Twists and Turns Along the Way

Wow--what a week! Earlier this week I found out that the visa requirements for China have changed. It used to be that I sent photocopies of my resume, references, TEFL certificate, passport and college diploma to the Disney HR department in Shanghai, and they would send me back an invitation letter to come to China. Then I'd take all of that down to the consulate in Houston, wait a few days, and get my visa. Now, anyone who wants a visa and will be living outside of Shanghai must go through Beijing. And Beijing is definitely more stringent on their requirements. Instead of copies, they want the originals. And a medical check (in addition to the one I have to have once I get there). Here's part of the medical check (the next page asks for an ECG and chest x-ray--do we do all of this for people coming to the US?) Basically they want to make sure I'm healthy and not mentally unstable (see the mental confusion/manic/paranoid/hallucinatory psychosis section!) And I need to have all these things in by August 1st. Yup, a little over a week. So I've scheduled the doctor's appointment, asked both of my references for their recommendations, and started trudging along the path to get to China.

I was talking to Ashley last night about all the changes and we said it's typical of Disney to have a roller coaster ride along the way to your final destination... maybe we'll end in a gift shop too if we're lucky!

On the Road to China

At the same time I applied with Disney, I was applying for several other positions. One of the positions was in San Antonio, and my former employer recommended I apply. What's there to lose? I applied for the position and hadn't heard anything back. Then, during the last week of June I was called for an interview. I got up early one morning and drove down to San Antonio for the all-day interview. Two weeks later, I heard back--they wanted to offer me a job. I was very honored and sad that I wouldn't be able to do both jobs, but I really feel like China is the better fit for me right now. I am so lucky that I even had the chance to interview for this other position.

It's Official!

As many of you know, I've accepted a job with Disney English. I will be teaching English in China starting in October. In June, I decided I needed a change. I left my job after almost 2 years and I wasn't quite sure what I'd be doing. My last week there, a friend of mine from college, Ashley, (who I also happened to intern with at Disney World in 2006) posted on Facebook that she had been offered a job with Disney English. I was a bit intrigued! I gave Ashley a call, and she said they were still hiring and she'd reach out to her recruiter to see if they were interested. I sent my resume over to her, and I got an e-mail back from the recruiter on my last day of work. We scheduled an interview for the following week, and they offered me a position on the spot. Initially, my friend and I were trying to work it out to be teaching in the same city, but that just wasn't in the cards for us. The recruiter sent me a list of cities that had openings in October, and I did lots and lots of research on all of them. After hours of reading about these cities, I decided on Nanjing.

Nanjing is located in southern China and is about 3 hours northwest of Shanghai, and about 3 and a half hours from Hangzhou (where Ashley will be). We are both super excited to go abroad (especially because its with Disney!) and ready for the challenges ahead. Right now we are working on our TEFL-C certification so we can teach in China. More importantly, though, we are planning our travels around China/Asia over the next 15 months. It will be the first time for both of us to be on that side of the world. I am just so blessed to have things fall into place the way they did. Here's to a great adventure.