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English Teaching Urumqi Xinjiang China

English Teaching Job Urumqi Xinjiang ChinaI very, very nearly left this New York City fiasco behind and took the first flight out to Urumqi in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The prospect of a high paying math/ science teaching job reached my ears and I jumped on it.————–Wade from Vagabond Journey.com in Philadelphia, PA, [...]

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English Teaching Job Urumqi Xinjiang China

I very, very nearly left this New York City fiasco behind and took the first flight out to Urumqi in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. The prospect of a high paying math/ science teaching job reached my ears and I jumped on it.
————–
Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
in Philadelphia, PA, USA- September 7, 2008
Travelogue Travel Photos
————–

This job was to be at an advanced high school that needed a foreign teacher to teach math, science, and computers in English to prepare the students for university in the west. I received an email from my friend Carl, who has been teaching English in China for the better part of this decade, and I replied that I was interested – of course. I was then looking for anyway to get out of filling out a rent application and dealing with the tidings of what can only be called the “real world of responsibility, commitment, and strife.”

This way of living finds me sadly unfit.

So I told Carl that I would take the first flight out to China as soon as I was sent my contract. I reassembled my English teaching CV, lied about a few details, and mailed it into the teaching organization’s headquarters in Beijing.

Luckily for my much coveted university degree, I did not get the job.

Good. Now I can stay in Brooklyn without the prospect of a premature leave. I can remain in New York City with a clear mind that is unclouded by desert daydreams of Islamic China. I can go to Muslim lands once I am covered by the sheepskin of my matured and completed university education.

English teaching jobs are easy to get in China. This is especially true as of late because of the visa changes that the Chinese government carried out prior to the Olympics. You now cannot change a tourist visa to a working visa and the Chinese consulates have recently been less inclined to give foreigners working permits. The result is that there is now a great deficit of qualified native speaking English teachers in China to fill the great demand, which will mean that when I am finished in New York I will probably have many teaching jobs available to me all through China. I really want to go make a few month stop in Xingjiang, and teaching English is a good “in” into a culture, as it provides the traveler with a plethora of opportunities to befriend people as well as a thorough identity within a community.

But I have realized that I am ever on the mercy of wild whims of leaving. If offered a way out of anywhere I am sure to take it. To say yes to everything is to live a life free from the arduous perils of discretion.

But the old Javanese proverb again rings in my ears:

“When going north, go north. Do not go east, west, or south.”

I began going north when I began my university studies and I continued going north when I returned to the USA to complete my degree. Now I shall continue in this direction until its gentle way has been traveled to fruition.

Until graduation.

Get your English teaching credentials now!

I’ve recently partnered with Star TEFL to offer their 140 hour online TEFL certification course for just $199 — a big discount, as it sells for $425 on their site. This certification course offers 140 hours of user-friendly material, tutors to help you through the process, email, chat, and phone support, feedback on your performance, and you can complete the course at your own pace. Upon completion of the course, you will receive an internationally recognized TEFL/ ESL/ TESOL certification. You can buy this course directly from Vagabond Journey at a 53% discount here:

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After you have your teaching certification send me an email at vagabondsong [at] gmail.com and I can help you find a good job in China!

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Filed under: China, New York City, USA, Work

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3723 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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VBJ is currently in: New York City

2 comments… add one

Leave a Comment

  • SpecialBrewMan February 27, 2012, 5:01 pm

    I hear the lamb skewers are good out that way.

    Link Reply
    • Wade Shepard March 4, 2012, 10:01 am

      Right on.

      Link Reply