Tuesday, January 16, 2007

River Town

As the days grow closer and I start to prepare for going to China, I have picked up an interesting book about living and teaching in China.

The book is River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, written by Peter Hessler. The work chronicles Mr. Hessler's two years in the Peace Corps teaching English and American Culture to university students in Fuling, which is a part of the Sichuan Provence.

Though Mr. Hessler comes off very arrogant, he studied at Princeton and Oxford, he does a wonderful job with describing his life as a foreigner in China. He writers about the language and cultural barriers that he ran into. He also provides an interesting history of Fuling and what it was like to live along the Yangtze. But what I find most interesting about River Town is the subject of Communism and how he dealt with its presence in and out of the classroom.

Though he is ardently against Communism, he finds himself benefiting from the Communist who are in control of the University he is teaching at. Whether it be getting new appliances or Chinese tutors, Mr. Hessler seems to benefit from the generosities of power. While in the classroom Mr. Hessler has to weed through his students interpretation and assumptions of Communism while trying to teach them about the United States. I find it interesting the balancing act he must keep.

Though I am seven months away from leaving for China River Town has been able to provide me with a glimpse of what life might be like once I arrive.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

I have a lot to teach, but even more to learn


It was the Monday prior to Thanksgiving and I was already drowning in emails by 9:00 a.m. I had arrived at the office several hours earlier in anticipation of what would most certainly be a very hectic Monday. It was not only the Monday prior to the most important day in retail, Black Friday; it was also the day in which one of my largest financial projects was to roll out to various business partners.



A year and a half ago I arrived at the doorstep of a large downtown office building wide eyed and nervous. Dressed conservatively in a dark green suit, a white collared shirt, and gold tie I navigated myself through the maze of conference rooms and around priceless glass sculptures which adorned every hallway. I sat through hours of introductory speeches and mission statements. At midday I was introduced to others who were going through the same process and who would join me in my training class. We would later be known as the most independent training class in years; both for our insistence on doing things our way, as well as pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable office decorum.

As I sat through another round of speeches I was presented to my team, as well as introduced to the woman who would mentor me through the six month long training period. Her name was Katy, a graduate of my college’s rival school and someone who had actually grown up in the same hometown. After the final introductory luncheon we were shown to our offices. Mine was tucked away next to the IT row of the department I was assigned to. In front of me was a nest of gray steel office file cabinets, to the left of me was a large bay window by which I could gaze out onto the field of office buildings and trendy downtown restaurants. I was one of two people placed in the row, the other being a member of my training class who had graduated from a small Midwest Liberal Arts college.

We were immediately thrown into our positions and given projects to complete that would give us small, but very real taste of what it would be like once we were placed in our final position. By the end of the day my head was spinning with questions and was ready to take a much needed nap from the information overload. At 4:30 p.m. we were told to go home and be ready for the start of training classes in the morning.

I grabbed my briefcase and headed out in to the very hot September afternoon sun to catch the bus that would bring me to the doorstep of my apartment. On the bus I received phone calls from my mother, girlfriend, and other assorted friend anxious to hear how my first day in the corporate world went. As I got off the bus and headed into my apartment I was exhausted. I soon took off my suit and tied and jumped into some running shorts and a white t-shirts with the idea of going for a run, but soon found myself asleep.



Over the next few months we went through our training classes, as well as were given further responsibility in the company. Each day we were tasked with meeting with our mentors and supervisors about how training was coming along and what we thought about working for the company. At that point I was generally interested and intrigued in what I was doing.

Around the six month point in our training we were placed in a permanent position and let go from our official mentor-mentee relationship. I was put in a position which had continued change, whether it was week by week or even day by day. At that same point my girlfriend and I had decided to take a vacation to Mexico. While the vacation was great and it provided the relaxation I needed, the pressures of work seemed to consume my thoughts. When I returned I buried my head into work, staying late during the weekdays and coming in on Sunday evenings to get a head start on the upcoming week.

