Oh. My. F*cking. God.
...
I. Am. Scared.
I got a phone call at work yesterday. James came over and told me it was my mum and it was urgent. So I answer the call, expecting Dad to have gone back into hospital, and the tone in my Mum's voice seemed to confirm it...until she said the magic words: "How would you like to go to China?"
Yeah.
I don't know if I went through the details of why I never got that teaching job for Rolls-Royce. Well, basically there were 7 jobs and 7 applicants, but then the University that I was to be sent to decided they only had 4 places instead for some reason, so me, having a badass I-Had-Fun-At-Uni 2:2 degree, got put at the bottom of the pile of 2:1 students - as the Chinese decided who to employ. I've probably got that all wrong but it's not so relevant now...So yeah, the fact I got a 2:2 got me all bitter again, the people at Rolls-Royce and my old Uni said how they wanted to recruit me but it was the Chinese who got the final say. The University said that they were quite happy to defer me until the August contingent of teachers were being recruited, and that I'd be on 'standby' in case one of the employed teachers dropped out.
Then I kinda put it to the back of my mind - I've been looking for new jobs, graduate places, and getting ready to apply to go back to University to follow a Masters course.
Until this phone call.
It all turns out that the Civil Aviation University of China, based in Tianjin, have an extra place for a teacher, and I have accepted it.
Wooo!
So at work I was a bit of a nervous wreck - I mean, I fly out in about 5 weeks (15th of Feb, so it's pretty close!), and last night I couldn't eat my dinner for shock and nerves - shame really, as my parents took me out for a meal to celebrate!
So now there's so much to organise...travel insurance, injections (yuck), how the hell I'm going to get all my belongings into 20kg (will have to post myself some things I think, or buy some lighter businessy clothes), what do Nick and I do, who can I convince to save up their hard-earned cash to visit me, my visa, how I will cope with the culture shock, and whether my application for a Career Break at work will get accepted...I have applied to take 6 months holiday, unpaid, from work - so at least when I return I will have at least a job to return to - and I can quit at any time if I want to. At the same time, I'm organising a leaving party at the end of January (read: me and my mates will be gatecrashing my mum's supposedly quiet 50th birthday gathering)...
Me and Ad were supposed to be going to see Razorlight and Kylie in the next few months, I feel a lil' bit bad for leaving him in the lurch with a load of tickets he's bought and hope he can get someone else to take - although, how sweet is this, he's thinking about selling his Razorlight tickets (gig is on 12th Feb in London, and I fly on 15th, so it's too close a call, really), and coming here to spend my last weekend with me - and then coming to the airport on his way home (lives in Kent) to see me off! Do I not have one of the best friends ever?!
I've been reading up at Tianjin on the internet. I feel so lucky. I had such a bad year last year, with depression, stress, breaking up with my long-term man, graduating, endless bad luck, people walking all over me, work, allsorts...and now we're not even a fortnight into the New Year, and I get this news! I also have earnt a £1,000 Christmas bonus at work, and I get paid about 2 weeks before I go to China!
Oh, by the way, that picture at the start of this entry is of the main shopping street in Tianjin.
I think 2005 may be my year.
Right, I'm going to wallow in how lucky I am!
Kim x
I. Am. Scared.
I got a phone call at work yesterday. James came over and told me it was my mum and it was urgent. So I answer the call, expecting Dad to have gone back into hospital, and the tone in my Mum's voice seemed to confirm it...until she said the magic words: "How would you like to go to China?"
Yeah.
I don't know if I went through the details of why I never got that teaching job for Rolls-Royce. Well, basically there were 7 jobs and 7 applicants, but then the University that I was to be sent to decided they only had 4 places instead for some reason, so me, having a badass I-Had-Fun-At-Uni 2:2 degree, got put at the bottom of the pile of 2:1 students - as the Chinese decided who to employ. I've probably got that all wrong but it's not so relevant now...So yeah, the fact I got a 2:2 got me all bitter again, the people at Rolls-Royce and my old Uni said how they wanted to recruit me but it was the Chinese who got the final say. The University said that they were quite happy to defer me until the August contingent of teachers were being recruited, and that I'd be on 'standby' in case one of the employed teachers dropped out.
Then I kinda put it to the back of my mind - I've been looking for new jobs, graduate places, and getting ready to apply to go back to University to follow a Masters course.
Until this phone call.
It all turns out that the Civil Aviation University of China, based in Tianjin, have an extra place for a teacher, and I have accepted it.
Wooo!
So at work I was a bit of a nervous wreck - I mean, I fly out in about 5 weeks (15th of Feb, so it's pretty close!), and last night I couldn't eat my dinner for shock and nerves - shame really, as my parents took me out for a meal to celebrate!
So now there's so much to organise...travel insurance, injections (yuck), how the hell I'm going to get all my belongings into 20kg (will have to post myself some things I think, or buy some lighter businessy clothes), what do Nick and I do, who can I convince to save up their hard-earned cash to visit me, my visa, how I will cope with the culture shock, and whether my application for a Career Break at work will get accepted...I have applied to take 6 months holiday, unpaid, from work - so at least when I return I will have at least a job to return to - and I can quit at any time if I want to. At the same time, I'm organising a leaving party at the end of January (read: me and my mates will be gatecrashing my mum's supposedly quiet 50th birthday gathering)...
Me and Ad were supposed to be going to see Razorlight and Kylie in the next few months, I feel a lil' bit bad for leaving him in the lurch with a load of tickets he's bought and hope he can get someone else to take - although, how sweet is this, he's thinking about selling his Razorlight tickets (gig is on 12th Feb in London, and I fly on 15th, so it's too close a call, really), and coming here to spend my last weekend with me - and then coming to the airport on his way home (lives in Kent) to see me off! Do I not have one of the best friends ever?!
I've been reading up at Tianjin on the internet. I feel so lucky. I had such a bad year last year, with depression, stress, breaking up with my long-term man, graduating, endless bad luck, people walking all over me, work, allsorts...and now we're not even a fortnight into the New Year, and I get this news! I also have earnt a £1,000 Christmas bonus at work, and I get paid about 2 weeks before I go to China!
Oh, by the way, that picture at the start of this entry is of the main shopping street in Tianjin.
I think 2005 may be my year.
Right, I'm going to wallow in how lucky I am!
Kim x
posted by Kimmeh @ Tuesday, January 11, 2005
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