This Great Work

 Even a few weeks into it, I'm still stunned I have a teaching gig here in China.  Some have asked more details about how it happened.   I don't really know for sure, but I think, that since volunteering is not a thing here, when I volunteered to help, they didn't have any concept of that.  Not knowing what to do with a person who volunteers, they thought I could teach a class--that required a teaching certificate.  Thankfully I have teaching experience and a teaching certificate, so I got a job.  Easy peasy! (China style) It is a dream job, really.  It's like teaching extraordinarily bright, on task, eager 2nd graders.  And without certain standards that I have to teach to, I can just do what I want. (even more dream-job-ish)  I can teach difficult English grammar lessons, teach correct pronunciation or I can just be creative and have fun!  I will do a little of the first two and a lot of the latter.   The first week I re...

To be frankly honest, living in China is difficult. The language barrier is huge--it's one thing to not be able to understand, but to not be able to read is even more difficult (try ordering something online or finding your way on a map in Chinese....), in-person shopping is so difficult (not having a vehicle to carry enough supplies for the week requires you to make multiple trips; nor can all shopping be done at one store), the red tape in China is ever present, online school is very stretching for the girls (and therefore to parent),  not to mention the difficulty of being away from family and friends.  Thankfully, many things have become easier as we have learned lots, figured out a little bit and received at least some pay (as of yet, we still haven't to receive the additional amount the US company is sending over and the back pay for the months we didn't get paid).  But there are still pretty big frequent struggles. To mitigate the difficulties we face, it is absolu...