"We are looking for a maths teacher now."

First of all, if any of my friends or family were hurt by my last post, I apologize.  I understand that this isn't easy for all of you.  I understand that this isn't the course you would prefer for me to take.  Please forgive me if I have hurt you in any way.  This wasn't my first choice, either.

The thing is, I need to pay my bills.  No one else, no matter how strenuous their objections, is volunteering to provide an alternate way for me to pay my bills.  They are only offering suggestions based on conventional job-search strategies.  Well, that course didn't seem to be working for me.  Finding an alternative market, where my skills are in higher demand, does seem to work for me.  I have been getting pretty clear indications that it is time for me to go "out into the world to seek my fortune," as they say in the fairy tales.

Take this week for example.  Last week, I finally signed the contract and addendum, scanned them, and e-mailed them to Jane, the vice-principal at Wuxi International School who is my contact there.  I was going to e-mail her today if I hadn't heard from her by then.  Yesterday, however, I got an e-mail from her, at what must have been the start of her work week, Monday morning China time.  Here is the text of the e-mail:

Hi Sean,

We are doing the procedures of your visa these days. Is it possible that you come and teach here asap when your visa is ready? We are looking for a maths teacher now.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jane

Now, bear in mind that the last date I heard from her was mid-August, to start the school year on September 1.  She had previously said something about summer school and early July.  This, however, could put me in China within two months IF all goes smoothly.  That seems to be a good, albeit preliminary, indication that this is the right thing to do.

Now for the 'if', and, yes, it is a big 'if'.  I don't know what prompted the unexpected change in the timeline, and I'm not going to ask now.  One thing that I've learned from my dealings with the overseas education business is that it's important to temper my curiosity.  I have many questions.  I do not need all the answers right now.  It is often easier for everyone if I hold my nonessential questions for a later time.  How big is the school?  How large are the classes?  How far is it from the school to my lodging?  These are questions that others are asking, and I could ask them by e-mail if I wanted.  However, my contacts are busy with many things, I'm sure, and I don't think it's wise to distract them with unnecessary questions.

In addition, my experience tells me that the most helpful things to know are usually not what I would think to ask about.  For example, the physical interaction style of most Korean kids would be considered very rough, even abusive by American standards.  Operating from my own cultural standards, I referred two kids for detention due to the violence I observed.  Later I was told that their detention was cancelled because this sort of interaction was, while not appropriate classroom behavior, not a big deal in Korean society.  This was an important lesson for me in Korean classroom management, and not something I would have thought to ask about.  Nor could it have been effectively explained by e-mail.

So, I didn't ask why, or what had changed.  I said yes.

There was an additional exchange about a chronological hole in my résumé, which needed to be filled.  (Apparently, this is to make the paperwork more acceptable to the Chinese Foreign Expert Bureau.  I trust that she knows what she's doing, and will do what it takes to secure my Foreign Expert Certificate.)  I told her what I had done, and she asked me to put it in the résumé.  I quickly modified my computer file and sent it to her.

While this was going on, the exchange (via Skype chat) continued.  She told me I would need to bring originals of all my certificates to China.  Diplomas, certificates from Korea, ESL certificate.  I agreed.

There are still a lot of things that are not yet clear to me.  For instance, how will she send me the Foreign Expert Certificate?  E-mail, air courier, or mail?  And what else might I need to bring to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco for my visa interview?  However, I don't think I need the answers to all of these questions right now, in order to move forward.  I will make sure that I get the answers I need when I need them.  At this point, I'm waiting for word on the progress of my Z visa application, mentioned in the first sentence of Jane's e-mail.  I'm hoping for good news within a few weeks.

Prayer Requests

At this point, I believe God is directing me to teach in China.  The position I've accepted looks like a good fit for me, the school wants me ASAP, and it would be good experience for my eventual long-term goal of teaching in the mission field.  If this doesn't work, I don't know what to try next; this was my plan B.  So, all the circumstances seem to line up on one side, and that's the best way I know to read God's will without direct revelation.  Therefore, please pray that the Foreign Expert Bureau in China would grant my Z visa application.

My family is not completely at peace with this process.  Different people have different degrees of concern.  I appreciate that there is danger involved.  However, I think it is like childbirth.  There is danger in the process for both parties.  However, there is more danger (if it were possible) in not giving birth; in fact, a successful postponement of delivery would mean certain death for the child if not for the mother.

Having gone to another country to teach before, I believe I am in a better position to understand the risks I face, both in going and in staying, than my family members, who have not.  I have weighed the risks and made my decision:  taking a job on the other side of the world is safer than staying here without good job prospects.  Having made my choice, I would ask everyone to please pray for my family to have peace about my decision, and support me in this process.

Blessings,

Sean M. Pearson

You're going where?

