Sure brah only the stupid people end up being unhappy. uh huh.
I suppose one could make the same claim about people who are unhappy in the US following the same unlogic.
I didn't say that. You can't point out where I said that.
I think I said something along the lines of...
No one cares if you die alone - your happiness - your responsibility.
There are skills involved in teaching English but many employers don't give a shit as long as you are white and show up on time and mostly sober, especially in China.
Not true at all.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
There are plenty of jobs that pay good money in China for foreigners with related qualifications.
Is that you, do you have a degree?
Do you have a related MA?
You can't turn up and be white for these jobs.
There are lots of joint venture places operating out of China these days, NYU-Shanghai being the latest. Do you think you can turn up and be white if you got a job there?
Also it is repeated continuously that teaching English means jack and shit back home aside from the generic "I am international" and that levels out after about a year.
WHO CARES ABOUT BACK HOME?
You're back home right now, how is that working out? Have you found a job since the last post you made where you quit your job because some work colleague was talking about his time in Thailand and you couldn't handle it for some reason.
However all those people who have taught English and have come back don't know what they are talking about I guess. Is there a skill, sure, but nobody gives a shit once you get back home and too many employers don't give a shit over there which would explain why the pay doesn't increase that much and you can get a job without even a 100 ESL training program.
I am not going back home. Not everyone goes back home, but going to teach ESL is better than being on the dole, better than working at a supermarket stacking shelves, better than working in a call centre.
Go abroad and play video games on your time off - yeah, what a waste of time.
Go abroad and get a decent TOPIK/HSK/JPL level and put that on your CV - folk stop laughing then.
I've run Trivia games in front of about 100 people, been in front of a few hundred proctoring exams [different I know], being in front of a 100 anything does scare me BTW.
So what? What good is any of that doing you now? Nothing.
Also again with this bullshit about how you can't know anything without being there.
In this case, what you read on the internet means NOTHING.
According to Yohan EVERYONE gets divorced, never mind that he admits the national stats are 68% for urbanites in his country [which may or may not be true considering it's HA]. People say the same thing about the US.
Personal experience means jack and shit. I gather experiences from many people and the comments of people of those statements.
But hey lets play your game. Almost nobody gets divorced in Canada because that is what I see and don't tell me any stats about 40% because I don't know these people and therefore it can not be true. That is how you "You are not there so you don't know" people sound like.
I don't think Yohan has ever said 'EVERYONE gets divorced'
And I have never ever said 'Almost nobody gets divorced in Canada' so let's not play that game.
Example
":This ridiculous strawman argument keeps popping up for some reason.
I don't know ANYONE who is making six figures back home.:"
So nobody makes 6 figures because you don't know anyone making 6 figures. Right. Sure brah.
I KNEW YOU WOULD SAY THAT - I KNEW IT.
I SAID...
I DON'T KNOW ANYONE MAKING SIX FIGURES.
NOT
THERE IS NOBODY MAKING SIX FIGURES BACK HOME.
Of course there are people making six figures, seven figures even - eight and nine figures.
I'll never make six figures - it is just fantasy - nobody I know where I live makes six figures, I live in a very working class part of England.
Are you making six figures? I doubt you are barely making five - if you have a job that is
Second of all, I noticed you used the term strawman arguement. I am pretty sure it doesn't mean what you think it means.
Third. I clearly said he lost 6 figures because he couldn't sell his shit and not his income. The markets were quite volatile when he was overseas.
But since you want to strawman me. Yes I do know someone who makes 6 figures as well as some I suspect make 6 figures, at least their McMansion suggests so. I have a cousin who makes 6 figures overseas in the Oil industry, there are doctors on my father's side of the family. Hell I know a girl who an unrelated collage degree who passes a pretty simple exam and is going to make 55K starting, it will go to 75 in the second year plus bonuses. Wouldn't be surprised if she is cracking 6 figures within 5 years of starting in the field.
So where should I send my shit, or will you be picking it up?
Forget your mate and his six figures, are you making six figures?
Do you have a job even, the last one you quit because you were going to start crying because your work colleague was talking about living in Thailand.
You aren't ever going to make six figures in Horsebutt Alberta - where the only jobs that seem to be available to you (your words) are call centres that don't want to employ you.
So tell me - where is your six figure salary coming from?
But you don't know any of these people so they don't exist. Sure Yohan I mean Yick, whatever you say.
No I don't - no, so I am not missing out by being abroad - it's simple as that.
As for the language thing, they are brutal hard, at least those are. I've put in some efforts, almost finished RTK before I decided to switch to Chinese so save the attitude.
The point is they are very difficult languages, about 3.5 to 4K hours to reach the HSK6 ot JLPT N1 level. Many times on the language forums people say those levels are not exactly fluent. They are not considered C2 level. 4000 hours. According to that US gov foreign language training institute Korea, Japanese and Chinese take about 2200 of class time [mulitply by 1.7] to get to a high functioning level almost 4K hours. The Rule of 7 guy has lived for ages in Japan with study and still refers to his level as that of [from memory] a 5 year old or a retarded 7 year old, I am sure he exaggerates but still.
