Moving to the Sinking City

I actually already posted about this on facebook, but what hell, this is the point of this blog anyway right?

Next month I'll be starting a new job in Shanghai. I'll be working at the Shanghai Korean High School (original, no?) teaching a few conversational English courses, as well as a lit and comp class. I'm looking forward to it. 

For the past year and a half I've been teaching at what is called a 'training center'. It's essentially a night school with students from all walks of life who come to study/practice their conversational English. There's little prep involved and no homework, but rather comes down to your ability to entertain, hold good discussions and think on your feet. I actually really like the job, but I've got it down and I'm ready to move on to something a bit more challenging. 

This new gig should be just that. The school is a high school for the children of Koreans living and working in Shanghai. (There's a Shanghai American School, Shanghai British...you get the point.) A lot more responsibility but a more professional experience. 

One big challenge is the fact that I'll be teaching Korean kids and not Chinese people. I hang out with Chinese people, my girlfriend is Chinese and I speak Chinese. This makes teaching Chinese people a joy. We have a lot to talk about. For that reason, this new deal should be challenging, but in ways I'm glad for it. I can get my learn on while simultanesouly getting my teach on. 

Anyway, I'll moving down to the big (gigantic) city mid February and trying to get at least a bit settled before I start working. Shanghai is a crazy place and albeit a bit chaotic, I'm still looking forward to the change of environs.

Oh, and the salary is over 2x what I'm making now, which is rad. And even more rad, although my first semester is a probationary period and I therefore won't get the first break, if I stay on, I'll have 2, (read em, 2) 6 weeks paid vacations a year. 

Yeah, that's right.