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Published: November 11th 2007
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fun with son son and wen wen
our boss's kids... they're a handful! These past few weeks have been pretty great, even though we haven’t got a whole lot accomplished. Ely and I have really found our comfort zone. Before, it was difficult for us to leave our work at work. We would stress (ok, maybe just me) over any task that seemed a bit difficult. Now, we can accept difficult tasks a lot easier. It doesn’t make any sense for us to stress so much. Things are always crazy here, and if we made a fuss over every little thing, life would be a whole lot less enjoyable. I only wish we had this figured out before we came. Maybe it is all just part of the expat process.
Now, we are working 16 teaching hours per week. We both have one full day with 6 hours teaching, so between the 4 other working days, we only work 10 hours. After about 2 months, we were sure that we didn’t want to stay here. Now, we are thinking about how lucky we are. Plus, we have ultimate job autonomy. Our boss is so busy with other things that he has very little time to manage us. So, it is great for us,
son son and wen wen
they both wanted to be carried by uncle aaron because we have decided that teaching is not a career we want to pursue. However, if we really liked teaching, it would be a nightmare. We receive no feedback, no tips on how to create better classes, and really haven’t learned how to be good teachers. Oh well! We can do whatever we want, there is little stress, and our lives are simple and easy. We go to work, try our best, and go home (ok, maybe we stop at the pub first). To be honest, we are a little less excited to go back to 40 hour workweeks.
One great thing that has changed about us is our views on materialism and wastefulness. We have nothing here. OK, a few shabby clothes, a DVD player, and a blender. That’s basically it. We have no car, no mortgage, no furniture, and to tell you the truth, it’s been liberating. We would be ok with losing everything we have—other than each other. We can go wherever the wind blows us. I am sure at some point it will make sense to start attaining things and building a sturdier asset base, but I am afraid that doing so will limit our
ability to do what we really want. That’s life I guess. A difficult balance at times.
We have never considered ourselves wasters, but after living here for a few months, we have realized how wasteful we were. I wish someone could go shopping with us here. It is getting to the point where most things beyond true necessities are out of the question. We confirm with each other whether it is ok to spend even an extra dollar on something marginally necessary. It’s pretty ridiculous, but it is what it is. Every little bit counts right? And here, every little bit counts even more.
In China, hot water isn’t readily available if you don’t want it to be. You must plug in the heater and wait 30 minutes. Since it was pretty hot in summer, we substituted cold showers for air conditioning. Save money on the gas bill, and cool yourself down in your 85 degree apartment. It is a win-win, no? Now, we are using the hot water a little bit more, but Ely has even said that we should only take showers at the gym, because they have an endless amount of hot water. Can you
believe her?
Also, in Suzhou, central heating isn’t an option. The bedroom usually has a space heater...that goes up to 30C. Not enough for Ely, so she wraps up in sweats, a long sleeve shirt, and extra blankets.
A couple weeks ago I took the GMAT, the entrance test for business school. I used a lot of my free time to study and prepare, so it feels good to have it over with. Luckily, my score will enable me to go to Creighton. They just started a new Master’s program called Security Analysis and Portfolio Management. This is exactly what I am interested in, so I am pretty excited to get back and learn how to make people money (including myself.) The coursework gives all students the foundation to sit for all levels of the CFA exam (Certified Financial Analyst???). From my understanding, it is like a CPA license for Finance students. I am looking into an assistantship in the Business department which gives me a small stipend and free credits. I will be part of Academia once again. After I finish the program, I hope to work for a large international investment bank. But plans always change
hot pot fun...
just throw what you want into the steaming broth and eat...great in winter! right? Who knows, maybe in 2 years I will be a baker in Tajikistan.
Well, that is it for now. We have been here for 10 months. Has it seemed that long?
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