Finals are here!

CDIS is in day 2 of finals, and I am giving my first one this morning in a few minutes. There is a lot of grading still to do (grades due on Wednesday, which is also the day I have another final and is graduation!) so I tried to make the grading for these as easy as possible.

We went to the Korean restaurant last night, perhaps for the last time. Who'd have thought that you can pickle and flavor cabbage in so many ways...

Hope everyone in the US enjoyed their DAY OFF yesterday. At least this Friday is our last day of work, so I cannot complain too much!!

-alan

Banquet picture

Rachel and I donned our Chinese clothing for the end-of-the-year CDIS staff banquet. It was a fun night - buffet dinner, prizes, recognition, and goodbyes to departing staff. Rachel shed a few tears, but the overall mood of the night was celebratory.

This is the entire CDIS staff (+spouses)

These are the young couples - the Allmens, Spatas, and Brewers

On another note, I have not shaved since leaving for the spring trip, leaving me with some noticeable facial hair. While the weather and the wishes of my wife point me towards shaving soon, I wonder if this can be useful to me. Many have commented that it makes me look older/more distinguished, so would it behoove me to keep the chin hair for my upcoming job interviews? Could my would-be employers be psychologically swayed by this aspect of my appearance?

-alan

New tactics pay off

Update on the sale:

After having no customers in the first 3 hours, Rachel decided that it was time to be daring. The sale was advertised only within our school community, and since multiple families are leaving, the ratio of buyers to sellers is not in our favor.

So after our friend Amanda came to pick up the vacuum she ordered, she and Rachel went out to the street to solicit buyers amongst the passers-by.

15 minutes later, the door knocked and nearly 20 people were milling through our apartment. I don't know that we made a lot of money, but I do know that most of our stuff is now gone!!!

Just a few big ticket items left.

-alan

Job update

No news is bad news when it comes to job hunting.

Though our Yunnan trip significantly distracted me from my job hunt, I have redoubled my efforts in contacting schools. I had a second interview with a school this past week, and should hear the result within a few days. I like the school but am worried about the compensation levels.

For many of the other schools, I will likely have to wait for interviews until I am in Chicago. Many principals have given me that reply when I ask to talk about openings. I plan to head over to Chicago right away when we return, so hopefully I can have some interviews scheduled.

I have been reading Diane Ravitch's new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, which sets out a clear argument against the current manifestation of charters. Being outside the union, charters tend to demand more from their teachers than the traditional schools - and as such, they attract mostly young teachers and see higher turnover. Looking ahead to teaching job #3, I would prefer a school that does not have a revolving door faculty...teachers leave for a reason, and I would prefer my next step to be more stable if possible.

-alan

Moving sale!

We are 2 hours into our moving sale, and if my ability to post on the blog is any indication, things are slow.

Another family coordinated a joint moving-day sale, so that potential buyers could all shop around at once. So far, there have been zero shoppers. Hmmmm.

I am not concerned about the money. Most of our large items have been "sold" already (many are sold, but not picked up yet) so it is a lot of little random items. Many things have prices attached, but it is flexible and the hope is more to just get rid of it.

We'll see how the rest of the day goes.

-alan

Some words about the trip

It has been a few days since the craziness of the spring trip is over, and I can look back on it now as one of the best weeks out of the last 2 years. It was certainly more stressful and less relaxing than I prefer, but the combination of sightseeing, relationships, fun activities, and spiritual significance make this a highlight of our time here.

Here is the quick breakdown of our trip:

Thursday - leave for the train station in Chengdu. Board the train at 4pm. Play lots and lots and lots of card games. Answer questions from inquisitive girls. Watch the boys make a fort using spare blankets and table cloths. Sleep in the 3rd bunk, just inches under the train car roof.

Friday - Wake up on the train to the sounds of boys playing guitar. Play more cards. Get off the train at 11am. Go to Walmart and eat lunch at KFC. (First time in a Walmart in China. Really!) Board a bus and drive to Dali. Watch an episode of LOST. Get to our hotel and have a mini-crisis, since the hotel is full of prostitutes and NOT in Dali Old Town (the tourist area).

