Last week my company called me and said they needed me to go to a small city in western Hubei. This presented a problem, because I already work five days a week in Wuhan. They said they would pay me some additional money and cover my expenses.
I demanded more money because the amount they offered would mean that I would be working 7 days a week at a reduction in the rate I receive currently for each day I work.
This kind of a turn of affairs. For a period during most of November and December, I was working on 3 days a week.
Needless to say, I did not bring up my previous work schedule.
Back in Janaury and February, I did some additional work for the company that they had neglected to pay me. I was therefore leery of doing ALOT of additional work without an agreement as to my increased wages.
Basically, they agreed to the larger amount, but my contract did not require them to pay the amount to me. Given their neglect in paying me for previous additional work I decided to execute a modification agreement to my employment contract. After some explaining, they agreed.
The result of all of these high pressure employment negotiations was that I travelled to Shiyen yesterday with my trusty new chinese handler. As you may recall, my new chinese handler is very petite at 4 foot something. We are quite a sight.
Shiyen is not an ancient city like Wuhan. While Wuhan is 5,000 years old, SHiyen was created as an industrial city in the early 1970s. It is alot smaller than Wuhan.
Shiyen is about a four hour drive from Xi'an, where I want to go see the Terracotta soldiers. It is in the mountains near the Wudangshan.
I was greeted by the headmaster of the school when we arrived at the school. He took us for a tasty lunch of "Shuai Jiu Rou Pian", some steamed Hubei vegetables and some tasty dumplings.
The school is a high school and has about 3,000 students. It is not as exclusive as the middle school where I live in Wuhan.
I found that the students here don't have the same english level as the middle school students in Wuhan. They are very nice and polite though.
The accommodations here in Shiyen are MUCH better than in Wuhan. My apartment in Wuhan is cramped by comparison. Here in Shiyen, my apartment has a washing machine in the unit, has a kitchen, has TV/DVD and cable and has much better furnishings.
It is also ALOT quieter here. I woke up to birds singing and silence. Wuhan has a constant vibration and sounds from the highway reach my apartment. The air is alot cleaner here.
I don't want to move here though. I really want to go to Shanghai. The school here in Shiyen is a hike from anything. Unlike in Wuhan, there is no Mac Donalds or Starbucks down the street. I doubt there is a Starbucks in Shiyen.
I have one class today and then am going back to Wuhan. I will probably get back home at 10:00 PM. I am very glad I had my Laoban execute a modification contract.
I demanded more money because the amount they offered would mean that I would be working 7 days a week at a reduction in the rate I receive currently for each day I work.
This kind of a turn of affairs. For a period during most of November and December, I was working on 3 days a week.
Needless to say, I did not bring up my previous work schedule.
Back in Janaury and February, I did some additional work for the company that they had neglected to pay me. I was therefore leery of doing ALOT of additional work without an agreement as to my increased wages.
Basically, they agreed to the larger amount, but my contract did not require them to pay the amount to me. Given their neglect in paying me for previous additional work I decided to execute a modification agreement to my employment contract. After some explaining, they agreed.
The result of all of these high pressure employment negotiations was that I travelled to Shiyen yesterday with my trusty new chinese handler. As you may recall, my new chinese handler is very petite at 4 foot something. We are quite a sight.
Shiyen is not an ancient city like Wuhan. While Wuhan is 5,000 years old, SHiyen was created as an industrial city in the early 1970s. It is alot smaller than Wuhan.
Shiyen is about a four hour drive from Xi'an, where I want to go see the Terracotta soldiers. It is in the mountains near the Wudangshan.
I was greeted by the headmaster of the school when we arrived at the school. He took us for a tasty lunch of "Shuai Jiu Rou Pian", some steamed Hubei vegetables and some tasty dumplings.
The school is a high school and has about 3,000 students. It is not as exclusive as the middle school where I live in Wuhan.
I found that the students here don't have the same english level as the middle school students in Wuhan. They are very nice and polite though.
The accommodations here in Shiyen are MUCH better than in Wuhan. My apartment in Wuhan is cramped by comparison. Here in Shiyen, my apartment has a washing machine in the unit, has a kitchen, has TV/DVD and cable and has much better furnishings.
It is also ALOT quieter here. I woke up to birds singing and silence. Wuhan has a constant vibration and sounds from the highway reach my apartment. The air is alot cleaner here.
I don't want to move here though. I really want to go to Shanghai. The school here in Shiyen is a hike from anything. Unlike in Wuhan, there is no Mac Donalds or Starbucks down the street. I doubt there is a Starbucks in Shiyen.
I have one class today and then am going back to Wuhan. I will probably get back home at 10:00 PM. I am very glad I had my Laoban execute a modification contract.
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