With the news that China has bumped Japan as the 2nd economic powerhouse in the world, it was time for me to make a decision! I hadn't looked falling back into my teacher role, after 6 years not teaching, except for some 1 or 2 “supply teaching” short-term jobs here in Canada. The “supply teaching” jobs are like real estate, sometimes there’s a paycheck close by and other times nothing comes in for weeks or months on end.
Currently, the real estate market is way down to 21% for the Saint John area and 30% for all of Atlantic Canada. I still think it’s going through a correction, similar to the ones in the U.S., Europe and other places in the world that were overpriced for their locations.
I started looking at teaching jobs overseas and the U.S. Peace Corp positions. The local school districts here had NO teaching jobs posted and were extremely difficult to get into, since they tend to hire local residents first. New Brunswick has an agreement with the Chinese Gov’t to build English speaking school facilities and teach the English speaking business men & women partners and embassy workers’ children in their country.
I sent them my resume, not really expecting any immediate answer. One week went by, whereby I received a phone call to interview with the principal at the Canadian International School of Beijing, where ironically she was home based in Saint John.
This is a layout of their school facilities as a virtual tour!
http://www.cisb.com.cn/page/facilities/school_layout.php
Here's a map of the location of the Canadian Int'l School of Beijing:
http://www.cisb.com.cn/page/contact_us/maps.php
I left thinking this was an opportunity of a lifetime, since I’d be learning & living Mandarin on a 24-hr basis. There is no better way to learn Mandarin, except for living & breathing Mandarin! Plus, I could use this when I get back to the real estate business (next year), since many people from China are immigrating to Canada.
I’d be teaching either 2nd or 4th grade students, with an average of 20 students in the classroom. They would pay for my room & board and the Chinese government paid my taxes for the year I was there. The worldly traveler I’ve been since I was an infant kicked in and I took the job… My New Brunswick Teacher's Certificate was outdated in 2008, but I just received it in the mail. My teaching endorsements are: Science, Mathematics, Elementary Education, Special Ed, English, Health & Sociology. I’ve already taken & passed the physical, blood test and x-rays. Now, I’m just waiting for the Chinese VISA to come through, whereby, my U.S. passport goes to Ottawa to get okayed and then off I fly to Beijing.
Being a world traveler since I was an infant, I've always had a passion to live in new locations and really experience the treasures, cultures and new foods a new country has to offer!
I plan to blog about this and possibly write a book about my experiences... To be continued in the very near future…. ;>))
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