FAQ's

Hello All! There are a few questions that I have been asked a lot the past couple of days, so I am going to start this here FAQ section. If you have any other questions, shoot me an email and I can add it! Thanks :) - My email is rdr02@hotmail.com

Where are Noah and I going to live?
As part of my contract I am receiving a housing allowance. This looks to be a nice sum that will allow us to get an apartment around 1200 sqft and 2bed/1-2bath. We are required to arrive in Qingdao and week earlier than orientation, where the school will put us up in a hotel for a week. During this week the school will put us in touch with reputable real estate agents to help us find housing. All housing will be furnished.

What all are we taking with us?
It is my plan to take clothes, some essentials that can not be found over there, and some stuff from home to keep familiarity in our new home. I want to take books, blankets, and some toys of Noah's to keep him from being too homesick. Everything else I am going to sell in July. My shipping allowance isn't huge, but I get a nice chunk of change as a settling in allowance. So my general rule is that if I can buy it over there, it will not go with us.

What about transportation?
We will also be receiving a transportation allowance and Noah and I will become experts at Public Transit. It is mucho mucho scary to drive there, as they don't really obey traffic laws.

When are you leaving?
We are still waiting on Noah's passport. As soon as we get that, the school needs to get an Invitation Letter from the Chinese government. Then the school will DHL the invitation letter to me and I take it to the Chinese Consulate here in Houston to get our visas. We will not buy tickets until we get Noah's passport. However, the planned date for departure is July 31st, 2010 - the day after my birthday!

How long will be live in China?
My contract is for a year, but it is renewable for as long as both the school and I want to continue working together. I would like to stay for a least a couple of years. The average time a teacher stays at QISS is 4 years.

What about your mom?
LOL...my mom has made arrangements to watch my niece for the next year. She will also take care of some work needing to be done on the house and sell it. The plan is for her to join Noah and I in China after the first year, as long as we can obtain her a visa to do so. Until then, she will visit us as much as possible.