Saturday - Go to Dali Old Town for a photo scavenger hunt. Drink an awesome mango smoothie. Argue more with the tour company when the bus drivers refuse to drive us to dinner. Help get the bus drivers fired.

Sunday - Drive to Shuanglang, on the other side of Er Hai. (a village on the other side of a big lake) See our comparatively awesome accommodations, right on the shore of the lake. Scratch my head at our "honeymoon suite" with a glass front door and glass bathroom door. Plant trees on the mountain to prevent erosion. Go kayaking and capsize trying to do the kayak limbo.

Monday - Belay students who are mountain climbing, and then go biking. Walk back when a student crashes her bike. Get a little too much sun.

Tuesday - Help clear an area in the village of trash, bricks, and manure. Install exercise equipment for the old folks in town. Play some fun games, and sing around a camp fire. Wonder who the random villagers are who came in on motorbikes and started dancing around the fire.

Wednesday - Travel by bus to Tiger Leaping Gorge. Hike for 4.5 hours through the canyon. Very beautiful sights. Take a 5 minute rest, and go back with a bag full of flashlights to help those lagging behind. Find all the students. Check watch - only 7:30, it is still light. Go back to help the teachers in back. Now it is 8pm, very dark, and wishing I had brought someone with me. Think I lost the trail, double back, then go forward, then back, then forward again. Find the teachers. Walk back to the hotel. Greet 2 Chinese strangers who apparently came looking for us. Arrive at 9pm and share 10 Chinese dishes amongst 3 people. Full. Find out my room has no shower, so go to bed very, very dirty.

Thursday - Hike 4 hours out of the gorge. Wait for the rest of the group to catch up, then drive to Lijiang. Stay in Lijiang Old Town, happy that this time we have a nicer place to stay in the city. Go out on the street at night, and find out we are in the bar district. Hear pulsating music and see dancing girls in all the bars. Hope that the students are all tired and are not tempted to sneak out.

Friday - Shopping in Lijiang. Eat a Chinese shwarma. Pretty good! Go to the airport and hang out with the students in the smoking lounge. Get on the plane, and come home. Hear the students moan when the plane gets to Chengdu, leaving blue skies and sun for perpetual gray. Sleep in my own bed. Hooray!

We did not take too many pictures with our camera - there were at least 6 digital SLRs spread out amongst the students, so we felt it unnecessary to break out our little point-and-shoot Canon. As a result, there will probably be a dearth of pics of us, but oh well. We'll get some good shots of the scenery to remember it by, once the picture CD is compiled.

-alan

Monday blues

It is Monday morning. Our new Chicago friends left for the airport on Sunday afternoon, leaving us just enough time to catch our breath before the work week began.

After a week+ of less-than-adequate sleep, constantly having to be on alert, and demanding physical activity, my body is anxious for some true rest. I am feeling a little sick - mostly tired and a slight head cold. The kind of thing that is to be expected after the week we just had.

Today, everyone is dragging. The students and teachers in the upper school all had trips last week, so the energy is low in the building. I would have enjoyed a day of sleeping in...but instead I had to come to school and put some lessons together.

This weekend was our first big packing push. We got together 4 bags of stuff to send back to America. Add that to the 2 bags we sent with my sister...and that means we will be returning to the US with a lot more stuff than we came with. Good thing we got a bigger apartment!

We are also shedding more possessions. We delivered some appliances to fellow staff members, including....our TV! [Actually, I doubt we will miss it at all in the next 2 weeks] Over the coming days, we should be getting down to the bare essentials - just that which will fit in our luggage to come home.

For now, there are still final exams to prep for and special events to attend: award ceremonies, graduation, staff banquet, LOST finale potluck, etc.

-alan

Back home

After 8 straight nights on the road (sleeping in 4 different beds, including one on a train) it was a pleasure to return last night to our apartment in Chengdu.

Overall, the trip was a great success. I believe that we accomplished our goals, and did so while being able to view some of China's more beautiful terrain. Most of the feedback from the students was also very positive. I feel very blessed, and am proud of the work we did over this past week.

That being said, it was exhausting - physically and mentally. There is no down time, no real rest during a week-long excursion such as this when you are in charge. But despite the stress, I had a good time.

