Homeless no more!

July 1 has come faster than I ever thought possible.

But on the bright side, it is move in day. The truck we rented is all packed up outside, and we are ready to get to our new apartment in Chicago. We loaded it up with some of our new furniture - it has been a bit of a shopping spree, of late. We have a new futon, sofa, and bedroom set. Unfortunately, our new mattress will not come until next week!!

We made a trip to Chicago earlier this week for some more interviews. While there are no announcements yet, things are looking promising.

We loved our trip to the Boundary Waters...and will try to post pictures soon. However, it is time for bed.

-alan

Some pictures from our last week in Chengdu

It has been a busy time, coming back to the US. I think that it is a big mistake to think that the future will be easier; that you will have more free time to relax and get back to those projects that you have been putting off. The future always brings new challenges and obstacles that have to be overcome, and you need to be ready for it. Right now, the challenge is job hunting and prepping to move into our apartment in a couple weeks.

That being said, we will leave on Saturday for a week long adventure into the deep woods of northern Minnesota, where there will be no computers, phones, cars, job interviews, or other cares of the world. I am looking forward to it.

I also squeezed in a peek at some pictures from the last week in China. I am still backlogged at looking at the pictures from our school trip - that will take some time.

On my birthday, we went downtown to the Shangrila with the Brian, Katie, Zack, and Kira. It was a fun night at a 5-star hotel, which is a nice place to spend an evening. We learned more about each other - notably my past experiences with eating contests in college - which parlayed into a dare that resulted in me eating a chocolate-covered onion ring simultaneously with Zack, who had to eat 2 chocolate covered strawberries. In a shocking display of berry-aversion, Zack just barely choked down a food that most would fight for the chance to eat.

Here's the whole group outside Cafe Z.

Rachel and her chocolate fingers!

We also celebrated my birthday a few days later, by eating hotpot and having cake with a bigger group of staff.


Rachel mentioned in an earlier post about 3 girls coming over to give us a present on behalf of the freshmen class - it was a fun diversion from packing. Before they left, Rachel took them and coerced them into taking some of our leftover junk (which they are holding below).


-alan

Maiden voyage!

After returning from Chicago, we finally picked up our new Prius. We drove it around town a few times, but we took it out yesterday and drove it to Chicago. Only used 1/2 tank of gas, so that's pretty good!

The only eventful moment was when we plugged in the ipod - a song was playing, and we drove over some bumps in the road. The song started skipping, and every time it skipped we heard classical choral music softly playing in the background. It was very weird. We restarted the system and it went away. Is the car haunted?

We came to Chicago because Rachel and I both have interviews - at the same school! Rachel had hers this morning, and I will be going back in the afternoon.

We will drive back to Michigan tonight and get packed up for our trip to Minnesota.

-alan

Back in Michigan

It has been over one week since returning to the US. But it does not quite feel like summer vacation yet. It takes some time to unwind, and all the responsibilities related to job searching have prevented us from truly relaxing. I'll save that for next week's trip to Boundary Waters in Minnesota.

We picked up our Prius today - I'll take a picture tomorrow. Other than trying to figure out how to start the engine, we had a successful first couple of rides in it today. There have been many of those tasks in the past week - getting our driver's licenses, buying phones, reactivating accounts, etc. There is more to go. Should we pay a little extra to get an NU license plate?

Our trip to Chicago was fun. While staying on an air mattress is not my first choice, Sarah's apartment was really nice. (on a side note, I was impressed by the quality of digital TV - she is using an antennae but has crystal clear pictures. it is so much better than internet TV, which we are used to!)

Coming back to the diversity of the city is a switch. My mind was naturally tuned in China to looking for foreigners - in a sea of Chinese people, it was easy to scan and pick out any Westerners. When your mind becomes wired to be very racially aware, it is not automatic to stop thinking that way coming back to the US. Having interviews all over town, the racial diversity and racial segregation seen in different parts of the city were impossible to ignore.

Things to think about in cultural readjustment.

-alan

First day in Chicago

So we drove yesterday from Detroit to Chicago and made it in plenty of time for Alan's first face-to-face interview. While he was there I played with the Dudes kids and looked at our students' pictures from the Yunnan trip. It was interesting to see how the same thing I was ooo ing and ahhing over appeared in a lot of their pictures....THE SKY! In Chicago it was blue with fluffy cloud and in Yunnan pics there was sun streaming through clouds over the lake. Anyway, I'm happy to be here and excited that the sun will be a normal part of my life again.

