With today being the first day of the first week of classes this spring semester, I thought it only appropriate to state why I would work here again, even if I had never heard of the university before. By the way, we’re called CUP (China University of Petroleum) or Zhongguo Shiyou Daxue (literally, China Petroleum University). While we do flaunt our petroleum major, we do also have other majors in the sciences and even the arts. But back to the original question, why should you work at CUP?

1. Prestige – Now I’m not one for too much prestige. But with CUP being one of the top 3 universities in Shandong Province, which has over 90 million people, I would say … well done, CUP, well done. If they had wanted to be more prestigious, they probably wouldn’t have chosen me, but I’m not complaining.
2. Location – At our university you can take a 5-minute walk to the bay or 15-minute bus ride to the beach. Not bad at all. And once you’re tired of bumming on the beach, you can climb Xiao Zhu Shan or shop at the multiplicity of stores downtown. Quite simply, Huangdao has it all.
3. Teachers – What happens when you put a British gent, two American ruffians, an Australian couple, and Filipino in a room? You get to meet all the teachers at CUP. We may be diverse in age and race, but we have a great time together. It probably helps that Vera is such a phenomenal cook. But that’s just the icing on the cake, as it were.
4. Lodging – Since we came, the administration has decided to build new housing for us and the foreign students. Provided we live on one of the upper floors, we’ll have a splendid view of the bay and ocean, and I won’t have to stare at the library each night. I’ve even heard there may be Western food there. But that’s only hearsay.
5. Students – Let’s face it, if you’re a great teacher and you have terrible students, your life will rot. I have been blessed with great students who have endured a mediocre teacher. And I believe I have slowly gained confidence teaching here. But for the real test, I should hand out a teacher evaluation. Perhaps I will do that this semester.

Despite my inherent bias, I don’t think you can deny that CUP is a great place to work. While I only gave 5 reasons to work here, I could have continued if I wanted to. So if you’re a bored teacher back in your home country or a lonely teacher in China, don’t forget to check out CUP, a university flowing in petroleum and sporting some decent English teachers too.

*This is not a marketing scheme. Nor is this an ad. And no, I don’t get paid for this. But for those who believe I should get paid, we’ll have to meet later.