Fuddland

Long story short: I’ve quit my job and am moving to a new city in China tomorrow.

Long story long:

You may recall that when I was first hired by my school here, I was supposed to work in Mǎnzhōulǐ, the city near Russian border that I recently visited. However, when I arrived in China the head decided he needed me to work in Běnxī “for a while”. Three months passed and no word was ever uttered of my moving, so I kind of forgot all about it, and started feeling nicely settled here in Běnxī. I even went as far as buying plants for my flat. If that doesn’t say settled then I don’t know what does.

A couple of week ago, the head dropped the bombshell that I would indeed be leaving for Mǎnzhōulǐ to start teaching there “soon”. It turned out that “soon” actually mean “in four days”. Talk about short notice. So, after some concentrated soul-searching and talking to a few friends here, I decided I wouldn’t be happy living in Mǎnzhōulǐ for the next nine months.

I can’t really put it into words just yet, but I have to stick with my instincts — when you’re abroad, you have to rely on your instincts about a place much more than when you’re at home; if you get a bad feeling, you tend to move on without really being able to justify it explicity. I felt that living in Mǎnzhōulǐ would not be something I’d be happy about for long. I may be wrong, but I’ve made the decision now and have to deal with the consequences.

So, having told the headmaster I’d not be going to Mǎnzhōulǐ — which he accepted without argument, having had many a teacher terminate their contracts early over the years — I found myself unemployed in China, and set about trying to find another job in a different city, away from the smog and pollution of Běnxī. I made contact with some interested schools/language centres, initially in the south-west, but liked the look of one on the east coast in Sūzhōu (苏州), which is a medium-sized city [approximately a million people in the central city, six million if you count the suburbs] near Shànghǎi, and is often referred to as “The Venice of China” due to its network of canals and beautifully ornate gardens throughout the city [so my guidebook says anyway].

The main problem was figuring out if my work visa was transferrable — for a while it appeared that my only option was to go back home and apply for a new visa, something I couldn’t afford to do. But the place in Sūzhōu told me that all I needed was a letter from my old school confirming I had terminated my contract with them — easier said than done if you believe the stories about the headmaster being very unhelpful when it comes to references etc. But I had a good relationship with him — better than the sources of these horror stories — and he wrote the letter for me without any bother. It definitely pays to not piss the wrong people off out here — if I’d simply disappeared without telling him, as some people had suggested I should do, with his connections he could have made it very difficult [impossible, even] for me to find work elsewhere.

There is still a small part of me that is worried that when I arrive in Sūzhōu — Thursday evening, after a twenty-six-hour train journey — my visa will prove to be invalid somehow, and I’ll have no choice but head home. And of course my new working conditions could turn out to be dreadful, and my new flat could have cockroaches, and, and, and…

Still, it’s all part of the fun, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing a new part of China, even though I’ll be sad to leave the friends I have only just made here in Běnxī. [And my plants. They had names and everything.]

#1

Ade | 2006 / 05 / 30 – 17:51

I hope you gave my namesake a good home ;) - good luck in Sūzhōu!

#2

Gordon | 2006 / 05 / 30 – 18:09

Fingers crossed and best of luck!

#3

Hannah | 2006 / 05 / 30 – 22:14

Good luck David. Did you really name a plant after Ade? Did it look/smell like him or something?

#4

the manly smell | 2006 / 05 / 31 – 20:02

Man, as a reluctant traveller myself, just reading about this stresses me out!

Good luck - hope it all works out OK.

#5

Daisy | 2006 / 05 / 31 – 21:14

Yikes, both scary and exciting at the same. But I hope everything goes well. Besides, I’m a selfish mare - Sūzhōu looks beautiful and I can’t wait to see your pictures :-)

#6

susannah | 2006 / 06 / 02 – 08:14

Unhelpful like telling you your work visa would only be good in Benxi?

I have been taking good care of your plants. None are dead yet and the rubber plant has lots of new leaves.

I can’t wait to hear about your new city/job!

#7

vixx | 2006 / 06 / 03 – 06:58

Good luck, i bet you will have lots of fun.

#8

maï | 2006 / 06 / 03 – 07:55

Have a nice time in Suzhou, david. Sorry I couldn’t go to your going away dinner…
I had a great time with you at the water gun party ; here are the pictures.
susahna is lying by the way : one of your plant died, I saw it….

#9

David | 2006 / 06 / 03 – 08:41

Thanks everybody, I’m getting nicely settled in, and have got a week of mostly observing the other teachers before I’m unleashed to do my worst own teaching.

The city seems very nice and once I’ve had time to do some exploring there will be photos and thoughts a-plenty. :)

In the meantime: Susannah, I want photographic evidence that all my plants are still alive. Especially Ade the Chunky Rubber Plant [to give him his full name]. ;)

#10

susannah | 2006 / 06 / 08 – 09:12

IT’S NOT DEAD. I just didn’t water it for 2 days and some leaves fell off.

I will take pictures soon.

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