou!

[everydayisanadventure]

Thanks mouseneb! really appreciating the information =)

I'm actually applying to both universities now, but still confused about which one to go to.

The Hainan University area sounds nice, I just hope that if I live in the area, I won't become complacent and only converse with the laowais.

Also, just wondering if i could bother you with some more questions.

1) With regards to your husband's classes, are they from 8-12 Monday to Friday?

2) Do you have any English teaching schools which you can recommend or are more reputable?

And I would love to have that coffee =) Will contact you when I get there. Thanks again =)

[danigargon]

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[everydayisanadventure]

Hi Dani from Spain,

How has class been so far? and did you manage to find a place in the dormitory?

I just arrived 2 days ago, and Friday was my first day. I was looking forward to class but it turned out that it was only an opening ceremony.

So far, the place itself has really shocked me, everything seems old and messy, but it is very lively. I hope to see you in class on Monday.

Gabe

[everydayisanadventure]

by the way mouseneb, i would love to pick you brain over coffee. feel free to email me whenever you are free. glai5393@gmail.com

and what is your husbands name? i might say hi to him in class

[roddy]

So how is Hainan going for the new arrivals?

[BigMax]

Hainan is great!

 

I wrote a post about Haikou here: https://followmorris.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/haikou/

 

and on the topic, I have written about transport here:　https://followmorris.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/getting-to-haikou/　

 

hope it helps

[Guest]

Hello!!

 

I am currently living in Shanghai and next month will be moving to Haikou, I have done some research and I cannot find any website to look for a shared apartment/roommates.

 

Anybody knows any website of that kind?

 

Anybody is looking for apartment/roommate in Haikou?

 

 

Also, I am looking for a part-time english teaching job, I have previous experience with little kids, but I wouldn't mind teaching primary-middle school. if anybody knows something about a job opening please let me know.

 

 

Thanks :)

 

 

[Mouseneb]

Hi LauSS, if you have Facebook access you might try posting on the Haikou in English page, we are a pretty friendly community

https://www.facebook.com/HaikouInEnglish