My China Experience Is Coming To A Close

[Voltaire 3,791]

 

It's coming on fast now, we've got plane tickets for December 13th and this time, although we still have an apartment here we're not going back except to visit. It'll be 21 years overseas, covering my entire time at FFToday, since I've lived in the US.

My wife and I have teaching jobs in small town Florida, her in kindergarten, me in High School social studies. Neither of us have teaching degrees, but Florida doesn't require one to start, which was one of the selling points on choosing that state. We'll be allowed to work/teach under a temporary license which is conditional upon us being enrolled in a program working towards teacher certification.  Kindergarten was the fallback option for my wife. She'd wanted to teach Chinese, but there were surprisingly few teaching positions open and we didn't find any in the sort of small town community setting that we want to raise our kids in. 

The plan is to stop in Detroit briefly, then go down there and get things set up, then return to Detroit for the holiday. This'll be the first time my kids have been there in winter time, let alone Christmas. My wife and kids hope to see snow, so maybe they'll get it. Even if it's an unseasonably mild December, with the snow having come and gone and missing our time there, they're still going to experience cold like they never have before, so might as well make it a blizzard for dramatic effect.

So a broad assortment of nightmare expenses are on tap. Start with those plane tickets for six. Gonna need to find a rental home until we find a place to buy, buy a car, whatever furniture and whatnot to put in the home, a lawyer to help with immigration issues. I'd feel a lot better about this transition if we sold out apartment here and had a cash cushion to work with but ...eh... China is still deep in zero-COVID mode and the economy is sputtering as a result, so it's not an ideal time. So we still have a fully furnished apartment full of our stuff that we're just going to leave here, and ... I don't know. That includes a piano which, a few years ago, set me back a full month's salary. For the cost of shipping, it may be easier to just leave things here and buy all new stuff. We may still retire here, as I've told you for years the weather is phenomenal, especially this time of year as things get colder. But Florida mitigates that need than if we'd have chosen Idaho, Wyoming, or South Dakota.

Overall China is really sucking lately. Xi Jinping is steering China in a very different direction than Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. For the vast majority of my time here, I've encouraged people who wanted/needed to start over in life to come here to see what's up. One bit, TBBOM, and it worked out just as well for him as it did for me. But that's not the case anymore, recommending teaching in China for people that hit a rut in the US isn't so appealing and its getting worse and worse. The plan all along had been to keep doing this until I retire. To uproot and start over again at 50 was the furthest thing from my mind. As you can imagine, it takes a great deal to upend everything like this. Sadly, the changes in education law for private schools has made our increasingly untenable. China doesn't want private schools. Meanwhile, the constant COVID policy harassment, even when COVID isn't present in the community, is the icing on the cake. I have a responsibility to look out for my family as best I can.

Speaking of which, my daughters should both thrive: academically, athletically, socially, responsibility, and looks-wise, they're both top-of-the-line girls who can excel in any circumstance. It won't all be all roses though.

My son, ugh, who knows. There's a cornucopia full of problems to deal with here and I've told you about him many times. The Chinese school system chewed him up and spit him out. His biggest problem there was that he couldn't write to grade level. So a year and a half ago, after finishing grade six at his elementary school, rather than send him to middle school, we pulled him out and enrolled him in an online US based internet school in Kansas City. He has a 4.0 GPA but getting his lazy ass to compete his assignments and meet his weekly checkpoints is an ongoing struggle requiring much screaming and harassing. Also, the 4.0 GPA masks a problem. He couldn't write at grade level in the Chinese school and he can't write to grade level in English either. He tested into Grade Four English not Grade Seven so I enrolled him in Grade Four English last year hoping he'd catch up. Wrong. The boy is in constant "Goof Off Mode." Any week where you can motivate, drag, and harangue his sorry ass to collapse smack on top of the finish line is already successful week. I'd not realized at the time but there is no "catch up" in him. The notion of this boy being capable of accomplishing one scintilla of work beyond what he's supposed to for a given week is utterly absurd and out of the question. Consequently,  he's in 8th grade but he's not taking "Grade Eight English", he's taking "Grade Five English" while at the same time, he's also taking Geometry which is 10th grade Math. In other words, he's way ahead of his grade level in math, while simultaneously being way behind it in English. He still needs a Chinese-English electronic dictionary to understand some of the vocabulary and look up words. Other issues to deal with is that he was already small-ish, underweight, and socially awkward before we started homeschooling him. My younger daughter is also small/thin like her mother, but girls can get away with that, I don't even know if it's an issue, boys have a harder time of dealing it.

So, eh, long story short ... look at me.

[Strike 3,210]

Welcome back

[Bier Meister 1,374]

Good luck with the move and trying to motivate your son.

[Pimpadeaux 1,453]

Welcome back!

[Flipper 36]

Bummer that there is one less insider to keep the politicized nuts here informed about the other side but good to know the family unit is well.

Remember to mumble a few phrases in English from time to time.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,415]

 Glad you’re coming home.  Hope y’all’s are well.Be safe brother.

[BeenHereBefore 913]

Welcome Back!

[wiffleball 4,373]

All right kiddo. I love dangling your chains. But I have nothing but enormous respect for the fact that you backed up and went to an entirely different country. It's not like moving from Canada to America or vice versa. What you did took guts.

 

And the fact that she made a family in the living and a presence there is pretty impressive.

 

I guess I don't understand why you're bringing the wife and kids with you?

I mean, that seems unfortunate.

 

But hey, whatever. I have a lot of respect for you. So there's that.

[frank 1,970]

When you get back, you should join a Chinese ff board. 

[BunnysBastatrds 1,415]

47 minutes ago, frank said:

When you get back, you should join a Chinese ff board. 

They rike Romo and Rice.

