I intended to \u201cclose out\u201d our China years long before now.\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t get motivated, and there were so many \u201cspam\u201d comments (22,000, yeah 22,000) to delete, I couldn\u2019t keep up, so I gave up.\u00a0 Now that we\u2019re about to head out on another \u201ctrip of a lifetime\u201d\u00a0 (we\u2019ve had so many more than we ever expected), I thought I would try to post some comments and pictures for my mom or anyone else who might be interested<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a summation of our trip\/jobs in China.\u00a0 In the fall of 2012, Judy and I were both mentally fatigued from doing basically the same jobs for over 37\/38 years.\u00a0 We spent 25 years teaching in Clovis, New Mexico, and 12 more in Arlington.\u00a0 I taught one early year in Friona, TX, before we moved to New Mexico while Judy finished her degree at WTSU.\u00a0 We enjoyed our careers and had great memories, but were tired of the same grind, and going to work was no longer \u201cfun\u201d.<\/p>\n
We realized we were eligible to retire and the challenge of teaching overseas and the allure of travel sounded exciting and reinvigorating.\u00a0 Our two years in Beijing were exactly that, exciting and reinvigorating.\u00a0Judy loved the challenge of embracing a new curriculum, but making it fit her teaching strengths.\u00a0 She met some wonderful people and has been enjoying keeping up with them through emails and WeChat, since we left.<\/p>\n
I developed a deep respect for the Chinese students and teachers I worked with, and also made some great expat friends.\u00a0 I still check in on Josie, the PE teacher at BSHFIC while I was there.\u00a0 She moved back to El Paso, and helps me keep track of some of the teachers and students I had a chance to work with back in China.<\/p>\n
In the three and a half years we\u2019ve been back in the US, our lives have continued to evolve.\u00a0 Judy\u2019s had one knee replaced, and I\u2019ve had both knees replaced.\u00a0 We feel great and our health is good.\u00a0 We have found part-time jobs that have kept us involved in music education.\u00a0 Judy works with student teachers for Texas Wesleyan University, and I mentor\/consult with band programs at six schools for Fort Worth ISD.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve continued to travel extensively, visiting Israel, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and Australia.\u00a0We\u2019re about to embark on a six-week trip that includes a 15-night cruise from Rome through the Suez Canal, time in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, over a week in northern India, and two weeks in northern & southern Thailand.\u00a0 The time in southern Thailand will be \u201cbeach\u201d time spent with some of Judy\u2019s friends from BISS in Beijing.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit of a reunion, and we\u2019re looking forward to catching up on everything and everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I intended to \u201cclose out\u201d our China years long before now.\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t get motivated, and there were so many \u201cspam\u201d comments (22,000, yeah 22,000) to delete, I couldn\u2019t keep up, so I gave up.\u00a0 Now that we\u2019re about … Continue reading