going it alone

[dmr1203]

Ok, so here is a question. I am thinking about applying directly to the school, and avoiding a middleman here in the states. Has anyone just shown up and started class? Any thoughts on safety issues or having some kind of person support not being there by applying directly?

I mean no one knows that I am coming..........is that safe?

[imron]

Make sure you find a school that can arrange for you to get a Z visa before you leave your home country. It will save you a lot of trouble/hassle and if nothing else, at least you will know that the school is legally allowed to employ foreigners. It'd also be a good idea to get in touch with other teachers who have taught at any school you're thinking of working at to get their opinions of the school.

I would caution against just turning up and seeing what you can find, as it's easy enough to contact the schools directly via email to get something sorted out before you come here. If you're really just thinking of turning up without anything organised, the easiest time to find work is before the start of a new semester (i.e mid/late Feb or mid/late Aug) rather than in the middle of it.

[owshawng]

I think you would want to have some sort of network or at least a relocation contact help thru the school..At Rutgers University the Taiwanese students would pick up any new Taiwanese student at the airport and take them to their dorm. Then take them around to set up a PO Box on campus, open a bank account, get a driver's license, show them where to buy food, etc. When we moved from the US to Australia we had a relocation team helping us with the move and it was still very stressful. If you've never lived overseas before, especially if you can't at least speak at a conversational level in the country's language, I would strongly suggest you get some kind of support/contacts before you go.

[jbiesnecker]

I would caution against just turning up and seeing what you can find, as it's easy enough to contact the schools directly via email to get something sorted out before you come here. If you're really just thinking of turning up without anything organised, the easiest time to find work is before the start of a new semester (i.e mid/late Feb or mid/late Aug) rather than in the middle of it.

I'd like to second that. China's finally enforcing some of the visa laws that (when unenforced) made it really easy to show up and find a job, so it's really not a wise move anymore. Particularly, you cannot change an 'L' (tourist) visa to a 'Z' (work) visa inside the country anymore, meaning at very least you'll have to make a visa run down to Hong Kong once you find a job.

For university jobs (no experience with coming from overseas and finding a job with a private school, sorry), start looking in October/November and March/April for jobs in the Spring/Fall respectively. Because the new visa rules make it neccesary to obtain a Z visa from outside of China, which takes time, universities start looking pretty early.

Good luck!

[mr.stinky]

sounds more like you want to attend class, not teach. i've heard it's fairly simple for

a uni to have your tourist visa converted to a student visa if you just show up. but it's

not all that much trouble to get the student visa beforehand.

in that case, yes, you can avoid the middleman. contact the school directly first.

[imron]

Oops, looking back at the original post, I guess that's probably what the OP meant. My advice still holds. Get in touch with the school before you go, and get them to sort out your visa before you leave. All schools will be able to provide you with the documentation to get an X visa (a study visa) before you leave, and many of them will have application forms and stuff on the web.

[dmr1203]

Yeah, I actually want to be a student for the 4 week class at BCLU. The school charges 420.00 applying directly, but a company like CSA or Lotus Study charges 1700.00. Is paying the extra giving you peace of mind that someone knows that you are there?

Has anyone done it alone?

[imron]

I think going it alone is fine, so long as you don't mind finding your own way from the airport to the university :-) There are plenty of people who do it each year, and once you're on campus you'll start to create your own network of friends and acquaintances to help you if you run into trouble. The school will also have their own office for dealing with and helping foreign students.

[Crivens200]

In my experience it's always been OK to just turn up with nothing pre-arranged. I've done this in Beijing (qing hua da xue), Shanghai (jiao tong and hua dong) and Kunming (shi fan da xue and yun da). I've always had a multiple entry F visa and each time the school hasn't even asked me to convert to a student visa.

Okay, not strictly legal I know but it never seems to be a problem. The fact that I am over 30 might have someting to do with the fact that they didn't want to put me through the same process of student visa's, initiation and medicals that all the "kids" seem to be forced to go through.

Although it might bring peace of mind, I think people get too hung up on sorting things out before they leave their own country - they are Chinese remember and are not going to turn down the chance to earn a few more pennies due to the lack of official procedures.

[dmr1203]

I am over 30 as well. Maybe that helps. I am thinking about doing a homestay to get the experience. I am only staying for 30 days though.

[etcetera24]

Its definitely possible to apply to BLCU without a middleman. I don't know about just showing up to the school, but I applied in advance on my own via mail from Canada, according to procedures listed on the school website.

Provided you do this far enough in advance, BLCU will send you all the necessary paperwork to obtain the necessary visa in the US before departure (X or otherwise, depending on the duration of your program). When you receive the paperwork, you *may* need to travel to another city (eg. NYC, DC), depending on the location of your nearest Chinese consulate or embassy, to get the visa. So again, make sure you to start the application process in advance!

