I'm ba-ack...but not for long

Thank you for your patience. I have finished student teaching (YEA!) and just have two weeks to go to the end of my master's. It's been a crazy year that I'm glad is coming to an end. And this is good since the next year is sure to be even crazier since we're moving to China.

What?! China!?!

Yup, China. Insane, right?

I got a job teaching at an international school in Chongqing, China. I will be the math and science secondary teacher for the school for two years. The whole family will go of course, with airfare and visas covered for all but Tate; furnished housing; health insurance; free tuition for the girls; a dope nanny for Penny; and did I mention it will be in China?

Oh, almost forgot the kicker - Tate was offered a position teaching PE. So we'll both be working.

And I get a class next year!!!

Since I last posted, I have been furiously searching for a teaching position throughout Oregon, the US and the world. Of over 25 jobs applied to, I have heard from 4. It is a bad, bad year to be a teacher. School districts are facing huge cuts having spent too much this year with the hope that things would be better next year. Entire states are on hiring freezes, and The New York Times said this was the worst year for teachers since the Great Depression. I was beginning to get really down about my job prospects. As a new teacher, how could I compete with more experienced teachers who are out of work? If I don't work, how do I pay all the student loans I took out to get my career started? Where will we live? What will I do? Will it be better next year?

All over, for me. The first point of awesomeness about going to China is getting to teach. The rest of the awesomeness is just there. Unexplainable. To be determined.

Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of other teachers out there fighting for the few positions there are. Please, if you know an out-of-work teacher, keep your ears open for them and use your connections to get them an in for interviews. It's horrible out there and we all need to do what we can to help those we know.

My final note for this post: I have to leave Blogger. I am moving to a country that has banned much of Google because of its refusal to censor the search content. Doing some research, I discovered this site that Google has going to lets its users know what is and is not accessible on mainland China daily. It seems my Gmail account is safe for now, but Blogger has to go. I want nothing more than to write of all my experiences in Chongqing. However, that means this blog is ended and another begun. Once I have made the switch, a last post will be done here to direct you.

Any suggestions on a good free blogging site to use?