SSIS: This is the team

I felt a bit like an infant that couldn't talk or communicate properly.  I woke up on Saturday morning and prepared for my first glimpse of Suzhou Singapore International School.  Suzhou Singapore International School     The principal again stopped by at the time he had mentioned and together we went downstairs to wave down a taxi for our trip to SSIS.  He also gave me a business card which had his information on it.  On one side was the address and name in English and on the flip-side was the same in Mandarin.  He said that I should use this should I ever need to get to the school quickly.

He also gave me an important paper which would be crucial for my everyday life.  It was the bus schedule for the SSIS teachers bus.  I was floored with this one.  As it turned out all the teachers and employees of the school were driven to school from different sectors of Suzhou using these buses.  When I say buses, I mean four or five high quality tourist-type buses which were kept in perfect working order by the Chinese driver/mechanics who were hired or driving only for the school.

So, exactly at 7:23 AM each morning I would be in place with others from the school and be picked up and delivered in about a 30 minutes drive through SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park).  The sector of SIP where I lived, and most of the other teachers lived, was to the west of the school and west of most of the corporations' assembly plants where the parents of our students worked.

But, that was to come at the first of the week.  For now, it was time to check out the school on this October Saturday morning.  We arrived in the taxi and the principal and I took a tour.  The school is huge and divided into three sections; elementary, middle, and high school.  My interest of course was elementary because that was where I'd be teaching.  We made our way down the hallways and he showed me bulletin boards where I would see important notices, the mail room, the dining hall, playing fields, playground, indoor swimming pool all laid out in an efficient manner.  Then, he took me to the middle of the buildings to what would be my home, the music department.

There before me was my new colleague who had been working on this Saturday awaiting my arrival.  She was a jolly woman from the mid west of the US.  Ni Hao! Welcome to SSIS.  Immediately we got down to work and discussed the whole department.  She had been at the school for a full seven years and knew all the history and changes that had occurred during that time.  She knew the other personnel and their strong points and weak points and we talked about how I would fit into this working group.  She didn't get into all things, but she did warn me about something I needed to look out for.  She knew that the high school orchestra leader was determined to have me take over the orchestra from him.  I had done this type of work in the school prior to this, but my new colleague said, "you are assigned to the elementary school, with elementary orchestra.  High school is not your turf.  You'll need to be strong and say 'no' to this man, as strong as his manner might be."

So, now I had something to look forward to; a confrontation immediately.  But, this was a new work environment and I was about to be thrust into a system that was already underway and I needed to adapt.  My Monday might be a bit to deal with.  I took a deep breathe and "here we go".

That rounded out my introduction except that the principal took me to the computer room where I was assigned a laptop for my use while working at the school.  I then went back to my apartment.

I still had some things to do before I slept.  Linda had assigned a young Chinese man who specialized in Internet installations and TV work to come by my place.  She came as well and her female colleague and also the young man.  So, here I was with my new young Chinese friends.  They kept saying that I was so different from all the other teachers , in a positive way.  This was and still is a mystery to me.  I'd like to think I'm special but I suppose I'm like most people and just see myself as I am and have been my entire life. I look in the mirror and think, 'I'm just another guy'.

With the internet working and the TV connected and giving me the best CCTV channels, I was done for the day.  Linda and the male co-worker asked me if I'd like to go eat somewhere.  They seemed fascinated with this new American teacher.  So, the one woman left on her own and the three of us went looking for food.  They asked if there might be some type of food which I would be interested in.  I thought, "Mexican".  Sure, why not?  So, we went to a wonderful outdoor Mexican restaurant next to one of the canals of Suzhou.   Neither one of them had every had Mexican food before, so this was my treat.  The fee was quite reasonable and the conversation worth every penny (rmb) paid.

I made another appointment with Linda for tomorrow, Sunday, to get a few more necessities before my first day of work, the day after, on Monday.  With that I bid them goodnight and made my way home in the taxi.