[Voltaire 3,791]

2 hours ago, wiffleball said:

 

I guess I don't understand why you're bringing the wife and kids with you?

I mean, that seems unfortunate.

Hmmm.... I hadn't thought of that. Now that you mention it, I could leave my wife destitute in China with three kids in favor of hooking up with peenie whom I've been flirting with this entire because she was cute twenty years ago. 

I told you I bought six tickets but, later I also told you that I have three kids. Well, that math doesn't add up. That 6th ticket is my mother-in-law. My wife getting a green card should be easy peasy. She was eligable after five years of marriage, well, she's been married sixteen years. It's finding a way for my MiL that is going to be a challenge. She's 82 and she's helped us raise our kids for the last fifteen years. Leaving her behind at her age because she's inconvinient isn't something we want to deal with if we can at all avoid it. We'll talk to an immigration lawyer to go over our options. 

[RLLD 2,701]

The middle east is perculating right now. I may head over there for a year if this keeps up. There is $$ to be made in Lebanon right now. I am getting pinged heavy on some opportunities for "security" related ops.  Looks like there is a cholera epidemic and there are folks everywhere scrambling to get in on it.  It's too easy to make money off those people 

[Raven Fan 262]

Do they really love you long time?

[Voltaire 3,791]

36 minutes ago, Raven Fan said:

Do they really love you long time?

Sixteen years in and on track for however long it takes until I wind up in a box. 

[iam90sbaby 1,796]

What part of FL

[wiffleball 4,373]

Could you get me general tso's autograph before you leave?

[Reality 2,182]

Welcome home, I've followed your entire journey over my years here. Florida was the right choice, the next few months will be a challenge but, look forward to hearing how it goes.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 2,986]

Luckily you got an Asian wife coming with you

it would be hard coming back here single and realizing you really do have a small d1ck

 

[The PosterFormerlyKnownAs 59]

Admire you for recognizing what you need to do and finding a way to do it — and still maintaining great weather in a solid Red state.

[Voltaire 3,791]

38 minutes ago, iam90sbaby said:

What part of FL

I learned recently that in Florida, the further north you go, the more south you get. Hell, I may have learned that from you. With that in mind, everyone I talk to on the phone there has a southern accent. I don't really want to make the exact location public knowledge but I do trust you completely so I'll PM you and maybe you know a thing or two about the place.

[MTSkiBum 1,500]

Congrats 

[fandandy 3,311]

4 hours ago, frank said:

When you get back, you should join a Chinese ff board. 

I riked your post.

[iam90sbaby 1,796]

21 minutes ago, Voltaire said:

I learned recently that in Florida, the further north you go, the more south you get. Hell, I may have learned that from you. With that in mind, everyone I talk to on the phone there has a southern accent. I don't really want to make the exact location public knowledge but I do trust you completely so I'll PM you and maybe you know a thing or two about the place.

Yeah you can PM me, you're definitely north of me 

[GobbleDog 642]

All species have an hierarchy with one of them at the bottom of the totem pole. With dogs the lowest are pit bulls. Among fish it's catfish.  Among Asians, it's the Chinese.

You've been living with catfish.

[MDC 4,760]

Congrats and welcome home.  

[Big Guy 1,399]

Awesome.......I hope your trip and new chapter is a great one!

[IGotWorms 2,414]

Best of luck to you and the fam!

[Voltaire 3,791]

1 minute ago, GobbleDog said:

All species have an hierarchy with one of them at the bottom of the totem pole. With dogs the lowest are pit bulls. Among fish it's catfish.  Among Asians, it's the Chinese.

You've been living with catfish.

. In Asia, there's the likes of Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh nearby that aren't above anybody on the totem pole except each other. The Chinese have had a successful civilization that dominated their part of the planet for 6000 years up until a hundred years ago. Mao and Xi JinPing may both be powerful but not particularly talented nor effective leaders, but even with their scewups and authoritarianism, the country still finds itself second only to the US.

[Masshole 642]

Welcome back!    I thoroughly enjoy your posts and your thoughts.   Hopefully your move back to the states won't impact your posting.    You bring a lot to the table here.    You are probably one of the biggest reasons why I started posting here more frequently.   You, RLLD, HT, and a few others add great content.    

[Gladiators 1,836]

Good luck Volty. I hope the transition goes as smooth as possible for you and the family!

[MLCKAA 230]

You’re the sole respectable poster on this site.  Sincerely.

Wish you well with the transition back stateside.

If you’re planning to settle anywhere near Orlando, PM me.  Empty, though very small, rental property available in St Cloud.

[DonS 2,779]

1 hour ago, Gladiators said:

Good luck Volty. I hope the transition goes as smooth as possible for you and the family!

   I think I need to re-read his post! 

[DonS 2,779]

Good luck!

Can size on the MIL?

[Cloaca du jour 1,836]

Good luck with todays unmotivated students in florida...at least you have Desantis.

[Gladiators 1,836]

10 minutes ago, DonS said:

   I think I need to re-read his post! 

I probably wasn’t supposed to leak that. Sorry Volty

[patweisers44 631]

Too good for the old hood off of Eight Mile?

Kidding man, welcome home and safe travels. Hope all goes well with getting the MIL here as well.

[Cdub100 2,893]

Smart not coming back to Michigan.

[bostonlager 2,008]

Next time we do a draft you won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to make your picks. 

[WhiteWonder 1,706]

Florida… too bad she’s not a Spanish teacher. 
 

good luck

 

I always thought 90sbaby could be your son. Hopefully you two can have a geek meet. 

[peenie 1,517]

Yay!!!! So happy you’re returning to the United States. Your son will do well here. Since he likes to goof off he’ll be popular. 
If your wife teaches Chinese online, I will gladly pay for lessons. Best of luck!