Sunday, February 21, 2010
2-2-10 ~ Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Chinese New Year gave us all a great reason to celebrate my new job in China! My dear friends joined me at Gary Chu's in Santa Rosa on Saturday, February 20, 2010 for a delicious meal and great company! Thank you one and all for your love, support, and encouragement to help make my dream of overseas teaching come true!
2-11-10 ~ A Massachusetts Day with Cindy
The 6-12 inches of snow we were supposed to get yesterday and last night turned into only about one inch and it's melting quickly out there. Today is a beautiful sunny day. Bostonians are quite happy about this, but I feel a bit robbed. I wanted snow, snow, snow!
The job fair came to an end this morning and it was time to play! My Aunt Deb's dear friend Cindy Parnagian came to the hotel and picked me up for a day on the town. After stopping at a wonderful Arminian grocery store, we headed to Cindy's sister's house along Revere Beach. What a beautiful spot! Paula has a condo right along the beach overlooking an incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean. Out in the distance you can see Hahant and Little Nahant "islands". We had a wonderful lunch of all kinds of Arminian yummies (I even ate eggplant! Yes, I said eggplant!) and we chatted up a storm. What a treat, Paula, thank you!
Cindy and I were then off to Boxford, MA to see her new home! Another beautiful spot . . .
Thank you Cindy for your cherished friendship and an awesome day!
2-9-10 ~ Signing My Contract
Well, it's official folks. I just met with Joe and Kurt and I have signed a contract with Dalian American International School in China! And I just met my second grade partner, Michelle Fredrickson, whom they just hired at 11:30 last night. She's from Sacramento. Can you believe it? What a small world in which we live!
2-10-10 ~ My New Teaching Family
I would like to introduce, from left to right, Dr. Kurt Nordness (DAIS Head of School), a happy me, Joe Rosevear (DAIS Head of Secondary School), and Michelle Fredrickson (my new second grade teaching partner!!) We all went out on the town for a dinner celebration last night. As you can see from the smiles we had a great time! : ) I feel so blessed to have met Michelle and started this journey with her. She's been teaching third grade in Sacramento for the past 6 years and was living in San Diego before that. This is also her first overseas teaching experience, so we're going to be newbies together. We're going to make a great team. : ) I'm just about to head out to meet Michelle and we're attending the Candidate/Recruiter Social this evening.
It's been snowing/raining most of the day and it's just now starting to stick. Boston is covered in a beautiful blanket of snow. I love it. Took a long walk in the snow today and met up with my Aunt Deb's friend Lucy who is a nurse as Massachusetts General Hospital and we had a lovely lunch and chat in the cafeteria. What a massive bustling hospital Mass General is! Very impressive, Lucy, and thanks for lunch! : )
I'm off to the social . . .
. . . WOW! I continue to meet the most dynamic, friendly, open people here at this conference. The international teaching community is like a huge extended family. All I had to do was walk across the room at the Candidate/Recruiter Social and I instantly had more connections from around the world. I have so many stories to share with you all!
2-8-10 ~ Boston Job Fair
This has got to be one of the most amazing, life altering experiences of all time! I sit here staring at my computer screen at a loss for words to describe this adventure.
I arrived late last night, around midnight. A word of advice if you fly Jetblue . . . bring food cuz ya ain't gettin' none! (And a pillow sets a weary traveler back 7 bucks!) A bag of chips had to last me from 2:00 p.m. until I arrive here at the hotel. Thank goodness for room service!
I awoke this morning to a beautiful day in Boston. Clear skies, yet very cold temperatures and an even colder wind chill factor. As I made my way down to register for the fair, there were many people with ISS badges scattered about busily interviewing or intent on their lap tops. You could feel the excitement and tension in the air. After registering, I checked my "mail box." (Each candidate and recruiter has a file where we pick up and leave messages for each other.) I stood there in utter amazement as I read notes from heads of school in Bombay, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Munich, New Delhi, Bahrain and Turkey who were interested in interviewing me for positions at their school. You could have blown me over with a feather! It was really happening! I was standing at an international job fair in Boston reading notes from people around the world! Holy cow!
One of the first things I did was head to the local CVS Pharmacy to buy some thank you notes in order to write to each school with appreciation and let them know I had already accepted a position at DAIS. Even after reading the information given to me about each school, there is no doubt in my mind that I have made the right decision.
