We've been talking about the possibility for a while now, but we finally received confirmation last week that we will be moving to Shanghai. I experienced both excitement and panic at hearing the news. Excitement for this new adventure we are embarking upon. Panic because the kids start school on August 17th (I know! So early! That darn Chinese New Year which brings a full 10-day break in the middle of October.) and we have to find a school for them to attend! Oh yes, and a place to live! Minor details.
There are seemingly a large number of international schools from which to choose but the issue becomes complex when taking into account that:
- We are really late in the application process;
- We have 3 kids so we need to find a school with availability in all 3 grades;
- We really don't want the kids to spend 45 minutes commute to and from school (not to mention the bus-sickness problem);
- Where the kids attend school will dictate where we live and we'd also like to avoid creating an onerous communte for Jeff;
- There is only one option for Hebrew school - so, again: location, location, location!
This basically left us with one possible school (two, if you count the faith-based school which I don't) so as of today I am crossing my fingers that Jeff is able to meet with the Director of Admissions at Shanghai Community International School in the next two days to secure our spots! This feels much more critical than finding a place to live! Which brings me to the next agenda item:
The house hunting trip! Sometime SOON I need to head to Shanghai to find a suitable (whatever that means) place to live for the next 2 years. I have applied for a visa, but am a bit concerned about the effect the swine flu will have on my ability to cross the borders. Time is definitely running short. With just 6 weeks until anticipated family departure less 1 week for house hunting, less another week for the trip to Illinois for a family reunion (so glad to be able to see everyone right before we leave!), and a 4-day visit with Toby's parents from Germany...I calculate a little over 3 weeks to purge, pack, and otherwise consolidate 11 years of living in this house into a manageable amount to ship. I am not sure I have that figured out yet - really hoping I have a better idea once I see where we will be living.
Above is a picture of us in 2007 at the Great Wall of China. At the time I found China to be hot, crowded, and dirty. I recall saying that having been to China really made me like Japan. I also said that I would never move to China. The universe clearly had other plans for me! So, China - HERE WE COME!
