If I were young, I'd flee this town

As some of you may know I've been hinting at relocating to China in September as opposed to the planned NZ trip. A big sidestep from what I had originally planned for my world travels but a response to a deep amour for a land so rich in history and culture.

Sometimes our simplest decisions carry with them a payload of complex factors that turn them into what feels like a conspiracy or a mistake. I chose teaching as my prefered role. Having entertained the idea of aiming for a job with Microsoft again I decided that this would merely be a repetition of the life I'd been living previously. Nothing ventured nothing gained and in this case teaching was the (ad)venture that would afford me a whole new world of experiences that seemed attractive and complimentary to my personality.

So I set about applying for jobs while I was there.**(See note.) Getting an interview was easy enough, getting an interview with a school/company who could help get you your visa was a whole other matter. The government were restricting the flow of visas to foreigners( visiting and those already in the country). The oft cited excuse was 'security in and around the olympics'.

I woke this morning thinking about the situation and decided to do a little sniffing around. I didn't trust the promise of a government so adept at lying to its own people. I came across the following article and whilst I cannot verify the assumptions I can sense there is a truth behind it.

So for now my chances of a future in China look bleak. I will persevere as this is an opportunity I feel would serve me well. But once again it leaves me with a question mark on my lips when the question - "So what next?" is directed at me.

I'll keep you posted..but please read on as the subject is quite interesting.

"Something extraordinary is happening in China...
and we are not talking about the Olympics. Rather, Chinese officials have been clamping down on visa applications and implementing bureaucratic impediments to new and renewed visa applications under the guise of pre-Olympic security.

In some ways, Beijing’s plan for a safe and secure Olympics appears based on the premise that if no one shows up, there can be no trouble. But placing restrictions on the movement of managers and employees of foreign businesses operating in China, even if for a limited time as Chinese officials have been at pains to reassure, makes little sense from the standpoint of gaining political and economic benefits from hosting the Olympics. Something just isn’t right" Continued here...

Credit for this article goes to : http://www.stratfor.com

(NOTE: I can hear some of you ask what the hell qualifies me to teach english? Apparently being native, with related experience and qualifications entitles you to a role teaching the English language to the youths of China. I'm currently hammering through my TEFL Qualification whilst trying to correct all those poor speaking habits I've developed over the years. )