random pix: wending photos

Being an island with beaches all around, Xiamen is perfect for awesome wedding photos. The way Chinese do them is a bit different though... They take professional photos of just the bride & groom waaaaay before the wedding, wearing clothes that aren't theirs (a few costume changes' worth) and in places they aren't actually getting married. It's phenomenal to watch. Often times with beers. Free entertainment!

Yes, "Wending" photos for everyone!

More than 20 couples on the same stretch of beach taking photos? No problem. At this beach, it happens every day.

Not going to lie, I want to do this.

Ignore the cute animal meeting, there is actually a couple in the background.

Same goes here. Why is he on a horse? Don't you want to be on a horse?

The junkyard wedding photos I do find a little strange. They're 100 yards from a beautiful beach... are they lost?

visa lording: yep, there seriously was more

My school in Xiamen began working on my visa paperwork (to the best of my knowledge) in July when I committed to work for them beginning in September. They were asking me for pictures and copies of things, so I was thinking I'd get here and it would be ready. Once you already have a work visa in China, paperwork can just be transferred over, so after the first Hong Kong embassy visit, you never need to go again.

When I got here, the paperwork was all still in the works, but after a few weeks they told me they needed a "recommendation letter" from my old school (it's actually just a standard form they need filled out and stamped). With that, they could transfer my Foreign Expert Certificate and viola, I'm an expert and can get my Residence Permit and be legal again.

When I left Songyuan, and all of SAGE English School's terrible bullshit, with my visa finally in hand, I assumed that their influence on my life was over. I was still careful though; a coworker of mine there was planning on leaving (due to the usual bs with visa/hours/pay/etc.), so I had talked her into moving to Xiamen as well since she was leaving anyways. She made a midnight run and left the school with no word, which didn't help matters. I made sure not to post any pictures of us together on facebook (I'm friends with a few of the Filipino teachers that have been there forever and are friends with the VP), so as far as tangible proof goes, I had done nothing to harm their school and was actually the only person in the past nine months that had successfully completed a teaching contract.

Unfortunately, my new school didn't tell me about the recommendation letter until two days after I felt safe enough to post the first picture. Eek. So I emailed the owner and the VP asking them for the letter and crossed my fingers.

To my surprise and delight they said it was no problem and told me one of the school's errand runner guys would help me out when he got back from holiday. I emailed the guy and cc'd them and sent him messages on QQ as well and then waited. And waited.

I emailed the VP a few times to ask when the guy would be back to help me, she told me to contact him directly and gave me his phone number. I called and texted him and still nothing. Finally, after three weeks of runaround, he messaged me back on QQ saying that he wouldn't help me because I said something bad about the school and everyone knew. When I answered that the school owner had actually told him to help me, I got this email from the school's owner.

What?!? Leaving out the random std and criminal bits (again, what???), SAGE Education Group has quite the negative reputation to begin with without me needing to say anything, both in Songyuan and online. Aaaaand this was the point at which I actually threw up my hands, exaggerated cartoon style, and said screw it.

I told my new school that the old one wasn't going to do the letter. I had told them from the start that I was concerned about the old one saying no, and I kept updating my boss, so she wasn't surprised and had found a way around it by the time I broke the news.

Yay new school, yay being away from crazy town and yay being legal right out of the gate!