In support of compulsive behavior
Haji: Yeah, I'm going to China to teach English.
Me: Whereabouts?
Haji: Somewhere like Jilin or something. It's near N. Korea.
Me: How did you land a job like that?
Haji: I know a guy.
Me: Could you hook me up?
Haji: Sure, but - would you be willing to drop everything and leave, even if it were tomorrow?
Me: In a heart beat. When are you going?
Haji: Like, in a month or two.
Me: Count me in... [Suddenly I'm filled with an enormous tingling energy and a giant smile takes over my face. I begin to bounce up and down.]
I'm very much considering the option. If I do go I will have to put off grad school for a year, but the experience will be worth it. The only thing that gave me second thoughts is when I looked up the city on the internet (yes they do have a few tourist attractions there) and saw that the area, apparently with a wonderfully "temperate" climate, experiences 140-150 frost-free days a year. And I guess it snows from November until April. All of China's Olympic skiers practice in the area, so at least I'll be able to ski. When I was thinking "China" for some reason I was thinking southern China, not the far north. Anyway, I still might do it.
If I go I'll just be able to bring 2 suitcases full of my stuff (absent any books for fear that they'll be confiscated). That means I'll be starting completely from scratch. They'll hook us up with a place to live and the pay is fairly well for Chinese standards. My main fear, actually, would not be the cold, or the dramatic difference in living conditions, food, culture, etc., but the flight over there. It's a14 hour flight, or so, mostly over water.
Question - if the plane falls apart in mid-flight, what are the chances that one could survive a 30,000 ft. drop from the sky into the ocean? I would hate to live through that only to find myself floating in the ocean soon to either be eaten or drowned. Now that is scary.
Me: Whereabouts?
Haji: Somewhere like Jilin or something. It's near N. Korea.
Me: How did you land a job like that?
Haji: I know a guy.
Me: Could you hook me up?
Haji: Sure, but - would you be willing to drop everything and leave, even if it were tomorrow?
Me: In a heart beat. When are you going?
Haji: Like, in a month or two.
Me: Count me in... [Suddenly I'm filled with an enormous tingling energy and a giant smile takes over my face. I begin to bounce up and down.]
I'm very much considering the option. If I do go I will have to put off grad school for a year, but the experience will be worth it. The only thing that gave me second thoughts is when I looked up the city on the internet (yes they do have a few tourist attractions there) and saw that the area, apparently with a wonderfully "temperate" climate, experiences 140-150 frost-free days a year. And I guess it snows from November until April. All of China's Olympic skiers practice in the area, so at least I'll be able to ski. When I was thinking "China" for some reason I was thinking southern China, not the far north. Anyway, I still might do it.
If I go I'll just be able to bring 2 suitcases full of my stuff (absent any books for fear that they'll be confiscated). That means I'll be starting completely from scratch. They'll hook us up with a place to live and the pay is fairly well for Chinese standards. My main fear, actually, would not be the cold, or the dramatic difference in living conditions, food, culture, etc., but the flight over there. It's a14 hour flight, or so, mostly over water.
Question - if the plane falls apart in mid-flight, what are the chances that one could survive a 30,000 ft. drop from the sky into the ocean? I would hate to live through that only to find myself floating in the ocean soon to either be eaten or drowned. Now that is scary.