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How did it all go down?
On June 19th, I travelled to Beijing on behalf of my employer Apple Computer to assist in the installation of comprehensive learning management system for the Western Academy of Beijing. While the campus and facilities were impressive, I was mostly impressed by the “visionary” nature of the school and the passion of their staff. It reminded me alot of the private school I graduated from in Dallas, Tx. Then when I saw a group of young American, Australian, British, and Asian kids attending soccer camp there, I immediately coveted the opportunity to expose our daughter to such a great experience.
So, while having drinks with the school director and IT manager, I mentioned how great it would be to live there for a while and the director responded “well, we would really like to have someone here with your experience…let’s talk more about it”. At the end of my visit, I was invited to meet formally with the director who outlined an offer. I obviously told him that I would need to discuss it with Lisa but indicated that we would probably accept it as long as there was nothing too screwy.
Do they speak english at the School?
Yes. It’s a “western” International School which caters to the kids of families living there. Western Academy was founded by a pair of British women and seems to be run mostly by Australians. But, Madline will learn Mandarin at the school as a part of a language program. It would be sinful not to try to learn the language while we have this great opportunity.
What does Maddy (our 7 year old daughter) think of this?
She thinks it’s totally cool but has expressed a little apprehension. For a seven year old, her parents are “her world” so I think she will be fine. I don’t believe she fully comprehends that she won’t be seeing her friends. Follow this blog and I will try to provide updates about her situation.
What does Lisa (my wife) think about this?
She approached this differently than me. When I first mentioned it, she said “oddly, I don’t have a strong objection”. The next day she said “how in the hell would we be able to pull this off?” And the third day she tentatively said “let’s get every expense into a spreadsheet to see if we can get this work before we say yes”. Once she saw that it was possible, she relaxed and has been very excited. That’s how we compliment each other…I impulsively pursue something without much thought and she validates the feasibility of the idea.
What influenced your decision?
But we just couldn’t stomach the thought of sitting in front of the TV in 2008, watching the Olympics in Beijing and thinking “we could have lived there had we only….(fill in the blank with a seemingly insignificant task or fear). But beyond the fact that we saw this as an opportunity to grow ourselves, there were a variety of contributing factors and synergies.
What sort of synergies?
Professionally this was the right thing to do. I have been a software engineer for the past 6-7 years but my job has recently changed to be more pre-sale IT architecture role which requires a vast knowledge of systems and technologies. While some assume that us “computer folk” know everything, it’s more akin to the medical profession where a surgeon might not have the depth of drug knowledge as an oncologist. Fortunately, IT isn’t life-or-death or I would have left a trail of carnage behind me. This job will require that sharpen my skills in a lot of different areas. My goal is to develop enough mastery over the technology that I can be much more strategic and creative like my boss at Apple.
What about your house?
We have found a teacher from Maddy’s school here in Atlanta to house-sit our house. It has cost us a small fortune though to prepare it for our departure because we had to fix a number of minor problems with the roof, plumbing and electrical system.
What about your dog?
Tucker will be going to Dallas to stay with Lisa’s dad until we get a townhouse with a small yard. Then we will take him back to China after Christmas. The area where we will be living has a veterinarian and boarding kennel. I would prefer to have him stay in Dallas because it will make traveling much harder…and traveling throughout Asia is a major component of this whole move. But if he does come, the quarantine is not too long…just a couple weeks and apparently he stays at our house during a period.
But it’s China?!!!
I’ve heard this twice along with facial expressions that would indicate us throwing ourselves into a volcano. China didn’t “feel” like I thought it would. It’s very clean and it’s very safe and it’s modern enough that you can get just about anything you need whether it’s made locally or imported from the states. Believe it or not, they actually import American stuff into China and buy American brands.
Communication?
Besides having a GSM cell network that beats anything here in the states…seriously, there isn’t a single dead spot anywhere, I’m keeping my main home office number with a Vonage account so that it will ring our home in China. We also have iChatAV for video conferencing…email me for the AIM handle.
How / Where will you live?
The school will put us in a temporary apartment for 2 months while we find a town home. See Capital Paradise. Both will be in an “expatriate community” and has been sold to me as “country club living”. We’ll see.
Driving?
Luckily Jeep, Audi, Mercedes and others have factories in China and we will be able to lease a car for about the same price as one here. I will need an SUV with 4WD because I am taking my mountain bike, racks and gear and intend to do some serious riding. But in the city, it’s a different story. We will probably hire a driver for around ~$300 /mo. it’s well worth it because driving there is scary and traffic sucks. Sitting in the back with your laptop is not only productive, but stress-free.
Pirated DVDs ?
Beijing theaters don’t typically have distribution of Hollywood releases so the big game is to be the first to get the pirated DVD of a new release and compare notes about the quality etc. with friends. Yes, I hate copyright infringement, but in circumstances where they can’t legitimately sell to me, then I don’t feel so bad. Especially if the quality of the movie is substandard due to that fact that it was recorded in a theater with a camcorder. But when a movie is released on DVD and someone rips perfect copies of it…that’s very wrong.
Things to Do?
At the “western” restaurants that cater to english speaking expatriates, their are a number of free magazines just like you see in the states. One of them is called “Beijing Kids” and it has articles, events, and ads for camps, schools and other stuff. The also have a weekly “weekend guide” similar to the weekly city guides we have here. There are things to do albeit it might be limited by scope and selection. Paul Oakenfold was playing at a nightclub the day I left…I could see us going out for that even though we wouldn’t do that in Atlanta.
What about your mountain biking habit?
I’ve purchased a flight case for my bike. It’s going with me. I’m already on the mailing list for the BJ Mobsters which is a mountain bike club. The riding appears to be dirt road and maybe some natural trails.