Of the entire application process, I say the part that causes the greatest anxiety is arranging accomodation. But do a search on this forum and there's plenty of good advice and accounts of personal experiences regarding homestay, finding a flat, and living in BLCU dorms.

Good luck!

Cat

[amandagmu]

I did it alone last summer - BLCU, 6 week intensive program. I applied directly to the school first and then, with their paperwork in hand to show the visa office in the U.S., I received the visa (status F I think?? the short-term one) to go to China without a problem. The biggest hassle is getting from the airport to the university or wherever you need to go once arrived, especially if no one's meeting you there. I did try and do the homestay but it didn't work out, I left after two weeks or so and found another place. But they did send someone out to get me at the airport. However, finding a new place and the school stuff I did all on my own.

Since it looks like I may be going back this summer, I'm just planning on doing it myself directly from the airport. A taxi should cost about 80 kuai to get to BLCU. If it's more, they're ripping you off -- either illegal taxi or they think you're a stupid foreigner and are going to pay more. Be careful and only go with the legal taxi, get out a map and point to where you want to go. Of course, if you don't speak any Chinese, I don't recommend this option. Some programs (you'll have to search around the forums a bit) probably could offer you just the airport pick up, but it will cost you a lot, maybe $40 USD (whereas a taxi would be $10). On the other hand, I know how I feel after 18-20 hours of flying (2 flights) and it is really nice to get there and have some of that taken care of upfront.

Let me know if you have more questions about doing it alone... I really wish I had someone to ask about this stuff before going, but it seems most people (particularly those from the U.S.) go through some expensive, not-worth-it-at-all program. I spent nearly 8 weeks in China last summer and even after changing to a more expensive housing option and forfeiting what I paid for the other, I spent a little less $3000 on everything -- including airfare, tuition, housing, the gym and pool fees, two trips outside the city (the ones through BLCU on trains), souvenirs, eating out, and entertainment on the weekends.

Amanda

[roddy]

There's now an airport bus which runs direct to Zhongguancun, which will get you a lot closer to Wudaokou / BLCU than the previous Jianguomen / Xidan options. The buses are easy to find at the airport, and it's a 16Y ticket wherever you are going, then I'd guess a 10Y, maybe a little more, cab ride to BLCU or a nearby hotel. That's the cheap option. I think the airport bus info is here, but I can't get the page to open just now - I'm stealing someone's wireless connection as I sit in Beijing's last internet-free cafe, and it's very slow.

Easier is to just take a taxi - do as you do at any airport and avoid the hello taxi guys and join the queue right outside the concourse. A map or address in Chinese will be helpful, as mentioned. Post on here if you don't know the Chinese, someone will find it for you soon enough.

Easier still is to arrange a pick-up. Amanda mentions $40, I'll do it for $30, but I'll pocket it all and just take you on the bus.

There's an increasing number of 'we help you in China' firms setting up, offering assistance with airport transfers, finding accomodation, sorting out residence permits and so on. Ironically, these are only springing up now, when it's actually easier than ever to do these things yourself, rather than in 1985. If you are particularly nervous about these tasks, or your time is very valuable, they might be worthwhile. However in that case you are as well to go with a 'package study' company - I doubt there will be much difference in quality of service or price at the end of the day.

However, if you are willing to have a mildly stressful week as you get yourself from the airport to town, find and settle into your temporary accomodation, enrol, make friends and find somewhere longer-term to live, you can do it all yourself. Read copiously on here, and pick up the Beijing Insider's Guide, and you'll have all the info you need. Perhaps not for the faint-of-heart, but nor is it a superhuman task - after all, Amanda did it

[roddy]

Right, this page, and you want Line 5, Airport to Zhongguancun. This stops (not the terminus though) at the north gate of Beijing Aviation and Aerospace University, known as 北航, which is what, a block south of BLCU?

[amandagmu]

Sweet. Thanks for the bus tip Roddy. I'm taking that next summer when I return (most likely) to BLCU.

"Perhaps not for the faint-of-heart, but nor is it a superhuman task - after all, Amanda did it"

That's the best way to put it -- if you enjoy learning something about the culture on your own even if it *is* the pain in the a** parts about it, and you are at least semi-adventurous, you can do it. (In some ways kind of like the people on The Amazing Race or in Globe Trekker -- assuming you've seen either on TV.) An example of this: negotiating with 3 taxi drivers to take my bags to the airport (without success) before just stopping a taxi, not saying anything at first, then opening his back doors and tossing my bags in, then getting in and then finally telling him to take me to the airport. Hey, it worked.

Amanda