TEFL jobs in Hong Kong

WIMdowz · 14-11-2008, 05:03 PM

Ok here's the story :P

I met her last year around april over internet.. i really liked her, she.."kinda" liked me.. haha xD (i had long hair back then >.<) But I wanted to come over and meet her, and she agreed cause she wanted to see how it would go. I went, and we were all over each other. After two weeks i had to return back to Belgium.. I missed her a lot, she missed me a lot and that's when we started to really fall in love with each other (I think) Before meeting her, I already felt really bored with my life.. All i did was work and play mmorpg's when i got home. She stole my heart and I saw this as my ticked out of hell sorta speak. I'm really interested in learning cantonese, I LOVE being in Hong Kong! It's like my real home.. I feel more at home here than in Belgium.. and i really love my gf... and she really loves me. So anyways, I worked my ass off for about 8 months and saved up enough to move to hong kong. I started a TEFL course cause they "promised" that i would be able to find a job here once i finished it. Seems it's harder than expected though.

So ye.. We've been together for like a year and 3 months.. Which is pretty long since we spend our first 8 month as an online relation. (which is goddamn hard to maintain/have) And no she's not younger than me.. She's 4 months older than me in fact ^_^

But she's very scared of her parents for some reason.. she hasn't even told them we are dating yet. But of course i go over there from time to time and some of her family saw me together with her a lot. Her aunt even suggested her to introduce me to her granny ^.- lolz So they know we are dating. The reason why she doesn't tell her parents is cause she's afraid they are gonna annoy her by calling every evening to see where she is etcetc. Even though her parents seem to like me since they invite me over for dinner sometimes and ask where I've been to my gf when i didn't go to their home in a while

hmpf.. I think that's bout it <.< happy reading :P

MovingIn07 · 14-11-2008, 05:24 PM

Lovely story - I hope it all works out for you. It sounds abit like you are in the middle of a "cultural" issue with the parents but I guess it will all work - I expect if they did not like you that you would know about it by now! I am never too much in favour of the "marry to get a visa" approach as I think you should marry for the right reasons, but it does sound like you have a good thing going so it's not an unreasonable suggestion.

Do you have any other skills? Do you even like teaching and children? If you are going to marry and live here etc you need to be happy in your job too or that will put a strain on the marriage. Are you learning Cantonese? That might help. Or perhaps your girlfriends parents can help - it seems to be the way things are done here... by word of mouth etc etc. You may not want to be beholden to them, but it might be an idea worth considering - at least then they will know you are serious about supporting their daughter! ( I think these things probably matter to local parents).

WIMdowz · 14-11-2008, 05:51 PM

Well ye I know ^_^ I actually had a small conversation with her mom in cantonese. I only know a couple of words, but i was able to make it clear to her that me and her were gonna eat dinner in tsuen wan haha xD Her parents have 0 knowledge of english so its pretty hard to communicate with them, especially since my gf still tries to "hide" our relation ^.-

And ye I love kids and i think i'll get great satisfaction from teaching. I always wanted a very diverse job, and teaching is as diverse and interesting as it gets in my opinion. So ye i do think I'd be happy working as a teacher.

And yes, although the actual marriage thing doesn't really mean THAT much to me, it still stands symbol for "a next level" in a relationship. I told myself from the beginning that I wouldn't marry just for a visa. There have to be feelings, else it's meaningless and will never work out.

As for the cantonese, I'm not following school or anything, but i try to learn as many things as possible from my friends and my gf. They sometimes teach me how to say certain stuff. like "I see ..." or "I want ..." ukno the useful stuff. Cause cantonese is very tricky ^.- Take "thank you" for example.. you got 2 different words for thank you, so you have to know which word you have to use in which situation xD that's also the reason why I'm so interested in the Cantonese language ^^ and that's also why it's so difficult <.<

And yes, I do plan to stay here for pretty much the rest of my life, unless i get bored of this place which seems VERY unlikely to me ^_^

supercat7 · 14-11-2008, 05:52 PM

Unfortunately in Hong Kong, many language schools/training centres do not like hiring people without HK ID cards becuase they can easily fall foul of the immigration dept. if they make applications and then people bail out early - which is quite common in the industry. A bloke who runs one of these centres told me this; they reserve the ID card application for when there are no other options. Seems the immigration authorities can refuse to issue ID cards for new staff if the company has made lots of applications before and they have been cancelled early or the people just up and leave.

Many years ago, I applied for a teaching job in HK and was turned down because I did not have a HK ID. Given todays headlines in the SCMP City section, ("Putonghua, English Grow in Importance"), I would have thought the immigration dept. would accept applcations easily, but I guess not.

emmie · 14-11-2008, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by supercat7:

Unfortunately in Hong Kong, many language schools/training centres do not like hiring people without HK ID cards becuase they can easily fall foul of the immigration dept. if they make applications and then people bail out early - which is quite common in the industry.

That's what I've heard, too.

There are a handful of individuals each year who come to HK, and unwittingly, eventually, give the rest a bad reputation when they decide to "try their hand at teaching English" - say, at a kindergarten or early primary edu centre. Then they'll find the environment NOT exactly what they'd first expected, salary="crap", and the demands of the job "challenging", etc. These few souls seem not to stay the course; they don't hesitate to quit, then move on to the next similar post elsewhere, and so on.

Many years ago, I applied for a teaching job in HK and was turned down because I did not have a HK ID. Given todays headlines in the SCMP City section, ("Putonghua, English Grow in Importance"), I would have thought the immigration dept. would accept applcations easily, but I guess not.

Actual teaching experience in classrooms, on top of good references (and a recognised degree?) would make a HUGE difference here.

WIMdowz - You come across fairly enthusiastic, healthily optimistic, with the right attitude, and ready to work hard. I don't doubt your sincereity, and hope you find a way to stay close to your beloved. Perhaps you've other skill-sets to offer people that you're not yet aware of? All the best.

WIMdowz · 14-11-2008, 07:18 PM

Thanks all...I really want to stay. I really have to stay.. I just can't go back to belgium now. I have a life here now >.< Well... I'll just keep sending out resume's for now, since that's all I can really do. My interviewer from today also suggested me to look at the possibility of a "holiday working visa", but I'm not sure Hong Kong has such an agreement with Hong Kong.. I send an email to the belgian consulate here in Hong Kong to arrange a meeting to find out some more about this. I'm getting pretty desperate now since this interview >.<