Well the summer literally flew by, and the first day of school here in China on Year 2 of the Dipont contract is right around the corner.
I arrived back in China on August 20 after fulfilling a very busy and productive summer. On the morning of August 21 I went out apartment hunting. I was able to find a good apartment - and it was only the 2nd one I looked at! I really wanted to stay in my old apartment, but the landlord sold it out from under me during the summer, so I had to move out as soon as possible (this was after several assurances from him that he was not going to sell the apartment and I could stay there as long as I wanted). I am now on the 19th floor of a 20 story apartment building (previously I was on the 11th),
and the complex is not quite as close as before, but definitely walkable (having said that, I have been riding my electric scooter in every day so far). It has wood floors, a bit unusual around here (and probably packed with formaldehyde), but has a much more homey feel. In typical fashion here, the bathroom and kitchen were incredibly dirty and I have spent a lot of time making them decent. So I moved into the apartment on the 22nd (took about 4 or 5 trips - accumulated some junk!), and then promptly had to fly out to Wuxi for the annual induction ceremony for Dipont (the company I work for). The workshops and meetings lasted for 2 days, but we spent 3 nights there. The hotel we stayed in was incredible - very large and literally a maze to get around. Rooms were huge and luxurious. The downside - it was in the middle of nowhere and to get into town involved a long taxi ride. Wuxi is not on my top ten list, so I just stayed in the hotel...
So we got back to Xi'an on the 26th and we were free until the 30th to get settled and sorted out. On the 31st, we started our 3 teacher prep days (Aug.31, Sept.1, Sept.2). So here I find myself on the 2nd no better prepared to start teaching than when I arrived! I've been helping the new teachers figure everything out (part of my new duties), get them computers (still not successful with this one) and generally get my head around everything. The internet has been very spotty with us so far and has led to a lot of frustration. Rumor has it that the Chinese government was cracking down on internet filters during the Beijing World Games that were going on - it is over now so maybe things will settle down...
It has been tough to get started on the prep because they haven't finalized our classes, teaching schedule, and many of our Chinese cohorts that we work with are not around yet due to various activities. And so it goes...
It is a late start this year due to a new national Chinese holiday - September 3 is the 70th celebration of the end of the Anti-Japanese war. And they are making a 3 day holiday out of it by extending it to the 4th and 5th as well. So that means the first day of school is Sept. 6. What? That's a Sunday? Who keeps track of these things?? We also have a meeting on the afternoon of the 5th (part of the "holiday") which is the first time that ALL of the teachers of our school (foreign and Chinese) will be there. So the afternoon before the first day of school is our first opportunity to talk with our Chinese colleagues about how we're going to divide up the teaching duties. Some things just don't seem to change....
Well, I had to get my feet wet and get started on the blog for this year. I don't know yet of any specific plans for us ex-pats for this holiday. I'll update on the new staff next time - we have 7 new teachers this year and it looks like a good crew - from all over the world.
The weather has been hot and muggy every day. In the 90's. The a/c in my new apartment works great in my bedroom, not so good in the living area. Looking forward to the cool down!!
The Chinese want to know, who is this Trump guy??
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