BISS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! After all the discussion, decisions, moves, and Beijing adventures, Judy is finally starting her first day of classes. She heads out and immediately has some “fun”. The first three taxi drivers look at her instructions, and shake her off. The next one doesn’t even give her a chance to get in. He just drives right by. Finally, the 5th taxi allows her in and she’s off to work.
Heading out for the first day of class at BISS.
She has a fun day, meeting students, and settling into the routine of a class day. She forgot to take her water bottle. There are water dispensers in the halls of the school, but no cups. She gets really parched, and by lunch is exhausted. After lunch, some water, and some rest, she finishes up the afternoon of classes. Her observation of the day………she’s too old to teach Pre-K and Kindergarten. Their 45 minute classes are a long time to entertain and direct all that energy. Fortunately, it’s only two days a week.
Some of the BISS classes on the first day.
I get my first contact with teachers at BHSFIC. The first email is an invite to a get-together at Sanlitun Village for the new teachers. The 2nd email is from Serene Hu, acting principal at the school. It contains a detailed schedule for Thursday, our first official meeting. After two weeks of dealing with setting up the household, I’m ready to begin thinking about my job, however part-time it might be.
I walk over to Metro for some groceries (about a mile). Again, I overdo the purchases and have more than I can carry. Sooner or later, I hope to learn how to avoid the overload. I get it out to a taxi, and then unload at UHN. A gate guards helps me get it to the gate. I leave half at the gate, and carry the rest to the apartment. Another trip to the gate, and I’m caught up my major shopping for the week.
Judy gets home and we talk over the first day of class. Around 6:40, I grab a taxi and head for Sanlitun. I find the meeting site, and soon a few of the teachers arrive. We find a restaurant, order dinner, and get down to the serious business of finding out about each other. The new Girls PE teacher is from El Paso. She’s been the soccer coach at Santa Teresa, NM for 22 years (I think). She’s has two sons, both living in Albuquerque. She doesn’t sound like she’s from El Paso. Sure enough, she grew up in London, and taught in England a few years before moving to El Paso.
The 2nd teacher has been teaching in New York for 11 years. Her accent doesn’t sound “New York”. As it turns out, her family is from Barbados. It’s English, but with a UK twist.
They’ve been having a lot more “fun” than we did. When they arrived,in Beijing, they were put in transition dorm rooms on the BHSF main campus until they found an apartment. After one week, they still haven’t found an apartment. BISS has the right idea. They put you in an apartment for a year. After a year, if you want to move, you’re welcome to. The BHSFIC teachers still have many Beijing adventures in front of them. It should be fun comparing stories.