The Liberal Arts Major's Lament
Dec. 3rd, 2010 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mistersandmanI just got off the phone with James Swihart, co-director of the Teaching and Learning Program in China, a program that works in conjunction with the Shenzhen government to teach English to Chinese students aged 7-18. The interview was a lot easier than I expected. In fact, it wasn’t much of an interview at all! I’ve never been to a job interview where I was expected to ask more questions than the interviewee. Did they think I wouldn’t read their website’s FAQ twenty times in preparation for our conversation? On the whole, the interview would have gone smoother if I hadn’t tried to use his answers to talk about my experiences.
He seemed like a nice guy, though. He described the work permit/visa process as “a pain in the ass" and who can't appreciate that kind of honesty? I think he and his program are still coming to terms with the fact that more and more Americans are studying Chinese and living abroad in China as part of their college experience. Since he ascended to the co-director position in 2005, the number of people with Chinese language experience (which is to say, at least one semester of Chinese in college) has risen from 20% to 50%.
…
I really hope I get in. Lord knows I’ll never cut it as a YouTube comedian:
He seemed like a nice guy, though. He described the work permit/visa process as “a pain in the ass" and who can't appreciate that kind of honesty? I think he and his program are still coming to terms with the fact that more and more Americans are studying Chinese and living abroad in China as part of their college experience. Since he ascended to the co-director position in 2005, the number of people with Chinese language experience (which is to say, at least one semester of Chinese in college) has risen from 20% to 50%.
…
I really hope I get in. Lord knows I’ll never cut it as a YouTube comedian:
