As Stephen said in the last post, we are knee deep in preparations for the big move. We are getting more and more excited with each passing day. Right now the big things on our plate are finishing the school year, moving out of our classrooms, and moving out of our apartment (and into my parents' house for the summer). All of those things are happening within two weeks. Yipes! Here's what the apartment looks like right now--this is all being stored this year.
As the day gets closer, people have been asking a lot of the same questions. So, to help answer them, I've compiled a FAQ and answer list. Here goes:
Where are you going, exactly? We are moving to an area called Shekou, in a city named Shenzhen, China. It's about a 30 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong.
When do you guys leave? We leave on August 9th and will arrive August 10th. One of the cool parts is that we have a layover in London and we are hoping to hang out with our friends the Raggetts whilst there!!
When does school start? August 25th (we have a week or two of orientations before that)
What will you be teaching? As of now, we will both be teaching middle school ESL (which they call I. E. or intensive English) at an American school called QSI Shekou. I say 'as of now,' because I've been told that this is subject to change. I'm pretty certain that the ESL will be for sure, but we could end up teaching a few other subjects.
Is China safe? Is anywhere REALLY safe? I mean, we live in Houston right now--a place that gets hit by Hurricanes pretty regularly. We have pretty high crime rates, etc. We're putting our trust in the Lord, not in a location.
What are you taking? We are taking our clothes, some teaching items that we can't live without, lots of deodorant (because you can't get it there), good pens (also not found there), some kitchen items that we want to have, our computers, and a few books (even though we both have e-readers).
When people hear about what we're packing, they often ask, "Isn't everything made in China? Why don't you just buy it all there?" Yes, everything is made there, but that doesn't mean they SELL it there. We've been told to bring all our clothes, as it is very hard to find the size and quality we might be looking for. There are eight Wal-Mart's (although they are a bit different than our Wal-Mart's...), a Sam's Club, and an Ikea, though--so we might just get by! :)
When are you coming home?/How long are you staying? Well, our school will fly us home during the summer. As to how long we plan to work in China, the answer is--we don't know. We are honestly listening to the Lord for His guidance and trying not to plan too far in advance. We haven't even experienced China yet! It's been our dream for a long time to live and teach overseas together, so we're going to do that until the Lord leads us back to the States.
Do you speak Chinese? Nope. Are we trying to learn Mandarin? Sort of--that'll be a project for the summer. Right now, life is too crazy to squeeze it in. It is definitely a goal--I feel that it's only right to learn the language of the country you are living in.
What are you going to do with your stuff? The things we leave behind will be in a storage unit until we get back. We have been and are continuing to sell certain things. If you are interested in buying things like clothes, a few furniture pieces, or various household odds and ends, just let me know.
Is there a church for you there? Yes, there is a local expat church that we plan to attend with some new friends we've made via the net. We're excited to get involved there.
Will you be able to access facebook? I think so?? I've heard that we might not be able to post much, if at all, so we may have to resort just to email, blogging, and skype. We'll keep you posted! Also, we do know that certain websites are restricted and the internet isn't always very reliable, so please be patient if you don't hear from us for a while!
Well, I hope that answers some of your questions. If there are any more, please feel free to post a comment or email/facebook them to us. Thanks for reading!! Be sure to bookmark this site, because there will hopefully be lots of updates about our adventures! We'd appreciate your prayers as we prepare this summer!
--Kayla