I then spent the rest of the day exploring Boston. Boy, was it chilly out there! I even bought and wore a hat! We're supposed to get 6-12 inches of snow (Thanks for the loan of the boots, Ali!) on Wednesday. The first place I headed for was Chinatown. : ) I went into this incredible Chinese market and the moment I stepped in the door, the sights and sounds transported me directly to China. No kidding! It was one of the many magical moments of this day.
I then let the kid in me slip and slide across the frozen swan pond in Boston Common and watched the ever hungry squirrels beg for food.
Just a half a block from the hotel is the Trinity Church. I was drawn inside by the beautiful architecture and warmth, but it turned into this incredible opportunity to sit in the serenity of this breathtakingly beautiful church and say a prayer of gratitude. Mom was with me, too. : )
Tonight I listened to a panel of Heads of School from around the world share what it is like to teach and work overseas. One of the words I heard tonight was vibrant . . . that's exactly how I'm feeling . . vibrant and very alive! I am meeting an amazing community of people! I am in awe.
I had drinks and dinner with Joe Rosevear, Head of Secondary School at DalianAmerican International School, and two of his friends, John and Mike, who are principal and vice principal at an international school in Israel. What insight they gave me into the recruiter's side of this journey! I am gaining a world (pun intended) of knowledge.
I meet with Dr. Kurt Nordness, my new boss, and Joe Rosevear tomorrow at 1:00 to sign my official contract. WOW!
Now it's time to sleep and soak in this most incredible day. I love and appreciate you all so very much!
I arrived late last night, around midnight. A word of advice if you fly Jetblue . . . bring food cuz ya ain't gettin' none! (And a pillow sets a weary traveler back 7 bucks!) A bag of chips had to last me from 2:00 p.m. until I arrive here at the hotel. Thank goodness for room service!
I awoke this morning to a beautiful day in Boston. Clear skies, yet very cold temperatures and an even colder wind chill factor. As I made my way down to register for the fair, there were many people with ISS badges scattered about busily interviewing or intent on their lap tops. You could feel the excitement and tension in the air. After registering, I checked my "mail box." (Each candidate and recruiter has a file where we pick up and leave messages for each other.) I stood there in utter amazement as I read notes from heads of school in Bombay, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Munich, New Delhi, Bahrain and Turkey who were interested in interviewing me for positions at their school. You could have blown me over with a feather! It was really happening! I was standing at an international job fair in Boston reading notes from people around the world! Holy cow!
One of the first things I did was head to the local CVS Pharmacy to buy some thank you notes in order to write to each school with appreciation and let them know I had already accepted a position at DAIS. Even after reading the information given to me about each school, there is no doubt in my mind that I have made the right decision.
I then spent the rest of the day exploring Boston. Boy, was it chilly out there! I even bought and wore a hat! We're supposed to get 6-12 inches of snow (Thanks for the loan of the boots, Ali!) on Wednesday. The first place I headed for was Chinatown. : ) I went into this incredible Chinese market and the moment I stepped in the door, the sights and sounds transported me directly to China. No kidding! It was one of the many magical moments of this day.
I then let the kid in me slip and slide across the frozen swan pond in Boston Common and watched the ever hungry squirrels beg for food.
Just a half a block from the hotel is the Trinity Church. I was drawn inside by the beautiful architecture and warmth, but it turned into this incredible opportunity to sit in the serenity of this breathtakingly beautiful church and say a prayer of gratitude. Mom was with me, too. : )
Tonight I listened to a panel of Heads of School from around the world share what it is like to teach and work overseas. One of the words I heard tonight was vibrant . . . that's exactly how I'm feeling . . vibrant and very alive! I am meeting an amazing community of people! I am in awe.
I had drinks and dinner with Joe Rosevear, Head of Secondary School at DalianAmerican International School, and two of his friends, John and Mike, who are principal and vice principal at an international school in Israel. What insight they gave me into the recruiter's side of this journey! I am gaining a world (pun intended) of knowledge.
I meet with Dr. Kurt Nordness, my new boss, and Joe Rosevear tomorrow at 1:00 to sign my official contract. WOW!
Now it's time to sleep and soak in this most incredible day. I love and appreciate you all so very much!
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