They're not the only ones leaving Jishou University
Graduating class of 2017, College of International Exchange, Jishou University
It's been graduation week here, so blogging about my sudden job hunt was impossible these last few days. Besides writing my final exams for a Thursday deadline, in short order we've had the graduation ceremony, graduation dinner, and graduation farewell show, and I've shared meals with several of my former students and a former foreign teacher who came back for the occasion.
Of the students pictured, most were in my classes during their freshman and sophomore years. The 30 or so who weren't (wearing the black and white T-shirts) transferred in as juniors, so most of them I don't know at all.
Only a few know I will be hot on their heels in three weeks, as I will "graduate" from Jishou University, too. It took me nine years, though!
If you're just joining me, I learned on June 2 that I had "aged out" as a foreign teacher in Hunan Province. So, despite passing the annual medical tests and signing a contract for 2017-18, I have to clear out of China by June 30, when my visa and residence permit expire.
I've spent the last nine years teaching English at this somewhat obscure university in a remote part of western Hunan. While I knew departure was bound to happen eventually, I was planning on it being on my own terms, and not on the whim of an arbitrary bureaucratic decision.
But all is not doom and gloom! As it turns out, retirement at 60 is not universal throughout China -- yet.
The emcees (Molly, William, Catherine, Ivy, Evan and Lucrecia) introduce the graduation farewell performance
After a flurry of job hunting activity the weekend after that fateful news, I soon received a job offer from a university in another part of China, where the maximum age for a work visa is 64. The pay would be about the same as I get now, but not as much as my new contract would have offered. My students will not be Business English majors, but students from several different disciplines. But, as is true here, I would get a flat rent-free, with free electricity and Internet access.
I've corresponded with another foreign teacher there, and his answers to my questions were reassuring.
I won't say which university it is yet, as I have not yet decided to accept their offer. This week has been so hectic, I've barely had time to think about larger, long-term issues. I told my potential employers that I'd reflect over the weekend, and tell them my decision early next week.
To be honest, at this point, I have no other offers. Interest, yes, but no definite offers. I'm caught between waiting to see if something better comes along -- while being unemployed -- or taking what seems to be pretty good offer.
There are several particular advantages: I can stay in China a little longer; I won't need to ship all my stuff to the States; I can keep the same phone number; and I can visit Jishou more easily than if I were working further away.
Hedy and Belynn model dresses during the farewell show
Besides my students who have not yet graduated, I have several good friends and colleagues here whom I would like to see again in the future. In a lot of ways, I feel as if I am leaving my second family and my fourth (?) hometown. My feelings are not unlike those of my seniors, who have spent four years together as a group, developing deep personal ties that will likely continue throughout their lives.
On the one hand, we are looking forward to our futures elsewhere. On the other hand, we will be saying goodbye to the people and place we know and love.
My students may not be reading this post, but no matter what, I wish them all the best of luck and happiness in the years ahead. 天天快乐！