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life comes at ya pretty fast
Aug. 18th, 2020 01:36 pmWell.
Last night/this morning, I got an email informing me that my position in Shenzhen has been eliminated, and my school is offering me two options: accept a transfer to our school in Minsk, Belarus, or take a severance and leave the school. The position is for basically 10th-12th grade lit and writing, with an AP class that I will supervise until I can get official training.
As you can imagine, this is A Lot to take in. I need to give my official answer by Thursday morning so they can either get the visa process started or offer the position to someone else. I am leaning towards accepting, despite the whole plague and also current civil unrest in Minsk. I talked with the school’s director about the situation. He feels safe enough to have his family and young child in the city. Covid doesn’t really worry me because Idaho is not handling it well, so I don’t feel like my danger on that level is particularly heightened. I’ve spoken to a few other people who either live there or will be transferring there as well as people I trust within the organization. I talked to my mom, and she’s on board with accepting the transfer. I’m waiting to talk to my uncle. He was in the FBI for a long time and has a pretty good grasp of the overall political climate of the world, or knows people who do. I’m going to talk with him soon.
Friends have raised some very good questions and concerns and given me things to think about. It really sucks that I have to make a decision so quickly, but since waiting out a return to Shenzhen isn’t an option, I don’t feel particularly coerced. I have heard how other schools and companies are handling the difficulties bringing staff back to China, and I feel very lucky that my organization is not just cutting me loose.
I won’t be able to return to get my things. Some of my friends who stayed behind and my ayi, who packed up a few other apartments already, will take care of that. It will be inconvenient, but not the end of the world. I won’t get to see the cute barista again. My Taobao shopping list is but a dream. I won’t get to say good bye in person to my friends. These all carry the same emotional weight right now as I try to process shit. There aren’t any Starbucks in Belarus.
On the plus side, my new post is a much more marketable position than teaching IE/ESL, and I was hoping to transfer to a different place after next year or the following anyway. I feel like it’s gonna take at least two years for any sort of “normal” to emerge, so if I can get experience in a new position, that will be nice.
I always hated the weather in Shenzhen. I hate the tropical heat and humidity. Minsk has a climate much closer to Idaho. The school director is from Idaho, and when we spoke on the phone, he told me the winters usually weren’t too bad, and if I could handle the cold Idaho winters, I’d be fine. I admit, I am looking forward to a crisp autumn and cold winter. I have so many knit and crocheted things I haven’t been able to wear. I look so cute in cardigans! I ordered some wool tights and will need some boots.
Obviously, I’m pulling out my hair at the moment. I’m about two breaths away from crying or panicking just because this is overwhelming. Eventually, it will be very comforting to know that my school tried to help me out and that it’s the world, not me, that’s totally whack-a-doo. I wasn’t fired because I did a bad job.
I hope I’ll be able to write tonight. I was on a roll with my Guardian Week story.
If anyone feels so inclined, I am accepting hugs, virtual or otherwise.
Last night/this morning, I got an email informing me that my position in Shenzhen has been eliminated, and my school is offering me two options: accept a transfer to our school in Minsk, Belarus, or take a severance and leave the school. The position is for basically 10th-12th grade lit and writing, with an AP class that I will supervise until I can get official training.
As you can imagine, this is A Lot to take in. I need to give my official answer by Thursday morning so they can either get the visa process started or offer the position to someone else. I am leaning towards accepting, despite the whole plague and also current civil unrest in Minsk. I talked with the school’s director about the situation. He feels safe enough to have his family and young child in the city. Covid doesn’t really worry me because Idaho is not handling it well, so I don’t feel like my danger on that level is particularly heightened. I’ve spoken to a few other people who either live there or will be transferring there as well as people I trust within the organization. I talked to my mom, and she’s on board with accepting the transfer. I’m waiting to talk to my uncle. He was in the FBI for a long time and has a pretty good grasp of the overall political climate of the world, or knows people who do. I’m going to talk with him soon.
Friends have raised some very good questions and concerns and given me things to think about. It really sucks that I have to make a decision so quickly, but since waiting out a return to Shenzhen isn’t an option, I don’t feel particularly coerced. I have heard how other schools and companies are handling the difficulties bringing staff back to China, and I feel very lucky that my organization is not just cutting me loose.
I won’t be able to return to get my things. Some of my friends who stayed behind and my ayi, who packed up a few other apartments already, will take care of that. It will be inconvenient, but not the end of the world. I won’t get to see the cute barista again. My Taobao shopping list is but a dream. I won’t get to say good bye in person to my friends. These all carry the same emotional weight right now as I try to process shit. There aren’t any Starbucks in Belarus.
On the plus side, my new post is a much more marketable position than teaching IE/ESL, and I was hoping to transfer to a different place after next year or the following anyway. I feel like it’s gonna take at least two years for any sort of “normal” to emerge, so if I can get experience in a new position, that will be nice.
I always hated the weather in Shenzhen. I hate the tropical heat and humidity. Minsk has a climate much closer to Idaho. The school director is from Idaho, and when we spoke on the phone, he told me the winters usually weren’t too bad, and if I could handle the cold Idaho winters, I’d be fine. I admit, I am looking forward to a crisp autumn and cold winter. I have so many knit and crocheted things I haven’t been able to wear. I look so cute in cardigans! I ordered some wool tights and will need some boots.
Obviously, I’m pulling out my hair at the moment. I’m about two breaths away from crying or panicking just because this is overwhelming. Eventually, it will be very comforting to know that my school tried to help me out and that it’s the world, not me, that’s totally whack-a-doo. I wasn’t fired because I did a bad job.
I hope I’ll be able to write tonight. I was on a roll with my Guardian Week story.
If anyone feels so inclined, I am accepting hugs, virtual or otherwise.
