Leaving: Tears and Butterflies

Once I had decided to leave Guam and move to China to continue my musical teaching career the superb Chinese workers at Suzhou Singapore International School set to work to get me there with as much speed as was possible.  The principal for SSIS wanted me there "NOW", but I also felt an obligation to leave the school on Guam with as much notice as I could give them.  I had taught at the school in Guam for fourteen years and even if I had little respect for the headmaster and his decisions to harshly deal with my colleagues, I would try to make a change as smoothly as I could.  So, after obtaining my date of departure from the Suzhou crew I gave my notice.

As soon as the departure date was known it became high priority to take care of shipping my belongings to China.  SSIS arranged for a shipping company from Guam to come by, estimate the quantity of goods to be sent, and set up a date for packing and shipping.  I knew from the beginning that it would be months before I saw these goods again, so a reasonable amount of clothes and necessities for my work had to be thought of for inclusion in my luggage.  I would soon find out just how difficult it can be to be separated by an ocean and the confinement within China away from the United States of America.

Because I had been at the school on Guam for such a long time the students were almost like my own children and it was very difficult to say goodbye.  I made my announcement of departure to all my classes and the faces dropped.  Some children gave me artistic projects with their best wishes enclosed.  I had a few long-time friends who wanted to have a meal together and talk.  All the normal daily musical obligations which were a part of my job, such as playing in the school's chapel, were heart-rending experiences because now I knew that I wouldn't be doing this again and hearing these songs performed after fourteen years of being a fixture in that school.

I have to say that walking on the beach of Tumon Bay which was a common thing to do during a week was now a sight that meant so much to me.  When would I walk here again and would I find a place that might be like this in China?  This was one of many things that I had to live without going to this new place.           

I was talking to friends about information to the end that the place I was going to in China was a powerhouse of commerce.  Shanghai and the surrounding area was a magnet for western companies who manufactured their product in that place.  The stories were flying at me from anyone and everyone who had a Chinese connection.  And of course my Chinese friends, many of who I had met through my teaching at the Guam school, were all watching my every move and wanting to know how I might fare in their home country.  In some cases I would be only a short distance from their home cities.

My facebook account was going to be observed by people:  both friends and family.  Most Americans rarely have the experience of living overseas, let alone Communist China.  From an early age we Americans observe this place, another RED country, and fear for our lives for what might happen to us.  Personally, I had a different point of view about China than many of my friends.  I was an historian and tried to understand the world,even if I didn't agree with the differences.  Many people live differently than myself and my family and we all live together in this small blue world.

What I had observed was that China was always a country of living within its boundaries.  Through its long history there have been few times when it had felt compelled to invade a neighbor.  Its main concern was for itself and its people.  If one looks at Confucian teachings, the thinking is more towards an ordered society than domination of others around them, or world domination.  There will be more about this subject in the future.

So, what was this place like that I was leaving?  And what would my new place like?  I've always said to my close friends that "I live for a view" meaning that it's important in my life to see something, even in my daily life, that is beautiful in some way.  Beauty should be a part of  your life, not something that you have to go see.  It should be with you always.  The view from my window:

As I look out the window I see the full panorama of Tumon Bay, Guam.  To my left I see a good sized villa built by the owner of the Tumon water-slide.  He has his place surrounded by artificial adobe walls and a modern beautiful, and well-kept garden.  To my right I see the back of the Duty Free Shopping Mall and over it I see the water of Tumon Bay with the ocean's waves crashing on the reef 150 yards out from the shore.  Closer in and to right is another condominium complex, similar to where I live, painted white with its flat roof, a common architectural trait, and a part of my spectacle.  Straight in front of me, close in (perhaps 500 yards away) is the Guam Hyatt Hotel with its modern colonial exterior.  Further out past the Hyatt Hotel is Tumon Bay as it gently bends and stretches out towards the horizon in the center of my view.  A mile further along that stretch of beach from the Hyatt is the Hilton Hotel, which has been a fixture of Tumon Bay for many decades.  Beyond the Hilton is the end of Oka Point with its crashing waves against the rocks beneath its cliffs.
The sky above is azure blue  with billowy white cumulus clouds which is a regular sight in this tropical island paradise.  This is the view from the window that I leave behind.


