Viewing topic: Right you horrible lot!

Bobs12 is in a foul mood, so he's just going to rant at anyone that happens to be browsing the site at the moment.

For anyone thinking about coming to Russia for the wrong reasons, here's some mythbusting to put you off:

Myth 1: The girls are great.

Busted: No they're bloody not, they're all off their flippin' rockers and will drive you nuts.



Myth 2: It's cheap.

Busted: What's cheap? Beer? Consider a 30% increase on the price of groceries in the FIRST FRIGGING QUARTER - that's not cheap. Wages don't go up at that rate, unless of course you're Tim and know how to get a fabled expat job.

Fuel prices are climbing steadily, transport is getting ever more expensive, property prices are ridiculous, as is rent.



Myth 3: It's a fun place to live.

Busted: It's a pain in the arse living here. Authorities, bureaucracy, bullshit at every turn. Even Russians don't like it - they're leaving by the boatload.



Myth 4: Russians will revere you as a God because you're a foreigner.

Busted: Will they hell - they'll just ask you to buy them drinks. In return they might give you some nasty pig fat to eat, or some smelly dried fish.



Myth 5: Teaching English is fun.

Busted: Except when you have a split shift on a Saturday and just generally keep antisocial hours. It doesn't take long to realise that teaching students English is not like having a chat with your mates, and you start to crave some kind of companionship with a sentient being that doesn't ask, "where have you been yesterday?" or, "for whom are you ill?" (which in Runglish means, 'which team do you support'.


No, no, no. Unless you still have a damned good reason for coming here, I suggest that you change your ticket and go to the Bahamas before it's too late. And if you're already here, hell mend you

Okay, rant over. Bobs12 feel himselves better now

Valid reasons for actually wanting to come to Russia below, please!

I couldn't agree more! especially about the girls - my ex claimed she fell from a 3rd floor balcony and had severe concussion and all sorts, two years ago when we were apart, just to get me over pronto! when we split as I left spb, she told me the truth - she got bumped by a car and had broken her ankle! ! !

Sounds familiar!

Especially those all-girl classes at the Ben School - bloooooody hell.... trying to teach them past perfect while they're more interested in present simple for future meaning (what are you doing tonight? what are you doing tomorrow night? what are you doing at the weekend?)

My favourite reply to those questions was always 'sleeping'. Until one smartass girl replied, 'can I join you?'

Hilarious.

And I might buy a beer for the first person to spot the obvious mistake. Yep, bob's been out of the saddle for too long

pres - cont The beers are stacking up for me, next time i'm in Piter then eh pal

Congratulations! I'll buy a beer for you tomorrow night. And drink it in your absence

After a hard day/week/month on the chalkface you only need to change one noun and everyone will agree with the OP's sentiments.

Poland/France/Korea/China/the Middle east (no, forget that last one - you never meet any females and booze is hard to find here)

Oi! nobody drinks a beer on my behalf , hold-up.. i'll be there in winter again anyhoo, this time i'll give you a shout - unless you have for-filled a certain one of your ambitions by then

Well, I drank many, many beers on your behalf - so you owe me less when you come over next time

Well, I can't find anything to disagree with in the original post. But now that I think about it, concerning "bureaucracy" I think it does have it's good points. I mean I was able to ..er.. bribe shall we say, an official in Moscow last week in order to get some stuff done in a timely manor. I think that might be considered a good point!

So, what is good about this career? If the women are bad, split shifts are a hassle, and the pay is low, why give up western standard pay and lifestyle? mike

Hi Mike!

What is good about working as a teacher of English, (cos I wouldn't really call it a 'career', as such), is that you can experience a new country or even many countries, if you wish to travel a bit, and you can do so earning a living as you go.

Also, if you are sensible, you CAN actually make the same (or even more) income than a western salary (again - I don't really feel you can call it 'a salary' - as most of your work will just be as and when, especially when you are freelance).

I suppose that you have more of a self-employed status when you work for most schools, even though you may have a piece of paper purporting to be a contract. Even those who work worldwide for such organisations as the British Council don't really have 'a career' as a teacher. After all - what employer gives you only 2 or 3 years of work and then dictates that you have to move to live in another county and apply for a new teaching job if you want to continue working for them? The British Council trumpet their alleged status as an official global entity providing language classes worldwide, and then, when some teachers were cheeky enough to take them to court for unfair dismissal, withdrew quickly into their corporate shell and claimed merely to be a series of separate-entity schools working completely independently of each other.

You can find a lot more about the BC on the internet if you are interested.

Most schools which claim to 'employ' teachers on a contract don't really pay what you could call a salary, it is far too pitiful. If they have work, then you get to teach and then get paid (hopefully). Those who offer you a contract with guaranteed hours and income usually pay so badly and make you run around so much that you will soon find yourself wondering just why you do it....

Back to the plusses, though.... If you are successful in freelance teaching and running your own business (for that's how you should see it), then you are the BOSS and thus you can choose how much you work, how much you charge (subject to market forces), who you teach and how much holiday you take each year!!

Sounds good??.... Yeah, it is - potentially - but the bottom line IS exactly the bottom line.... You have to get out of bed in the morning, you have to be good at what you do and you have to make sure that you are constantly reviewing your 'productivity' to ensure that you will be earning enough to live comfortably...

The trouble, unfortunately, is that many people who come into the teaching business don't even attempt to do all these things and just look upon teaching English as being a quick way to earn a few bucks for the minimum of effort. They don't act professionally and they don't provide value for money in the service that they provide. Thankfully, such people usually don't last long in teaching but regrettably, this scenario has an effect on the way that all teachers of English - and the service that they provide, are perceived by students.

Finally, (because I have waffled on about this far too much already), as you have probably already guessed, I enjoy what I do very much.... It has enabled me to travel to a foreign country, it has enabled me to do many things not possible in my home country and to meet many new and very interesting people.

Should I wish to move on to another location or country then I would hope to be able to do so fairly easily because 1) I now have a wealth of teaching experience, 2) I have a few bits of paper saying officially that I actually know HOW to do it - and 3) GOOD teaching-of-English skills are constantly in demand world-wide...

(Actually, I often think I am cr*p - but (Hallelujah!) my many private students consistently seem to disagree...)