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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Nothing new to blog about...

It's raining today....again!

The weather has been so weird and inconsistent recently.

It will be hot and sunny one day and cold and rainy the next....the weather is totally unpredictable and it's kind of annoying because I don't know how to dress in the morning.

I'll look out my window and see that it's cold and rainy so I put on several layers and then go out and teach for a few hours.

Then after I emerge from the teaching building the weather has changed to, not warm, but HOT so I have to shed a few layers...ugh.

Anyway, I'm still just kind of counting the days (more like the weeks) until my contract finishes here so that I can take a higher-paying job in a different city.

I actually might consider staying in Changsha if I get a higher-paying job and if I can live closer to the downtown area.

Right now I'm kind of out in the rural part of town and it takes me nearly an hour on the bus to get into the city...so, I do have access to the city but I'd prefer to just live IN the city!

I'm starting to widen my net a bit as well....Shanghai is still my number one choice but I'd be willing to work in Ningbo or Suzhou (which are both close to Shanghai) or even Wenzhou.

Changsha isn't a bad city or anything it's just that I've already been here for nearly a year and I'm ready for a change....again.

I'll definetly be in China for a while but I don't think I could stay in this area for much longer just because I know I could make more money in another city (doing the same job) and be able to mingle with more foreigners and NOT BE POINTED AND STARED AT......

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

10 weeks to go

It's nearly 11pm on Wednesday right now....October 29th, 2008.

As of now, I have about 10 weeks left on my contract and I'm still trying to decide if I should renew for a second year or look for a different school to work for in China.

I'm really considering working at a high school or University in Shanghai if I can get a pretty good deal and considering how much teaching experience I now have I think I can.

There would be some advantages to staying in this school. I'm familiar with the area, familiar with the students, I have a few friends, I could get a raise, etc.

However, I think I'd be better off in Shanghai, in the long run, for several reasons: No one would point or stare at me, I could earn more money, I could meet more foreigners, etc.

Also, I enjoy teaching ESL but I don't think this is something I want to do for the rest of my life.....if I were to work in Shanghai for a few years I think I'd be able to find another field of work to enter into and earn a better living.

Working here in Changsha for nearly a year has been a positive experience overall but I'm ready to move on and I think Shanghai is the place to be if I plan on staying China for a long time.