 

Leaving Guam for Suzhou, China

What is it that makes people do extreme things?  Sometimes life gives us few options.  We work as hard as we can to stay in the status quo.  The status quo is safe.  We know it....it's happened before and we can have it go on and on.

But, God doesn't always allow us to keep doing the things we want.  Sometimes we try and try and try to fix problems but it just can't be fixed.  If that occurs then maybe it's time to walk away and start something new. 

You've reached the top in your particular job and still what was good in the past is somehow not accepted by those who are around you.  You can beat up on yourself and take it, or you can say, "that's enough" and start in a new direction.

That's what happened for me.  I worked at a school in Guam, thought of as the best on Guam, and perhaps it was, at one time.  But, people from the outside, who had no idea about the traditions of the school and further, did not respect those traditions came in and started chopping off heads.

I was NOT one of those who had their head chopped off.  I was a cooperative man who could adapt to new ways, if necessary.  But, the decline in the school had already been set in motion.  So, my friends disappeared in quick fashion.  Of 60 teachers, 26 disappeared, either forced out or sympathetic to their co-workers' plights.  The following year the school's student population fell and with it the income to the school.

By the end of the second year of this new administration the school was now  monetarily driving on fumes.   One day in the spring of the new administration's second year I accidentally found in the trash, next to the copy machine, notes that the headmaster would be using for the board meeting.  He had been given the job, by the board, of eliminating those teachers who had been found to be superfluous.

But, the layoffs did not happen.  This new administration's third school year began with all 60 teacher in place.  Within one month "financial austerity" was declared to the assembled teachers by the headmaster and immediately 7 teachers were laid off.  This was too much for me, especially since I had been privy to the memo from the springtime which stated that the headmaster must act.  But, he had waited until the school year began and then had laid these teachers off.  I felt this was beyond cruel to have taken someones signed contract and throw it away one month into the new school year.  For me this was writing on the wall.  I needed to find a job that would meet the same income standards that I'd had at this school, and do it NOW.

Most of my friends, who had left, but who had taught at this school had gone to international schools in the Asian area.  This seemed like the best possibility for me also.  I had been checking international school hiring websites for the past few months and had found a job opening at a school in Suzhou, China where a friend of mine had previously worked.  That's what I needed!  This would be a natural departure.  

So, it was time to prepare for going to China.....a lifelong interest of mine.
I had always been curious about China since I was a child.  My parents had a travel encyclopedia which I had pored over and China had been of special interest.  Asia was so much different from what I had seen growing up in Portland, Oregon.

Dave Janssen's Music Online
 "Hafa Adai" in the classroom, Spring 2010

My beginnings with Suzhou Singapore International School were from a listing that I'd seen for an elementary music specialist position which I'd seen listed in early September of 2010.  This was a lucky break for me because usually international schools advertised in December and January prior to the beginning of the school year.  So, this was an opportunity that I was lucky to have found.

As a part of being hired I had talked to the elementary principal, a director of PYP (a system of study in many international schools), an elementary music teacher already in place, and the head of the arts department.  The interview was done by telephone which surprised me.  I thought they might use Skype in a face to face conversation.  


24 hours later I received word that I had been successful in my interview and my move began in earnest.


I needed to pass all my important papers to the human resources department so that they could begin the process of my Chinese work visa.  This was one of the most important aspects of moving to China.  For me,  I had not been hired in the normal fashion so the school did not have adequate time to get my work visa, which usually takes a few months.  The principal wanted me there immediately so they were going to us other ways to start me out.


As it turned out the music teacher that I replaced had come to the school the first day of school, turned, and left without returning.  So, the second music teacher had been under a double work load for the past month and a half and wanted out of that circumstance as quickly as possible.


The solution for the school was to land me in Hong Kong, get a 30 day tourist visa, and then make my way to Suzhou in haste.  What this meant was that I would have to leave the country after 30 days of work at Suzhou, to return again to Hong Kong to obtain my work visa.  But, that will be written of in a future instalments, at length.