Why can’t they just tell us when the vacation starts?
Many teachers may find that getting straight answers from a school regarding exact vacation dates is difficult. So why can’t they just get organized and tell the teachers? The quick answer to this question is that they really don’t know when the vacation will start. The Chinese government will announce when the spring festival national holiday will fall every year a few months before it arrives. After this is known then the education council in your area needs to decide what days the schools will be free. After that happens the school you work at might have their own ideas, so the exact vacation dates might need to be adjusted yet again.
This organizational nightmare is not just seen in deciding what days to have a vacation. In fact, most decisions – big and small – at public schools in China can be long and drawn out due to the amount of bureaucratic red tape the decision must travel through. To make this situation worse, Chinese people are more likely to jump off the high dive and look to see if there is water in the pool on the way down.
The lesson is simple. Do your best to adapt to a flexible way of doing things. If you get angry and try to force the administration to be more organized and efficient it will likely end with ill feelings. Stay calm; be nice, and work to help your school be better as opposed to being critical of them.
This year spring festival starts on the 26th of January and most organizations have their vacation from the 26th to the 31st. Most schools’ vacations are longer. Good luck with getting an exact date for when you will come back after the holiday.