1. What sort of things are within walking distance of campus? For example, is there a large supermarket (like Carrefour or Dennis), or just small local ones? Is there a wet market? Any places of note?
On Campus

1. 2 Waka Supermarkets
2. 15+ Restaurants (Chinese, Koren, Vegetarian, American)
3. 2 Bakeries (not like home, they use non-dairy cream for icing and oil (not butter) for croissant sticks)
4. 5 Pearl Tea Places (one serves good coffee)
5. Q Berry (Frozen Yoghurt Bar)
6. Barbers
7. Nail Salon
8. 6 Small Supermarkets
9. 4 China Mobile Shops and China Unicom ,
10. Hospital
11. 4 Photo Copy Stores and California Love Photo Booth/Printing
12. Box Stores (students rent out sections of the store to sell variety of items)
13. Music store (guitars, sheet music for sale)
14. 3-4 fruit stores
15. Post Office (pick-up international mail)

Near Campus/5 minutes walk
1. Coffee house
2. Internet Cafes
3. Pizza Store
4. Ice Cream Store
5. A-1 Market (supermarket)
6. NEW supermarket foreign favorites (butter, avocados, brown rice, button mushrooms)
7. Outdoor fruit markets
8. Christian Bookstore
9. Flower Store
10. 8 Barber Shops/Salons
11. Bike/moped rentals
12. Scenic/Amusement Park

Downtown/5-10 minutes by taxi, bus, bike
1. Dico's (like KFC)
2. Peoples' Park (performances, dancing)
3. Larger Waka Stores
4. Furniture Market
5. Kitchen Cabinet Stores
6. Organic Farm Restaurant
7. Hot Pot Restaurants
8. Baby Clothes Stores
9. Athletic Shoe Section
10. Indoor Mall
11. China Bank, China Construction Bank, China Agricultural Bank branch offices

ZhengZhou/60 minutes by taxi/van, 90 minutes by bus
1. Food
 

2. ZhengZhou attractions
 

3. We love Metro in ZZ for buying imported food!

4. Walmarts, Carrefour, and Dennis are in ZZ, too.

2. Do I get time off?
Yes. In addition to most of the faculty having every Friday, Saturday and Sunday off there are many holidays, too. You will get a week off in early October for National Week, a winter break from just around Christmas until early February (depending upon the lunar calendar), and three days off in early May for Labor Day. The academic calendar will be provided upon your arrival. To top it off these 6 out of the 8 weeks of holiday are paid holidays.
Teachers receive 5 paid sick days each year.

3. Am I allowed to bring pets?
You cannot bring pets from home. Generally, pets are not allowed in your apartment; but there have been exceptions for fish and turtles in an aquarium.

4. Do I get to travel?
Yes! Teachers often travel on weekends and holidays. Example: Beijing is an 8-hour train ride one way or a 1-hour plane flight. Teachers get about four weeks of holiday in January/February (dates vary in accordance to the lunar calendar) and can go anywhere during that time including back to their own country (but at their own expense).

5. Can I work out?
The host university has various athletic facilities. There is an on-campus gym, basketball and tennis courts, an Olympic sized track, a golf driving range and a swimming pool available. In addition to university facilities, there are also well-equipped gyms available near campus for a nominal fee.

6. Can I be involved in sports?
Yes! Basketball is the most popular sport, with many students participating in pick-up games. Tennis, golf, swimming, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, soccer, badminton, American football and running on the track are also common. There is also an on-campus gym that is available to the teachers.

7. What is there to do for fun?
You will have a lot of time to enjoy the community of your students and the other foreign
teachers. Together you can travel, work out, watch movies, go to karaoke, shop, play sports, pool, or ping-pong, eat out, get massages, go to the roller rink, etc. Many people enjoy a leisurely bike ride around town. You can rent bicycles outside campus for under 50 cents. The community is always looking for teachers to lead or help out with various extracurricular activities such as speech team, music, or drama. Whatever your interest, you'll find it available, or, you can make it happen!

8. Where will I live?
Single faculty will get your own furnished two room apartment in the Foreign Teacher's building. Be sure to check out the Community tab under Housing to get a detailed description and see photos of your new home!
9. Does the hot water get turned off?
Good eye! Due to a problem with sedimentary buildup in the boilers, hot water is regulated. It is on from 6:00am - 8:00am in the morning and 5:00pm - 11:00pm. Most teachers have opted to have their own hot water heater installed when they arrive. The cost is about $100 US. You might really want to think about it!

10. What does a typical day look like?
Your class schedule will vary by semester and so will your daily schedule. Early risers might get up at 6:30am to have a hot shower before the hot water turns off at 8am. Breakfast in the dining hall is from 7-8 daily, or you could choose to eat a light breakfast in your apartment. Classes may run from 8-10 and then 10-12, after which you would head back to the foreign teacher building for lunch. If you have afternoon classes that day, you might teach from 1:30-3:30(summer time: 2:00-4:00) or 3:30-5:30(summer time: 4:00-6:00); you'll get your exact schedule once you are at the university. When you're not teaching you can go out with students for a meal, play sports (tennis, basketball, ping-pong, billiards, weight training, and track are among the students' favorites), explore the campus and the surrounding city, and learn Chinese, along with many other life-impacting activities.