My Experience Volunteering in China

Dear friends,



In the summer of 2004, I “participated” on a program to teach English in China. The program was hosted by Global Crossroad (GC) (www.globalcrossroad.com). I use the word “participated” reluctantly because nothing that was promised to me by GC was actually delivered.



According to the program promised on the GC website, I would volunteer to teach in an orphanage for ten days, and then the affiliate language school in China would take me on a tour around the Beijing area for four days. I applied to Global Crossroad in the early summer, and sent in my check for about US$800. I arrived in China in July to find the affiliate language school a textbook fly-by-night operation. There was no orphanage and there were no children to teach. The director got me to teach his daughter and his friend’s daughter for free. The school didn’t even know about the tour I was suppose to take!



I quickly contacted Global Crossroad and asked that they rectify the situation. Obviously there was not much they could do from Louisiana. When I came home to America in August (quite poorer, since I had to pay for all the things that they said they would pay for!) I asked for my money back. They apologized for the inconvenience and promised they would send the money in the mail. As I write this in December, five months later, GC still has not released the funds.



This shoddy way of running a business has prompted me to write this post to see that no one else gets burned. And it is not the mis-management of my money. During the two weeks that I was affiliated with Global Crossroad’s program in China, I saw more examples of bad management.



1. For example, other teachers who arrived in China with me had no placement before they arrived. Often they would sit around the affiliate language school for eight hours a day, with no work and no pay, waiting for a local English school to call.



2. Global Crossroad is not too picky who it sends overseas. There was one boy with me with absolutely no teaching experience. He was just seventeen years old and not even graduated from high school. He was one of the victims fated to sit around the office all day. When I left two weeks later, he still did not have a job. Global Crossroad seems to adhere to the theory of pedagogy that states, “If your check clears, you’re a teacher.”



3. The schools in China did not want to hire people that looked exactly like them, even if they were citizens of Western nations and spoke English fluently. According to the affiliate language school in China, they repeatedly asked GC specifically not to send teachers of Asian descent. Yet GC kept sending teachers of Asian descent there to look for jobs. Again, these teachers sat around the office all day. When I talked to them about it, one said that Global Crossroad never mentioned it would be this tough for Asians to find a job here. One Chinese-American teacher had to leave the city and move to Hong Kong – at her own expense.



4. Finally, if you read what is “offered” on the website, you will find it is merely a placement service. There are no guarantees or standards for housing or jobs. Flights and visa work are your responsibility. You have to pay all that out of your own pocket. The hundreds of dollars you send to Global Crossroad is merely for the email address of a potential contact in China. That’s it. If you really want to teach overseas, I suggest doing a little research on the Internet and finding an email address on your own - and not dealing with GC at all.



For their part, GC has admitted its mistakes (though it still has not sent me my money!) and changed its affiliate language school in China. However, points 2, 3, and 4 above can be blamed solely on the office here in Louisiana – not on the affiliate in China!



If you are thinking of doing business with Global Crossroad, I strongly urge you to re-consider your decision.



If you have any questions concerning Global Crossroad, please feel free to email me at bhill at worcester dot edu



PS. For another Global Crossroad horror story, see: http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=58&threadid=609349&messid=5129735&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1


Update - June 09 2005:
Global Crossroad has assured me that they have re-structured their China programs and they are running under new management. This matter has been settled to my satisfaction.

 

Ok.... good to know.. I thought of doing sth like that a while ago.. seemed a bit shady at that time.. glad I didn't do it. Sorry that you lost so much money!

 

Good friggin timing, dude! I was *just* on their website not even 5 minutes ago! I want to volunteer in India at an orphanage in 2 years once I graduate, but its so hard to find a volunteer organization thats not charging me over $1000 for two weeks! I'm positive I can find my own food and housing for a hell of a lot cheaper.
Anywho, thank you so much for the warning!

 

the fact that they use a hotmial email just adds to the shifty quality

 

hehehe.. yeah.. hotmail doesn't really say 'we are professionals'.. although my dad uses hotmail for his one-person company as well.. but then again, he doesn't send people all over the world and he hardly ever uses email anyway

 

I've thought about doing it for a summer but I've never heard of a program where you have to pay unless you're unqualified and have no teaching experience. I applied for this summer but not through the company you mentioned.

 

I think it is really crazy the amounts they charge, by using somebody good intentions, just imagine the profit they make!! I know how cheap it is in Asia. I don't like greed and I don't like hypocrisy!

 

Um, James? You don't need to post this under every Global Crossroads thread...

 

i think james is a fake for sure, probably a global crossroads employee trying to do a cover up

 

No shit Sherlock

 

Oh Holy Moly....everyones got me feelin' a tad nervous bout this whole GC thingy. I am going to Sri Lanka courtesy of them on Feb 13th...i only paid $200 (not too much in the UK) and paid for my flight but don't really wanna get left at the airport on my own and have nowhere to stay! I mean, its not the end ofthe world or anything but it might annoy me a bit...

 

thats gotta suck man, they are some low life people wholl do anything for money. have faith in Karam, hehe.
peace vibes.

 

wow....wish i would have found this website five months ago. i went to china through global crossroad on a 'paid' teaching position...i experienced all and more of the things listened in the letter....i arrived in china with no job, thrown from one school to the next, finally placed at a school an hour and half from where they were housing me. i was not supplied with food, cooking utensils, or the local sightseeing trip promised to me through Global. i had to fight numerous times for fair pay, the contract was rinky dink as ever, and then they threw at me that to get my reimbersment of my air fare i must sign a six month contract...not five, as global had said. i had already booked a five month roundtrip ticket....and they refused to cover the charge of changing the date, even though they admitted it was their 'mistake'. global also fogot to mention all the additional expenses....paying for your heat, water, electric, gas, cable, internet,..even if you don't have a computer, or understand chinese you must pay for the cable and the internet. those expenses alone took over half my paycheck. china is a hard place to live, global doesn't make it any easier, regardless of how much money you pay them. better off taking the flight there without a set job...there are TONS of people looking for people with the mother tongue of English. you'll find something within the first week your there. i agree....global is nothing but money hungry scam artists!

 

So, Do you think I-to-I and Cross Culture are the best Volunteer Organizations?? Suggest me??

MS2000

 

Shit ---- I-to-I and Cross Culture!! They also suck volunteers' pocket more than Global. Why don't you guys do directly to developing countries as AJD suggested??.

However, for china careful buddy! Chinese are liars there are so many horrile stories.

Peace Prevails if we United

NCYE

 

I joined Global Crossroad program. When I arrived Africa, first they robbed my lagguages. They kept me 3 days in dark room with no room and foods. Later, they looted my all money/travel checkes. Later, When I learned that they were trying to sell me in Africa. I escaped secretely to London.
thanks God now I am save in UK

UKHero

 

I can't believe if this whole website is fucking joke, one organization doing bad publicity against another organization, a business rivalry at its extreme?

 

Ehm.. are you serious about this dude? If so, that's seriously fucked up.. did you sue them or anything? Sounds almost too 'out there' to believe it though.. can't imagine that happening.. damn..

 

I think UKhero is a fake for sure, probably a employee of global crossroad's competitors. No one can sell you just stop vomitting ... damn......

Andeeeeeeee