Making a Connection

It’s a small world after all. Today I met with my friend Tom and his wife. Tom and I met a few months ago; we are both ice hockey officials. Tom and his family lived in Hong Kong for 16 years, and they just moved back to St. Louis 18 months ago. His wife, as it turns out, taught at HKIS for many years! They invited me over to their house and we chatted for about two hours about life in Hong Kong and at HKIS. They shared a HKIS yearbook and gave me tons of practical tips about like in the big city. I’ll make it a point to meet with them again as I get closer to my move. 

Hong Kong Calling

Information has begun to flow out of HKIS! It’s really incredible! I’ve met my HR representative (Irene) and my future teaching partner, Jeff. I have traded e-mails with the two of them, and together they are making me feel very welcome, indeed!

I shared a Skype session with Jeff and the other members of the teaching team. They seem like a fine bunch of people, and they made HKIS sound great. I can’t wait to meet them in person and see how things are done overseas. Apparently, HKIS is big on standards-based assessment. That educational model is a bit different than the one I’m used to now, but I’m comfortable with it, and I’m looking forward to expanding my teaching skills.

Irene sent a folder full of important documents. I spent the better part of last Saturday afternoon filling out paperwork. Contract, work visa, home of record, housing allowance, insurance forms; a lot of ink was spilled on all. Completing the paperwork, however, made the move much more real. I’m as excited as ever to move to Hong Kong.

Good Morning, Vietnam!

I’ve spent the last few days in Hanoi, Vietnam on vacation. I had a great time with my dad and brother, of course, but I spent a lot of time thinking about Hong Kong. How could I not? HK is only 500 miles from Hanoi! It was fun to look at maps of Southeast Asia and know that it was going to be my new corner of the world.

Hanoi was a perfectly average city. It was made interesting by its congestion and historical quirkiness, but otherwise it was a drab and dull metropolis. The highlight was renting a motorbike and joining the pulsating hoards on the streets of the capital city.

The highlight of the trip was a two-day cruise through Ha Long Bay. Few places are more beautiful, and it was a great opportunity to bond with my dad for a few days. (Brother decided to stay in Hanoi and shop of tea. That’s a story for another time).

An Ad in the Newspaper

Last Friday, an ad came out in the newspaper. It was a classified ad for a middle school social studies teacher at Chaminade. It ran in a rather obscure newspaper in St. Louis, but it was only a matter of time before colleagues and parents connected the dots and learned that I was leaving.

I almost made it through Parent-Teacher Conferences yesterday without breaking the news. Near the end of the day, a colleague’s wife (and 6^th grade parent) asked me, “Are you leaving Chaminade?” Of course, I had to tell her the truth. I’m sure she won’t tell anyone, but the first domino has fallen.

Telling Friends

I had to tell my best friends the news before they heard it from someone else. At Chaminade, that meant Jack and Karl had to know right away. Karl, Jack, and I always had a deal. If one of us was going to move on or retire, we’d let the other one know.

Karl has decided to retire at the end of this year, and as a man true to his word he broke the news to me two weeks ago. I kind of had a suspicion. He has been trying to pass off Teton planning duties to me for a few weeks. I’ve been successfully delaying, not knowing what my future held. Now that I know, I decided to tell him. I walked into his classroom on an idle Tuesday afternoon and told him that I won’t be returning to Chaminade in the fall. I think he was a bit surprised, but once I laid out my plans he was nothing but supportive. (Karl is never anything else!). He, like, Mike, was very excited for me and his reaction further reaffirmed my decision to begin a new adventure.  Karl and I have been teammates and “neighbors” for eleven years, so the news meant we were coming to the end of an era. It’s going to be difficult to part ways at the end of May, but I’m sure we’ll be friends for a long time.

It was a bit harder to tell Jack because I felt like I was abandoning him. (I hope that’s doesn’t sound too conceited). Jack is an innovative man and a great teacher, and he’s constantly reinventing himself, so I’m sure he’ll continue to be whether I’m at Chaminade or not. However, we’ve shared a lot of good adventures together, and I think we are cut from similar cloth. When I feel like others at Chaminade just don’t get me (or my opinions, interests, etc.), I know Jack does. His family has been so kind to me, too. They’ve too often adopted me as their own; inviting me over for holidays, family celebrations or simple barbecues. Thus, we’re not just colleagues, we’re great friends.

