MONDAY. 10\/6\/14<\/b><\/p>\n
Judy heads back to work today.\u00a0 <\/span>The official Chinese National Holiday is not over until the end of the day Tuesday, but BISS is back in session.\u00a0 <\/span>Traffic is remarkably light and taxis are plentiful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today marks the official beginning of \u201crecruitment\u201d for BISS for its\u2019 faculty members for next year.\u00a0 <\/span>The process of hiring teachers for an International School is tremendously complex.\u00a0 <\/span>New faculty members are moving their lives (and families) into what for most of them is a completely new environment.\u00a0 <\/span>We are intimately familiar with all the paperwork hurdles that have to be cleared.<\/p>\n The first step for the school is determining which faculty will be returning.\u00a0 <\/span>Any rookie faculty members have been hired on a two-year contract, so their status is set.\u00a0 <\/span>The questions lie with the \u201cold\u201d faculty.\u00a0 <\/span>We watched the process with curiosity last year, but this year, we\u2019re involved.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve decided not to return for a 3rd<\/sup> year in Beijing.\u00a0 <\/span>Judy\u2019s job at BISS is the reason we\u2019re in China, and she\u2019s ready to try something different than teaching elementary music.\u00a0 <\/span>This is year 39<\/span><\/b> for her career, and she\u2019s reached that point where it\u2019s time for a change.\u00a0 <\/span>She could continue a few more years, and \u201cmail it in\u201d, but she\u2019s never been the type to do that. \u00a0<\/span>She\u2019s still staying late every day after school to plan, and comes home with work to do.\u00a0 <\/span>There is lots of her weekend time spent looking for new music and ideas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My job at BHSFIC has been part-time (two days a week) and a \u201cblast\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a nice change from the \u201ccontest grind\u201d of band directing.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve had a chance to experience the education process at a high level Chinese high school with very motivated and focused students.\u00a0 <\/span>The faculty and staff are dedicated and focused on helping the students achieve their dream of attending a university in the US.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019d been struggling with this decision for months, dating back to April & May.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve loved our lives here, and all our new friends.\u00a0 <\/span>We hate to leave them and know we\u2019ll miss them.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ve had the chance to travel and haven\u2019t missed many opportunities.\u00a0 <\/span>There is so much to see in China and Asia, we\u2019ll never get it all in.<\/p>\n As a part of that decision to return to the US, we just completed the purchase of our new home in Fort Worth.\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019ll be living in Museum Place, a condo in the Cultural District, sometime this summer.\u00a0 <\/span>We lived in one of the units before our move to China (after we sold our Arlington home), and loved it.\u00a0 <\/span>Every time we visited the DFW area, we were on the lookout for a place we\u2019d enjoy, and found it this summer.\u00a0 <\/span>Mortgage interest rates, and a location we loved all fell into place, and we began the process for the purchase.\u00a0 <\/span>It wasn\u2019t easy doing it from China.\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t think it would have been possible without the help of an old high school friend, Debbie Hunn.\u00a0 <\/span>She\u2019s actively involved in the real estate business, specializing in downtown properties, and helped us work through all the hurdles of a long-distance sale.\u00a0 <\/span>WE ARE EXCITED!<\/p>\n Our balcony view toward Will Rogers, Museum of Modern Art, and Casa Ma\u00f1ana.<\/p><\/div>\n Our building.<\/p><\/div>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SATURDAY\/SUNDAY, 10\/4-5\/14 \u00a0We\u2019re back in Beijing and it\u2019s time to get ready for the next 9 weeks (Xmas vacation).\u00a0 Judy takes care of all the final unpacking details, emptying suitcases, and laundry.\u00a0 I spend a lot of my time reviewing … Continue reading ![\"IMG_1456\"](\"http:\/\/gordonandjudy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/IMG_1456.jpg\")
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