@AlexKMG In Oz we (at least us 70年后) often use the term bucks for talking about the AUD, also so do the Kiwis,, but to be fair I also thought the use of bucks for talking about CNY costs a but strange.

In Oz the "dollar" or "bucks" is the AUD.

If the school gives you cash,,then its part of your income and needs to be taxed. If the school rents an apartment (their name is on the rental contract, not yours) for you and gets from the landlord or buys a fapiao then you can use that apartment without paying tax on the allowance.

If your rent is more than the allowance then get your school to rent the apartment and ask them to deduct the difference each month from your salary.

I agree with Alien, after a certain level of language understanding its much better to use the language you are learning as your language of instruction.

A good working knowledge of Pinyin is also useful for the teacher. When I was studying Chinese some of the older teachers didn't know Pinyin and this was a pain,,but it really forced us to use the dictionary.

I find it amazing that America adds pages to passports, is it the only country in the world that does this?

The Chinese government doesn't think Win 8 is safe, so that's why its not allowed on gov computers, they are scared of back door action it seems.