One morning this weekend, I was at the neighborhood center picking up a few things. Now, each weekend, additional stalls are set up selling random bric-a-brac and businesses promoting themselves. I noticed a table representing a local English language school. Well, I thought of my friend's boyfriend, who just arrived in China and was looking for work as an English teacher.
I approached the guy at this table, and asked him in Mandarin if his school was hiring any teachers. He replied that they only hire teachers are "wai guo ren" (directly translated = foreigners)
Oddly enough, because I was in the mind frame of asking "on behalf of someone else," it did not immediately hit me that he was rejecting me. So I explained that I have a friend who is from the United States, just arrived a few days ago and is looking for work. He phoned it his supervisor, or whoever, at the school and confirmed whether or not they were looking for teachers. Sure enough, the person on the other end of the phone also asked whether or not it was a "wai guo ren" inquiring. Unbelievable.
After he wrote down the name and phone number of the contact for me, I calmly asked him why they only hire "wai guo ren," knowing full well the answer. He hemmed and hawwed a bit and then I proceeded to attack him. :) I told him that I am ethnically Chinese, born, raised and educated in the United States, and that my English is far better than my Chinese and I teach at the international school. He marveled at me and even called a friend over to point at me and say that I was born in America. Yet another embarrassing example of how locals here don't understand immigration. I miss living in a big city. So I left it at that and walked away.
I told this story to some friends later. We had all read about and heard about tales of English schools abroad who only hired Caucasian people, (And why not, English language ability is in their blood, isn't it??) but it hadn't happened to anyone we knew yet. I really had to laugh at this; I have a Bachelor's and a Master's degree, have taught children for 5 years, going on 6, yet was rejected from this English school at first glance. I have to admit though, it was more fun to tear into this guy when I didn't actually need a job there.
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To LEGALLY work in China he'd have to enter on a Z visa which would be converted to a work permit. The only way to get a Z visa is to be sponsored by the company that wants to hire you and then apply for one in your nation of origin.
Practically speaking people show up and get hired to work on L or F visas all the time (no, F does not allow you to work). This and the habit of schools hiring any western face that comes through the door is why people who work as English teachers are viewed with some distaste by expats with "real" jobs.
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