As the months accumulated I grew tired of the culture promoted at the company. I seemed at every avenue to fight back at the changes which were asked of me. Whether it was posture during a meeting or perceived attitude in emails I was continually given feedback on what would seem to be insignificant personality traits. Despite the near daily status sessions about workload and upcoming projects I persevered on. As the summer turned into fall I was heading into my areas busiest time. Though workload still brought me challenges I welcomed I found myself void of something…


At the Monday morning meeting we were briefed on the weekend financial reports and provided the team updates I projects as well as corporate wins from the past week. Following the meeting I hurriedly headed back to my desk to continue answering emails and voicemails concerning the project rollout that was to occur later in the afternoon. My stress level was higher than normal given the importance of the rollout and I sequestered myself to my desk for a majority of the day. I only went to meetings that were of high priority and then returned to my desk to fine tune any issues that may have been brought up over the course of the day from other partners invested in the project.

At 4:00 p.m. I gave the go ahead for the project to be rolled out and sent out mass emails to my manager, vice-president of my particular business, and other analysts who aided in the project. Completely drained to the frantic nature of the day I went for a walk around the downtown skyways to clear my head. It was here on this walk as I listened to my ipod watching the other young professionals bustle about that I decided I need to change my life or I was going to go crazy.

When I got back to my desk I searched my manager’s appointment schedule and found a 15 minute block of time to let her know of my decision. She agreed to meet me in a small enclave tucked away on the back wall of the sixth floor where my department was housed.

Though the meeting took longer than 15 minutes I aired my concerns and told her of my decision. She was not particularly happy with the manner in which I conducted my exit, but listened to my concerns and agreed that it was best for me to leave. I filled out the proper materials for a resignation and went back to my desk. I had opted to take the remainder of my vacation, which I had yet to use during the last 8 months, to make up for my two weeks. I gathered what I could and put it in my briefcase and informed my manager that I would be back in the morning for the rest.

The sky was already dark and there was a slight drizzle of rain coming down as I left the large glass atrium. I walked through the turnstiles and out on the street. There were scores of people bustling about trying to make it home as I walked several blocks to my bus stop. As I listened to my ipod thinking of what I had just done, what I had just given up, I felt the pressure lift from my shoulders and all I could do was smile. I sat on the bus in silence not answering any of my phone calls. I just sat there thinking about what life is going to bring. I had just walked away from a very financially comfortable life and was headed into a certain unknown.

When I got back to my apartment the first phone call was to my girlfriend. I told her I have some news. She knew of my unhappiness but was against the idea of leaving, but when I told her and laid out my reasoning she accepted what I had done and gave me her reluctant blessing. The next was to my parents. My mother answered the phone and I told her what I had done and she listened to me as I told her how unhappy my life was becoming and how I felt a void that could not be filled in the corporate world. She told me she was in support of what I had done. At that time my father got on the phone as well and said that he was behind and choice that I was going to make with me life. I got off the phone with my parents and then spoke with my sister, who lived several blocks away with her husband and son. I asked if I could come over. It is there I told them of the news and they were ecstatic! With the family informed of what I had done it was now time to put the past away and focus on what life had to offer…

Through the months of unhappiness and stress I found myself yearning to do something completely out of the ordinary and push myself outside of my comfort zones. I had looked at the Peace Corps, but felt that two years away from those I love may be too much. The next option I came up with was to teach English abroad, but where?

Europe and South America were very attractive to me, but in doing some light research I found that I would have to get certified as an English teacher. This process could take several months and cost me significant amounts of money, something I no longer had much of. The next option was China. I had taken several semesters worth of Mandarin Chinese in college, but never had the opportunity to study in China due to the SARS outbreak in 2003. I had also been accepted into a teaching program my senior year of college in China, but had turned into down to take the position I had just left.

That night I slept like a baby, but knew come the morning I had to work my ass off to find a new job as well as put into works the process of getting accepted into the teaching program once again…


I have since spoken with my old academic advisor in the history department and have been in contact with the Asian Studies Coordinator about applying to the teaching program. I have taken all of the necessary steps to putting my life on track to become an English Conversation teacher in China. I am wholeheartedly looking forward to the experience, but still must get accepted to the position. I believe that this will not be considerably difficult, but I have never been one to get my hopes up.

In the coming weeks I will send in my application and then will wait until mid-March when I learn my fate. I am glad about the decision I have made to leave the corporate world and have taken a temporary position in the public sector, something I am more accustomed to, as a way to make some money by which to live by.

I know that my life will change considerably and most likely I will push myself far beyond the comforts I have been used to, but believe that at this point in my life feeling uncomfortable is something I will only learn and gain from. As Slugs says in a very erotic hip-hop song “I have a lot to teach, but even more to learn”.

My life could no better be summed up by that statement…