We did not take many pictures, but the students will be compiling their memory cards when they return to school on Monday. After that, I should be able to post some online.

This evening we packed some stuff to send back with our visitors from Chicago. (only 4 bags...not too much, right?!?) Some things have been taken off the wall - the first real visible sign of our approaching departure.

16 days and counting.

-alan

Time to go to Yunnan!

The weeks have melted into days, the days into hours, and by tomorrow morning, into minutes. The spring trip seemed like a far-off dream when we first started to talk about it...last October? But our help from Chicago has arrived, our bags are packed, our itineraries printed, our tour guides hired, and our tickets purchased. There's no turning back.

Rachel has been getting noticeably more shrewd lately - we talked with the tour guide owner today, and she berated him with questions regarding the charges on our bill. She got him to knock another 10 kuai off per person, which actually saved us quite a bit. But less necessary was her haggling with the lady at the tea stand over a half-kuai difference on the price of her drink. I'll blame her take-no-prisoner attitude on a raging cold that set in today. She sounds and looks pretty bad right now. Some sleep would help...

It is hard to know what to expect with this trip. I am excited about the location and the activities, but being in charge always brings up unexpected difficulties and complications. It would be nice to be able to travel and just enjoy the scenery, but we have responsibilities to attend to. Unfortunately, my energy level is quite low right now...yet I feel that this trip will require me to be much more extroverted than I would normally care to be. Will it wipe me out for the rest of the year?

-alan

Found it - good timing!

Back in September / October, I lost my cell phone. I looked for it for awhile, but never found it. After a few weeks, I realized that I made/received very few calls - so it was no big loss. Since then, Rachel and I have done quite well with one phone, since we are rarely apart.

Today, we left for our Sunday fellowship and it was raining. I grabbed my raincoat, which I have not used since the fall (it is too lightweight to use in the winter). And there in the pocket, was my cell phone.

It is perfect timing, since we will need extra phones for the folks coming from Chicago this week.

Speaking of, we leave on an overnight train Thursday to Yunnan province for a one-week trip with the 9th and 10th graders. We will spend our time in and around the cities of Dali and Lijiang - both popular tourist spots for adventure-seekers and nature lovers. It is supposed to be a beautiful part of the country, with mountains, water, and sunshine. It has been a chore getting the logistics planned, but I feel the experience will be a good reward of our efforts.

-alan

Concerts, sleepovers, and sale items

Tonight was the CDIS Spring Fine Arts Festival. It is always fun to watch the kids express their talents - 3 bands, a choir, and several solo & ensemble members performed, and a host of artwork was on display. It was a fun night!

Rachel is gone for the night, as she is participating in the semi-annual high school girls sleepover. Thankfully, I was not kicked out for the evening (as I was for the previous 2) and I do not have to sleep on someone else's couch...

We've started selling off those possessions we are unable to take back to the US. Our fellow staff has been quick to reserve a lot of the big ticket items, so I am not concerned that we will be stuck with anything. Rachel will say goodbye to her scooter on Monday - that will be the first biggie to go, sad to say.

-alan

Golf range

Today all the male foreign staff went to a swanky local golf range to hit some balls after school. The place treated us real nice - all the balls we would could hit, plus they called in their resident Australian golf pro to give us free tips. They were looking to woo us into joining their golf club. Unfortunately for them, they fail to realize how cheap most of us are. Fat chance!

Hitting ball on the range in my work clothes, I realized that summer is here. We skipped spring entirely, leaving us warm and sweaty in the humid air. Not that I am complaining - the sunshine and warmth is quite pleasant.

Things are shaping up for our trip to Yunnan. Rachel looked at pictures today of our destinations, and realized that the place we are going looks quite beautiful. That is enough to make her excited!

-alan

Dissection post script

The students successfully dissected the now-dead rabbit during class, but continued with their work while I left the lab to attend my Chinese lesson. They finished and cleaned up by the time I returned.

I looked around for the rabbit, but it was not to be found.

The next day, I asked what happened to it. Apparently one of the bus drivers wanted to take it home....to eat it I presume?

Nice to know that the poor thing did not go to waste. From the dissection table to the dinner table.

-alan