The Story Thus Far

As you know, I am making all attempts to move to China and capitalize on my Mandarin ability and answer my ever-increasing need for adventure. However, plans to go East recently went south when I discovered the placement agency I was working with was a sham.

Back in September, when I was researching all the possibilities of teaching in China, I selected a placement agency named YAKUP International. The promised decent offers and the references all gave glowing reviews. I applied, was accepted, and supplied them with the necessary documents. Everything was settled at the end of October, all that was left was the arrival of my work permit which was due by the end of December.

When the first week of January came around and my work permit had yet to arrive, i began to get a little worried. I initiated attempts to contact the company, but no answers came. After my phone calls to their numerous numbers hit dead lines, I went back to the message boards I had done my initial research on.

The community of ESL teachers abroad is very helpful to one another, especially when it comes to protecting other teachers from bunk deals and troublesome schools. When I was researching their various message boards in September, I could find no poor review of YAKUP, and as such, decided they must be a pretty decent racket.

Well, starting in December, posts on the boards revealed just what a racket they were. Numerous teachers showed and found no jobs waiting for them, and one even had her luggage held for ransom. At this point it became apparent I needed to find a new job, and quick.