|
Monday, 17 July 2006 |
I'm not sure what you mean by "scam" here, but I never felt gypped when I traveled to China with the Buckland Institute. I signed a contract with Buckland in which they promised to give me certain things (among which were a declared-upon salary at the school, an apartment at the school with "good" living standards [what good means, I can't remember], insuring I got paid a portion of my airfare before leaving China [not the full airfare as I was only there for six months], and resolving any breakdowns that happened in my town or with my school). They fulfilled every commitment and were available for me to contact whenever I had a problem. Because of those things, I assessed that this wasn't a scam, and have recommended this program since to others as I trust it. Now from what I read, your claim is that it is a scam because they put you in one of the poorest regions of China and Owen isn't English but is a Chinese man who learned English to bring teachers over and make money off of them. Now if that is how you define scam, then yes it is. I taught at a school in Guangxi Province (a poor minority-filled [non-Han] region of China). But I, after having been at my school in Baise for a week or less, was very happy I was put there. It is a region of poor, but very generous people. I was in a town that was "old China" transitioning very quickly to modern China. I was honored to have experienced that moment in history. As for the other claim that Owen (who, even though he is Chinese, speaks English very well) learned English to start a business to bring English teachers into China, okay. Fine. Why do I care why someone started their business? What mattered to me, and why I didn't consider this program a scam, was I traveled to China, signed a contract, and Buckland fulfilled the terms of that contract. Now, if you had an experience otherwise where they promised you certain things and didn't pay you the amount promised, or you assess that it is a scam based on other criteria, fine. I just thought people who are thinking of traveling to China, and trying to filter through the scams to find the good programs, should be made aware of this perspective. As for validating my statement (as I feel I should do since, Rog, you said in your post, "ALL positive feedback online has been posted by the Buckland con-artists themselves. Anyone who knows these scammers would never recommend them - not even to an enemy - ever."), you can google me if you wish. I am an American currently living in Berkeley, California. I originally lived in Vermont and went to college at Harvard University. Good luck to those of you thinking of traveling to China. It was a wonderful experience for me and I hope you find it to be one as well....
Read more at: . |
