First Week in China- ZUST

For those of you who will be working at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (ZUST), it is a beautiful university located West of West Lake. You can take a bus to the city (310 bus and the 41 or the J12 on the weekends only) and it will cost you 4 yuan. Yesterday, it took me 55 mins to get there, but it can take as long as 2 hrs depending on traffic. You can also take a taxi there which takes about 40 mins and 45-60 yuan. There is a school bus that goes from the city to ZUST that is free, but I haven't figured out the schedule yet.

Most of the foreign teachers are 40-60 yrs old and there are only a handful of them. It seems like most of them are married.

Class size ranges from 25-60 students. Each "class" lasts 2 periods (45 mins each). I went to observe students at Hangzhou Dianzi University (HDU) and it was surprising how much they participated in class. Most of my students are international trade/econ and engineering majors so they don't like to participate in English-speaking activities. Classes start as early as 8am and the last period of the day ends at 8:55pm.

Unlike the city (near West Lake), the area around ZUST is not very developed. Some restaurants have pictures on the menu so you can point to what you want and if you're really lucky, you'll find a restaurant with English translations. Those places are usually cleaner and a little more expensive. There are a lot of western commodities you won't be able to find out here, so you'll have to make a trip to the city for things like bleach, oil (non-Chinese oil), western food, etc. Students here at ZUST organize weekend shopping trips for international students and teachers, which is convenient.

Housing: All foreign teachers are provided housing on campus next to the foreign exchange students. The apartments are surprisingly spacious since the building used to be a hotel; however, because of the humid weather here in China, don't be surprised to find a little mold and a few insects waiting for you when you first arrive. Standards of cleanliness are not the same here as in the States, so I spent about 2 days cleaning. Also, these guest houses were not made with kitchens, so the "kitchen" (closet turned kitchen) is a little hard to cook in. You are provided a microwave, toaster, hotplate, and washing machine. There is no wifi, but each room has one internet outlet you can connect to.



Unlike the city, you will not run into too many foreigners on the street or very many people who can or are willing to speak English to you, especially if you look Asian. Learning numbers and carrying a translator or dictionary on your smartphone with you at all times is very helpful.