Well, I'm up to my old tricks again, threatening to leave my family and fly to the other side of the world, just to make a quick buck.  I've been making noise about this for some time, but today, it got serious.  Today, I just received and printed the actual contract.

Needless to say, my parents are not entirely happy about this, even though they've been bugging me to get out of their hair (and their house) for months.  In fact, I'm experiencing a little trepidation myself.  Of course, everyone agrees that I need to find some practical way of earning enough money to support myself, and move out of my parents' guest room.  It's long overdue.  At issue is how I choose to accomplish this.

About 18 years ago, I decided that I would never work with junior high kids, either professionally or in ministry.  I knew that someone had to do it, but I didn't think I was cut out for that sort of work.  About 18 months ago, however, I found myself teaching math to 5 classes of (mostly) Korean students in grades 6 to 10.  How and why I found myself doing this is documented in my earlier blog entries.  The point is, I loved it.  (Gotta love God's sense of humor.)

I loved it so much that, when there were problems with my E-2 visa application, I seriously considered marrying a Korean woman in order to get an F visa.  (That would have been wonderful, but it didn't work out.)  All I could do was try to explain to my students why I was leaving.  It was hard, and I don't know how much they understood, but I did my best.  Several of them wrote me good-bye notes, and a few even gave me gifts.  (I think those were the girls who had the most hopeless crushes on me.)  Then, it was on to a farewell ceremony, a good-bye dinner, divide up my classes, grade and return the last make-up exams, pack up my bags, sleep for a few hours, and ride to the airport.

When I found myself back in the U.S., I took some time to evaluate my experience, and what major lessons I could learn from it.  It was clear that, having matured a great deal from my own junior high days, I could handle kids in that age group.  (At least, I could handle Korean kids.)  Moreover, I could teach, and even enjoy teaching, with almost no training or preparation time.  I would probably do a lot better with some formal training in a credential program.

So, I volunteered at a local high school, took the necessary exams, and applied to the credential program at the local state university campus.  That was supposed to be a really good program, with a great reputation.  At first, it went well, after a minor hitch in the application process.  In the fall semester, however, there were problems with my student teaching placement, and the school did not (in my opinion) fulfill its obligation to find me a suitable placement.  So, I chose to withdraw from that program, and pursue other opportunities.  Having been warned that my previous visa problems would likely preclude further work in Korea, I did a little research and decided that China was the next best option.

Yes, that's right, China, as in the People's Republic of.  As in Red China.  Yes, I'm fully aware that it's a Communist country; that is, a country with a totalitarian government, limited personal and religious freedom, and state control or ownership of the means of production.  I'm also aware that it's the most populous country in the world, and its current economic prosperity is based in large part on their success in exporting manufactured goods to the U.S.

This means that those Chinese workers who can communicate in English have much better job opportunities than those who cannot.  Hence, there is a strong market in China for qualified English teachers.  And we're not just talking about a few years in high school and a few semesters in college, like the U.S.  We're talking from Kindergarten on up.  (Yes, it is possible to teach English to someone when you don't speak their language.  I've had some training.)  And at the higher levels, they want to learn correct pronunciation and expand their usable vocabulary, which is where I come in.

The point is, schools in China are actively hiring people with my qualifications.  They are even paying recruiters to find teachers for them.  It's a seller's labor market.  And, for someone who has a hard time dealing with the current labor market in California, it's a job hunter's dream.  Just post the résumé online, and choose from among the offers that fill your inbox.  (I'm simplifying slightly.)

Currently, I've chosen an offer from Wuxi International School, which is in Wuxi, a medium-sized city (about 4 million people) outside Shanghai.  I chose that school for multiple reasons.  They want me to teach Math in English, which is what I did in Korea.  They are a short train ride from Shanghai, which means a cheaper flight and no layover.  They want me to come in July or August, instead of February, which was a little too soon for my comfort.  Also, the salary offer is very reasonable.

At this point, I'm just about ready to sign the contract.  However, my parents have raised several concerns, so I'm choosing to hold off for a little while, while my mom tries to put me in touch with a friend's son who is currently teaching in China.  I also have something I want to do before I send the signed contract by e-mail.  So, I will wait while those things are dealt with.  I don't plan on waiting more than a week.  China is calling.

Prayer Requests
I've got a big decision to make.  And, as is normal with any significant decision, there are a lot of things that I don't know.  On one hand, this could be dangerous.  On the other hand, it appears to be the best option available.  Please pray that God would show me His will in this area.  If it's not God's will for me to go to China, I need Him to open a door somewhere else.  Also, please pray that my parents would not worry unduly.  There are risks in going, but I'm afraid there may be bigger risks in staying here.  Everyone needs to see things clearly.  Thank you.