Ade and I went to the Country Club Casino for dinner at The Terrace Restaurant on New Year’s Eve. It’s one of Tasmania’s premier restaurants. Foolishly we opted for a set menu that was quite a rip-off considering it was $130 a head. The only consolation was that the wine was included and there was quite a bit of it and it was really nice. The food was forgettable. We went to the ‘bar/nightclub’ there called Tonic. It was OK but full of 20 year olds mainly. We watched a nice fireworks display at midnight so it wasn’t too bad. I didn’t wake up with a hangover the next morning which was nice too. My holiday in Tasmania is nearly over. It’s been very lazy and relaxed actually. Ade has been great. He’s done all this stuff for Mum while we have been here and I have cooked for my parents nearly every night. We have cleaned out the garage and I feel like I have been a real help to Mum while we have been here. Search have told me there was no point going to the fair in Sydney for just one day and I didn’t want to spend another $1000 on changing airfares to get there on the 3rd of January. No point really anyway as I have the job in China as far as I know. January 4th we leave for a night in Sydney. We will play tourist. God I have gone through so much money here. Not much left for the few days in Bali….
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Am trying to have a cheaper time in Tasmania this time. I have cancelled the hire care and will try and cancel the $300 vouchers I had to go towards paying for it. We are having a very lazy time here and will not bother going to Hobart this time. We might drive to Stanley – we have been using mum’s car. We saw Avatar in 3D the other day and it was great. I have never seen a 3D movie before. Oliver really loved it. Bought 2 shirts in the sales yesterday and was very restrained. I could have gone berserk! Haven’t thought about the hell hole at all but am thinking about the China thing. I am looking forward to going. Still nothing from Search and Sydney so I don’t know if I have any interviews yet for other jobs but it’s sort of a waste of time as I have said I will go to China. I feel more settled now that I seem to have planned the future a bit more. Save like mad till June. Buy a house in Bali. Spend more time in townsite so I can save some money. Stop drinking. Get back into my exercise routine and get really fit.
Left Sumbawa for Bali around 1 pm on the 18th and arrived in Bali very quickly this time. One day in Bali at my usual villa then flew to Australia. That was pretty gruelling and I don’t think I would ever fly Jetstar again. As usual I got no sleep and arriving in Sydney airport is hell!!!! Have sorted out all my CD’s and put images of them into iTunes, which took me a few days. Cooked a nice Christmas lunch for mum and dad and then we had to go to my bitch sister’s place for dinner. That was painful. No-one hardly spoke to us and she didn’t even say goodbye to me when I left. My friend, Shireen’s father died so we went to a funeral before Christmas too. Have just finished cleaning out mum and dad’s garage. Boy was it a mess. About to hit the shops to spend the Christmas vouchers I got. Oliver has had a ball. He has so many toys!!
It appears that my fears about Oliver not being able to come to China have been realised. The Chinese government have this funny rule about children having the same nationality as their parents for visa purposes. Unless he has an Australian passport he can’t accompany me. I wonder whether that applies to a tourist visa too? Am not sure if the job in China will go ahead. I think I should go as it’s an excellent opportunity career wise. Am still waiting to hear back from the head of the school to see if he still wants me to come alone. It is going to be cheaper for him as they now won’t have to foot the tuition bill for Oliver. More about my plans: I will make Bali my base – I know Indonesian is my home now. I think that is where I will end up. I never want to live in Australia again. I am saving hard from now on to buy a house there. Now Oliver can’t join me in China it will be his home. I also need to work really hard on adopting him and that will be my focus now. I will investigate what I need to do both in Indonesia and Australia.
My existence seems to have taken on more purpose over the last few weeks because I seem to have made some long term plans. Whether they eventuate or not is immaterial. The important thing is I have made some. I have been bumbling along for many years not even thinking any further ahead than a few months. I shall elaborate more over the next few days.
How am I going to make it in this place till June? I am in a leaving mind set right now so the last 6 months here are going to be sheer hell.
I will take the job in China. There are many reasons to do so which I will now elucidate in a list…
1. New adventures in a new country.
2. I hate the school I am in. Everyday something happens to make me angry. I am unmotivated because around me is incompetence.
3. I am sick of the lassez-faire, lack of professionalism of some of the staff. Some of them really don’t get it. Some of them aren’t even trained teachers yet they are dealing with children and have classes.
4. The school is going nowhere and the person leading the school is unqualified to do so.
5. I am sick of living in the jungle with no decent supermarket, shops etc. I want to be in a big city for a change. Chengdu has a population of over 10 million.
6. Career wise it is a good move. It will open new doors as a teacher. I will get a two year contract.
7. Oliver gets to go to a prestigious school and the 20,000 US fee per year is included in my package.
8. I have been in the one school for 11 years – time to move on.
9. I will be able to travel to new places from Chengdu – it’s close to Tokyo and other cities I would like to visit.
10. All of my friends will be gone after December and in June for sure. I will always miss the school we had before and the fun it was before we amalgamated. The whole thing has been a huge fuck up. The person who runs the company apparently said to a parent that, “you can’t put the shit back in the dog,” in reference to what had happened with the schools here.
I want no part of such a place anymore.
The job in China is still mine if I want it. I think I have decided I will go this time. I can’t say no twice. As I have said also – it’s time to leave this place. There are many reasons to go and less to stay so it’s a logical decision. Ade seemed OK about it when we discussed it last night. I will try and buy something in Bali as a base. But looking through websites today at houses – I don’t know whether I can afford anything!!! Ade insisted I keep the car but I think selling it would contribute to buying a house and it would be silly to keep it. I have started researching about the city and everything I see looks positive. Supermarkets, shops, cinemas – even an IKEA store. I need to find out about a visa for Oliver though – that could be a complication and I want to take him with me as part of the package is free tuition for him at what appears to be a prestigious group of schools.
Had an alcohol free day yesterday. Boy did I need it. I think I should make this an alcohol free week actually. I will make a concerted effort to get back to my exercise program this week too. Still searching for another job. I keep having to remind myself that I will find something else and that I CANNOT stay here any longer no matter what they are paying me. I feel so angry all the time at school and I know it’s this place and the people. I haven’t saved any money and that’s playing on my mind. I have had a nice life though since I have been overseas. Three weeks left till the Christmas holiday. It’s only a bit over three weeks, which really sucks!
Three day long weekend as Friday was kill a goat day. Lazy days. I did swim on Saturday. Drank far too much last night. Jon the pilot came for dinner. That’s the second time. He brought two bottles of wine so he and I polished off three bottles between the two of us. I gave him the money for buying Oliver’s Wii. Three weeks to go before I am on holiday and we all go to Australia. Can’t wait to get out of here!