I had to tell Jack in a fleeting moment before he jetted off to England with some 8^th grade students. It wasn’t ideal timing, but I wanted him to know before it leaked out while he was away. He deserved to be among the first to know.

I hope Jack and Karl (and Mike) all know how joyous they have made my time at Chaminade and how much longer my tenure there has been thanks to their friendship and guidance. I hope more than anything that we can bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle to maintain our friendship.

Now it’s time to tell a few others…

On a Need to Know Basis

Returning to Chaminade with “big news” was never going to be easy. Right away, it was a bit awkward to walk into the building knowing I had signed a contract with another school half a world away. Of course, I wanted to tell people, but I had to think about how I was going to leak the news. 

My first day back at Chaminade was a Friday, and I was lucky to have the opportunity to sit down with my boss, Mike. From the beginning, he wanted a report from the conference (more out of personal curiosity than anything else). I walked him through my experience at the ISS Recruitment Conference, and it took all of about 3 minutes to reveal that I had accepted a job at Hong Kong International School. He was absolutely thrilled; he couldn’t have been more excited for me! His reaction was unbelievably affirming, and after talking to him I knew with even greater conviction that I had made the right decision. Mike is bound for retirement at the end of this year, and we agreed that we’re going to have a good time finishing out our contracts together. 

Mike and I were not the only ones who knew about my plans, however. Word had spread from one of my references (another administrator at CCP) that I had an interview with a school in Hong Kong. It took about two days for key administrators to find me and begin to pressure me for news. I had hoped to keep my plans secret for a few weeks, at least, but that plan didn’t last. I ended up telling the folks “on a need to know basis” and they promised to keep it as quiet as possible. We’ll see how long that lasts...

If You're Going to San Francisco...

This is the beginning of something very exciting...

I've had the urge, for a few years, now, to explore the realm of international schools and experience teaching overseas. I had done some research in the past, but I had never really pursued the idea with any vigor or seriousness. That all changed in the autumn of 2012. I complete a candidate profile with International School Services (a placement agency that matches teaching candidates with overseas schools) and I decided to "play the field."

At first, like in times past, it was simply a mental exercise. As more opportunities arrived in my e-mail inbox, however, I became more intrigued, and I decided to take my search to the next level. I decided to attend a Recruitment Fair in San Francisco in February. Hundreds of international schools, from across the world, would be there, and ISS advisers told me that most placements occur at these hiring conference. Thus, I packed my bags, ironed my suit and jetted off to the city by the Bay not really knowing what to expect.

Recruitment Fairs are chaotic! They move fast, and candidates have to be ready to jump on opportunities at a moment's notice. The event begins with a mad scramble to schedule interviews. All of the schools set up shop in a grand ballroom and candidates run around like ants trying to add their names to interview lists and pursue positions they're interested in.

Like most candidates, I had made my list of priorities:

1. Grade Level (grades 4-8, please)
2. Subject (Social Studies or Language Arts, please)
3. Location, Location, Location (Europe, Asia, the Middle East; no Africa or South America)

Quickly, two good opportunities presented themselves:

1. Middle School Social Studies in Hong Kong
2. 4th Grade Teacher in Moscow

The initial interviews went really well, and the heads of school conducting them were warm, welcoming and sincere. Multiple rounds of discussions ensued, and to make a long story short, Hong Kong International School was emerging as the front runner. I had two interviews on Tuesday afternoon and a third on Wednesday morning, at the end of which I received a formal offer to teach social studies in Asia's World City.

How could I say no? Hong Kong? Really! I was over the moon, and it only took me about 45 minutes to sign the provisional contract. I was so excited I skipped the rest of the conference and paraded around the city of San Francisco, basking in the excitement of my new job! (I met a new friend at the conference, too; Kate. She was recruited by a school in India and like me, was thrilled to be embarking on a new adventure. Neither of us could believe our luck as we toured around San Francisco).

Thus, it was in San Francisco, the city of my birth, where I found a new beginning and a chance to move to Hong Kong! Let's see how this unfolds...