 |
| Downtown SF from some pier, maybe Pier 6. |
Don't want to read the story? Scroll to the end to find out where we are going without all the hype. I worked hard on this so I'm sure you won't skip to the end. READ ON...
We attended the orientation where we were told about how things might work the next few days including signups for interviews, interview etiquette, and . We came out of that meeting with slightly more open views on where we might want to go teach but then we got the job opening list.
As I headed across the street to grab some food from a busy falafel shop, Erin headed back to the room to start scouring the list of jobs. We checked the lists to see which schools had openings for both of us (some a stretch of skills and some of preference). We dropped our resumes and a note into their hanging file folder "mailboxes" down in the office and checked our own. Hmmm. Kiev, Ukraine is interested. That could be cool. And Kuwait? Well, they told us to be open, so okay. Maybe?
The next morning we quickly ate our hotel breakfast and got dressed up in our finest clothes--actually we had to buy new clothes so we looked more "professional" and boy, did we!
 |
| The Ferry Building and Bay Bridge from our hotel window. |
We took the lift down to the lower floor and got in the line for interview sign-ups. We got behind a single woman, who seemed to smile constantly, so we tried it too. There were lots of administrators walking by as they went to their tables and wanted to make an impression. After striking up small talk with the woman in front of us, we discovered that she was from Olympia! She lived in West Olympia! Just blocks from us!? Wow! And her husband had served on the Olympia school board! Small world, huh.
The line finally started to move. We were going in. Into a huge room, gymnasium-like. Tables all around with signs on the walls indicating their school name, location and positions wanted.
We split up and got interviews with five schools: International School of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Quality Schools International--Kiev (Ukraine), International School of Kuwait (Kuwait), and, just as they were flickering the lights, two with Korea International School (South Korea)--at the Seoul campus and Jeju campus.
Our first interview together went well, we showed QSI who we were and what we were like. Kiev seems like a wonderful place to live, but the interviewers weren't the ones we'd actually be working with. That makes it hard to commit to two years at a school.
After lunch we interviewed separately with Kuala Lumpur. Erin got finished before me and buzzed my phone to remind me about our next interview. My interview with the Middle School principal went really well, but Erin's interview was the hardest one she has ever had. The former ES principal, AKA bad cop, grilled her about literacy and reading while the incoming principal played good cop.
We then immediately went to talk to Korea. They were double booked so were doing an interview on their outside patio while we sat on the couch. That interview went very well too. The ES principal actually told us that Kuala Lumpur should be our top choice and the school director told her she was crazy. Actually there was very little interview going on until the end when the ES principal realized she should ask some educational questions. Most questions were directed at Erin because there wasn't actually a position for me. I could fill a substitute role and hope to find a position next year in the HS or MS. They were very laid back and joking with each other and made conversation easy.
We decided early on to cancel the interview with Kuwait after watching the video about living and teaching there. The school looked great, but the lifestyle would be such a stretch for us. Of the 4 million people living there, only 1 million are Kuwaiti.
 |
| Enjoying the sunshine in Chinatown. |
We needed some air to clear our heads to help make some decisions. We actually had three possibilities: Kiev, Korea, and Kuala Lumpur. (Don't even think about all of the Ks. It made our heads spin too.) Kiev was the the lowest as it was 2nd grade for Erin and Chemistry and IB Biology for me.
So it was down to two schools. ISKL needed a band teacher and the one they had in mind had an ES teaching partner that would also need to be hired, so Erin's position was up in the air, but they hadn't even interviewed the band teacher yet. And KIS didn't have a science position for me.
We spent the next day exploring Chinatown for lunch and took the bus to the foggy side of town, Land's End, where we got to see the Pacific Ocean. Well, remember last sentence when I mentioned it was cloudy? We only saw a tiny bit of it.
Our new friend (you do remember the woman in line with us?) got offers from three schools and had until Saturday to make her decision. It was between Japan, Amsterdam, and Qatar.
Am I leading you on? Do you think I will never tell you where we are going next year? Keep reading.
Korea offered us both positions and Kuala Lumpur hired the band teacher and didn't have spots for us. So we actually had no choice, but it was our top choice after all...Korea International School!
We went their hotel suite where we interviewed to sign our letters of intent with the special KIS pens they gave us to sign with. There was another woman there who just signed to be the new Kindergarten teacher and they invited us all to go celebrate with dinner. Off we went to a very special, authentic hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. Delicious food and wine. It was fun to get to know some of the people we'd be working with. They are all just like us, up for an adventure with their kids.
 |
| Finally, we could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the Coit Tower. |
So we will be moving to Pangyo, South Korea in late July and we are very excited. We will let you know more about the school and our positions in a later post.
Do your homework and get your Googling searches done.
