Now I just need to get together the other requirements for my visa and the first part of all of this chaos is finished. Then I catalog all of my belongings and start selling them off, and somehow manage to finish my goal at work in good time. It never ends! But, for tonight I’m really happy. This course was rough, especially considering the fact that I’m working 80 hours a week. I’m really excited — this is my first tangible step toward getting to Shanghai since accepting the job.
“It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase ‘As pretty as an Airport’ appear.” — Douglas Adams 
(Image courtesy of I HATE AIRPORTS Flickr Pool, @tedesco57)
Airports, airline personnell and TSA are, if anything, just an illusion. There isn’t one part of any airport that seems to be done right. People are either falling asleep or they are going crazy, running as fast as they can. There are either no cabs when you need them, or an airport employee driving through the airport beeping at people to get out of the way. The seating and the odd cabinets that contain historical items of barely any significance all look second hand. Right now TSA is blasting a message about the importance of showing them your plastic bags of liquids. How can that really be important? Right now I’m watching an airline rep. try to satisfy a customer with a cancelled flight by rebooking her a departure out of Boston, free of charge. Only catch? That’s 60 miles away.
I hate airports. There’s nothing good going on here. Needless to say, as excited as I am about moving and flying to China, if I don’t get a mostly-direct flight, I’m probably going to go mad.
Considering the Patagonia Burrito Bag, and no, not only because I love burritos so much.
I’m moving to Shanghai, China in the fall. I’ve accepted a year long position teaching with the EF English First program. I’ve been with EF for almost 3 years. I’ll teach for one year with the intention of moving into recruitment and management of new teaching staff the year after. This is a pretty scary but really exciting move. There’s a lot going on, and lots to do, so I hope this helps me keep on track and organized. I’m told when you move like, 3,000 miles away that organization is critical. Have you seen me lately? That’s not a strong suit of mine. So here we go.
TEFL: 80% finished with a 93% in the class. I will be in a hotel in Providence this weekend helping two exchange students catch their flight on Sunday morning, so hopefully I will finish my class Saturday night. The class was supposed to be a 60 hour course. Saturday night will be my 5th day of study, so it’s a real cram session.
Visa: Tons of requirements. I don’t know about the shots yet, but I know that the swine flu has everyone in a heightened state in Shanghai:
This one is pretty well out of my control. By the end of the month I’ll have assembled a series of complicated documents and then the program and team in Shanghai already will secure the visa for me.
Flight: I’m in a really lucky position. Flying one way is pretty cheap. My current employer is giving me $300 toward my flight and my father is giving me 30,000 frequent flyer miles to bump me into first class. When I land and begin teaching, the total cost of my flight will be paid back to me over a series of pay checks.
Moving: I haven’t even started to think about this. Should I? Once my license is renewed, I’ll start donating as much of my stuff as possible, ideally selling off the expensive stuff. Ideally I’d like to raise around $1,000 to have as buffer for expenses.
That’s all for now. I’ll update more as this continues to barf unfold in my lap.
