Interviews, Interviews, Interviews...

Three down not too sure how many more to go. In the last week I have had 2 interviews. One for a BC school in Nanjing, China and the other for Regent's School in Bangkok. The school in China has offered me the position which is teaching grade 12 BC curriculum English Language Arts to students in China looking to get a Canadian high school diploma. The job pays very well and they seem to be quite concerned with ensuring their staff is happy and eager to stay on for consecutive contracts. That's good since it means they try to make it a positive place to work. The downside is that I would be teaching students who are for the most part ESL. The classes are large 28-29 and since the students are taking both the BC and Chinese curriculums simultaneously they tend to be exhausted most of the time. That being said, I've spoken to a couple of teachers there and they seem to like it. I also have a contract offer from Dalian Maple Leaf School in China. It's the same idea but pays a little bit more. They do however seem to be a bit of an "education factory" churning out thousands of students each year. They also do not seem too terribly concerned about the happiness of their teachers. I have until Monday to give them a decision and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a thanks but no thanks.

Most exciting was the interview I had last night with the principal of Regent's School in Bangkok. It is an International School in the traditional sense, catering to European students and some Thai nationals. They teach the IB curriculum as well as ICGSE key stage 3 and 4. This is way more up my alley since I would be able to teach literature not just ESL level stuff. The school has a beautiful campus and prides itself on volunteerism and global citizenship and stuff so the kids are constantly travelling all over Thailand and the world doing volunteer work, building houses and schools ect. Once again, right up my alley. Living in Bangkok is something I said I would never do but now that the opportunity has come up I'm pretty excited about it. The job is down to me and one other person so I have a 50% chance which is pretty good odds. Keep your fingers crossed ladies and gentlemen!

The last possibility I have on the go as of right now is with an IB school in Escazu, Costa Rica. There is a possible position opening but the principal still is not sure. I received an email from her yesterday saying that they are having a meeting on Monday to determine whether the position is available or not and she'll let me know Monday evening. She seems pretty interested in me so I have a feeling that if the position is there I have a very good chance of getting it. The only problem is that the job starts on July 14th which means I'm pretty much leaving Semi and heading straight down there without a break. I was really excited about going to Japan to see my friends so it would be pretty dissapointing if yet again I am not able to. That being said, I guess it's kinda like a vacation moving to Costa Rica but I have really been looking forward to taking a bit of break. Oh well, we shall see. I also don't know how much either of these schools are willing to pay me which of course may also affect my decision. So, there you have it ladies and gentlemen.

There may still be other opportunities on the horizon as well. I have an agent shopping my resume in the middle East and a recruiting agent for BC schools in Vietnam and Dubai contacting me sometime next week. The ball is rolling!!! My great escape is imminent! So you all better get your Skype set up so that I can become a techno savvy global adventurer.

Cheers from the wide wide world
J