Comments, Feedback, & Suggestions

I was just reading your post on teaching in Haikou and I wanted to make a suggestion.

Probably the biggest difference between our experiences was budgetary. I found that it was very easy to live on 4000 to 5000 RMB a month. And I kind of stumbled upon the secret.

I really hated English Corner. I felt that it was a total waste of time. People would get to ask one or two questions, and no real conversation could develop. So I decided to invite my students to dinner at my apartment. I knew by then that all business is conducted over a meal, and I felt that if five students sat down to dinner with me, we could actually have a good conversation. So one day I asked my students how many of them would like to come to my apartment on the campus for dinner. About 99% raised their hands, so I passed around a sign-up sheet. I did this in each of my classes. I ended up hosting 5 students a night, five nights a week, for ten weeks!

Early each morning, I walked to the local market and bought meat and vegetables. I replaced rice, oil, and spices as needed. I usually spent about 50 RMB each day, or roughly what I would spend on breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I ate at a restaurant.

The students were amazing. They refused to let me do any of the work. One or two always knew their way around the kitchen. I had wonderful meals from every region of China, did not have to lift a finger, and usually had one or two people entertaining me while the others prepared the meals.

However, the greatest benefit was discovering the really good chefs. I compiled a list of more than a dozen excellent cooks and their specialties. I ended up hiring them to cook for me. The campus jobs paid 2.5 RMB per hour, so I paid them 5 RMB per hour and gave them a free meal. We both felt that we had the better end of the bargain. I also discovered who was good at clean up, and had two girls come together every weekend and clean the apartment from top to bottom. They also washed and ironed my clothers. They got to practice their English, and were happy for the chance to make some spending money. Whenever I wanted to have Western friends over, I had two of the kids do the whole meal, from shopping to final clean up. It was great! Each week, I probably spend around 80 RMB on food and 50 RMB on labor. If I had guests over, I probably spent an additional 60, and they always brought more wine and fruit than we could all consume.

When the weather got hot, I moved the furniture into the largest air-conditioned bedroom, and kept that room at around 27 C. My biggest electric bill was around 450 RMB.

I typically took buses instead of taxis, I bought Chang Du brandy for 18 RMB a liter when I felt like having a drink, and I entertained at home rather than going hanging out at clubs. I would occasionally buy some Snickers or Chocolate Malt Balls at Pearl Plaza Grocery, but I did not miss corn flakes or any other packaged food. I never found a good source of local beef, and when I came back to the states I probably had beef for dinner every day for two weeks.

I had no problem saving around 2000 RMB each month, and felt more pampered than at any other time in my life. Eating lots of fresh vegetables, meat, and fish, I lost about 40 pounds in two years.