They are difficult - SO WHAT?
Yes, you will probably never get native like fluency. Look up Julien Gaudfroy - he spent 10 hours a day for FIVE YEARS learning Chinese - that's what it takes.
Nothing can be done about it. It's hard, what do you want anyone to do?
Let me just explain something from what I know about you (in your own words)
You aren't really cut out for going abroad.
You wouldn't last five minutes in China or even Japan - where it is meant to be easier.
The idea that you are better off not learning the language in Japan both to keep your ignorance of what is really going on and to retain your performing circus monkey status seems to come up quite a bit.
Also my father was talking to an Argentine guy in Japan who spent several years in China. He said he could not learn Chinese in that time but in a similar amount of time was able to pick up [some?] Japanese. Another fellow who went to Taiwan with lots of linguistic studlyness and couldn't pick up Chinese at all. Japanese and Korean you can just pound hard at 'er but Chinese seems to be a different animal, some pick it up, some don't try and some can't seem to figure it out.
Also when will you have to time to learn the language to anything beyond the basic level, there are people who have gone overseas to teach English only to find their local language skills erode. 40 hours a week, plus decompression, plus transit, sleeping, eating, shiting etc. You could learn it before you get there, but you better pick the right country and either way, huge opportunity cost. I am currently going out with a Chinese girl and although she has been here for 20 years her English doesn't really allow for smooth conversation and it kinda sucks. I could see it sucking being on the other side of the equation.
Also I find your reaction, you don't really get what I am saying. You are going off putting down people who won't go overseas. I am just pointing out that it isn't as simple as all that.
It's not simple, but you do it anyway, you are just making excuses on why you can't go, from knowing what I know about you - there is nothing to stop you. You live with your father, you are long term unemployed, you live in a small town where the local employers have blocked you off, the last job you quit because you had a mental breakdown because a colleague was rubbing Thailand in your face and you couldn't handle it.
But you are calling people (and you did) complete and utter losers for going abroad - because you are one and are considering it.
Let's not judge everyone by your - admittedly - low standard of life.
People who move to Asia range from Jim Rogers to Winston Wu - but at least they all got off their arse and made the move.
Anyone can be an armchair fullback and tell everyone why and what should be done - do it - and then come back and tell us.
Speaking of Strawman
"I suggest you don't do either - no decent girl is going to marry you based on two week sojourns"
I never said anything like that. I was thinking along the lines of going some place for a few years then coming home or trying the arranged marriage market in India.
Listen bwana.
You aren't going to last two months abroad.
Some people can handle and some people just cannot.
You have no real desire to leave Horsebutt Alberta - so just stay right there.
You had a near breakdown and quit your job because of some arsehole who came back from Thailand was crowing about it.
Do you think you are going to last working in China?
f**k off!
Best thing for you to do is stay right there and hope to Christ this relationship with your girl keeps going.
"But if you are unhappy, single, a shit life in Canada and you want to move abroad but find that everything is going to go to shit before ever even trying it to see where you fit in the scheme of it, then you are a bigger bigger loser (and it isn't a word I like to use) than anyone abroad having a go."
Again a complete misreading of what I posted. Going abroad is on my radar but I am aware of the difficulties. Why the hell are you slamming me for having done my research for f***s sakes. Is it really better to go overseas blissfully unaware... you know like those stupid people you refer to at the top of the post.
If my situation warrants it, I am willing to take the jump once I get some shit settled. However I am not some sort of pollyanna who thinks it will be easy to do. It is hard as balls and the risk of failure is high. Those are the realities.
It is EXACTLY what you implied when you wrote it, in your crappy, passive aggressive Canadian way.
f**k you! You've not got what it takes to make it abroad. Not everyone has but you certainly aint.
And you called me and my post out as bullshit - I am abroad now as is Yohan, you aint - you word means shit until you go out there and live what we live.
But it will never happen.
This is our conversation as I see it, modified for humour.
Anyone whose life sucks and doesn't go overseas is a Candy a** Queer Fag.
But going overseas presents many difficulties and most people fail so it isn't a cure all. It's an option but one I hope I don't have to take.
You are a Candy a** Queer Fag, heat, pollution, years learning a hard as balls language or being unable to function like a native, tax issues, employment issues are nothing, just do it, do it.
You have very little going for you in your life.
Do you have a university degree?
If you do, you are risking NOTHING by going abroad.
Let's just have a rundown of your life.
Live with dad
Long term unemployed
Horsebutt Alberta has no jobs and what jobs there are - they aren't employing you.
You can't keep a job because you have breakdowns over stupid shit
You are worried about making six figures though you are currently unemployed (if that has changed then you
are making buttons).
So, let me just ask you, what's the risk?
My life was crap back in England by the way - but I had more going for myself than you seem to have admittedly.
I don't think anyone living overseas now would swap their existence for yours.
Because your existence is crap.
So what are you being cautious for?
Here are two truths.
You wouldn't last two months abroad - based what you have written about yourself - never mind the language - probably one of the easier parts about living abroad.
You aren't cut out for it, forget it.
Stay RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.
And maybe your six figures might come your way on a lottery win.