We stopped by and saw the Weddles and baby boo (not born yet). I'm glad their baby wasn't born yet so we didn't miss out on too much while we were gone, but I'm excited that it will happen soon!

We ended up at my sister's and got some local pizza for dinner. Alan worked on prep for today's interview and slept early while Sarah and I took an epic wedding adventure. We went first to the reception site and worked out some details there. We also went to David's Bridal for some final dress alterations and saw the church for the ceremony. It was cool to see it so I have an idea for the big day.

We came home in time to see Chicago win the Stanley Cup, GO BLACKHAWKS!

-rachel

Back and ready to rumble...

So Alan and I caught all our flights back to the US and had no problems. It is nice to be back. I should probably write a long extended reflection our last days in China, but I'm too sleepy and I don't want to risk crying before bed. I will share that the night before we left 3 freshman girls stopped by our apartment and gave us a gift on behalf of the ninth graders. It was a mug with the class picture on it reading "We love you Allmens." I guess they took a collection in homeroom when I stepped out and we so sweet to bring it the last night we were in China. Thankfully we hadn't finished packing and had room to bring it back with us! Oh CDIS students we will miss you!

I am particularly impressed with how our first day in the US has gone and want to brag on Alan a bit. He got up and helped with some yardwork in his parents' lawn. Then went for a haircut to look presentable for his 3-4 interviews he will be having in the next few days (woot woot). We then went car shopping and managed to buy a car.

It was fun test driving different cars and seeing what was available in the showrooms/lots. In the end we went with the greenest option in more ways than one. We got a used Prius that has a green paint job albeit a very light shade. We are excited about this car and got a good deal. Thankfully the dealer was patient with our strange situation of being in limbo between 2 states, my drowsiness from jet lag, and our expired drivers licenses!

Now it is time for us to pack again to go for a round of interviews in Chicago. I will be excited when our stuff is finally squared away.

-rachel

Back!

After 40 hours of being in transit, Rachel and I arrived in Detroit as weary travelers. I'm not sure what the next trans-oceanic flight is for us, but I open to suggestions of how to get upgrades to business class. Those seats in the back are rough after 14 hours.

Today we went car shopping...and bought a car! A 2008 Prius, to be exact. We will not get it until next week, though.

Tomorrow we head to Chicago, where I have interviews and meetings planned over the next several business days.

-alan

Summer's here!

It was a bittersweet day, with tears, hugs, and goodbyes all around as it was the last day of school. It was good to see the kids one last time, and sad to see the buses pull away.

I packed up my classroom and was ready to go soon after; Rachel is still at school cleaning up her room.

One last weekend, then we board to plane for the US. Tonight I am going into town with Zack, the Saturday we have hotpot, cake, and Catan. Sounds like it will be fun! Then on Sunday we will hit up Happy Valley one last time after Sunday Fellowship. We also need to find time to pack sometime in there!!

I'll try to upload pictures from the last week if possible - but sadly, my Macbook is gone, returned to the school, and so I might have a little more difficulty doing so.

-alan

Grading exams, thinking of cars

I finished grading 2 of the 3 finals I have given.

I actually gave a 3rd final today - much to my surprise! It was in my AP Bio class. Since all but 1 of my students were seniors, I assigned no final exam. The seniors are already finished, so I had the 1 remaining junior show up today. We discussed his grade, and he decided it was worth the risk to take the final to try and raise his grade - even though he had not studied since taking the AP exam!

On my 7th grade test, I asked the students to propose new, alternative energy sources for cars in the future. I liked some of the suggestions... such as wind powered. Install wind turbines, which charge a battery that starts the car. Then once it is moving, the wind will provide it with continuous energy. But the most "out there" was an idea to use lightning - add giant lightning rods, and huge batteries that could store all the energy from lightning strikes.

Which brings to mind the idea of buying a car, which we will have to do as early as next week. Currently, we are leaning towards a hybrid car. I'm a science teacher, so that fits...right? We are still debating used or new, make and model, etc. But it is fun to think about. We've never really made such a big purchase before.

I have also been thinking about computers. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your persuasion) I have been wooed by my time with my Mac here. I am thinking of investing upon my return.

Which is why Rachel called me out - I am thinking of buying a Prius and a Mac. What is more yuppie than that?!?

On a final hair-related note, I'll be shaving prior to graduation tomorrow.

Seniors, let's party!

-alan