One more class today, then a four-day break to celebrate the Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon, and not a moment too soon. To borrow a line from Rodney, now I know why tigers eat their young. So, thank you ancient Xia and Shang dynasties 
— China Daily has a very good explanation of the Mid-Autumn Festival — and bring on the pomegranates, pomelos, cooked taro, water caltrope and, especially, moon cakes. Those are habit-forming.
In looking back on my experience thus far as an English teacher at Jianghai Polytechnic College, I hold these truths to be self-evident:
1. Don’t believe that no teaching experience is needed, as many ESL job ads claim. Classroom experience makes a big difference (translation: makes life a lot easier). At least you should do some sort of TEFL or TESOL coursework before coming to China, especially if you’re planning to teach older students. Personally, I don’t think it’s a substitute for real experience, but it can’t hurt, and will add to your qualifications if and when your school helps you apply for the “foreign expert license” that will enable you to obtain a work visa to stay in China for, say, a year.
2. “Don’t have to speak Chinese” to get a job. True. Some comfort level with the language, though, might be even more important than point No. 1. I worked with a Chinese tutor for several weeks before traveling from Raleigh, N.C., to Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province. Wasn’t enough.
It strikes me as absurd that someone with no teaching experience and no more than a few words of Mandarin in his head can teach English to 30-35 Chinese college students at a time. I’m putting myself to sleep.
3. Speak slowly, future ESL teachers. Then slow it down another 50 percent. I’m having a lot of trouble doing that. Chinese students who are supposed to have several years of English training can barely understand a word I’m saying. Many can speak no more than a few words.
I’ve expressed my frustrations over the difficulty connecting with students to my superiors in the foreign languages department, and they have sympathetically reminded me more than once that Jianghai students scored lower on their college entrance exams than any other students in China. Oh, that’s heartening. No wonder I was qualified for this job.
The China Rog-ect 