Victory! (of sorts)

(I've always liked the phrase "of sorts," although less so after my AP US History teacher in High School called me out for having "the revolution of sorts that occurred" as the crux of my thesis statement during a mock test.)

It took me 3 1/2 hours, but I made it to the interview and back with no major loss of life or limb! And technically I have a job now (more on that later). So the subway station I was supposed to go to (Xizhimen) also happened to be the closest (a new station opens 100 yards from the school on Saturday!), and it looked like it was only about a kilometer down the road we live on, so I set out to walk to the station. About 20 minutes in, I saw a sign that said "Xizhimen 2.5 km," which I thought was weird, but figured I'd find the subway station before then. 45 minutes later, I was still walking...and still walking...I finally found it, but had some trouble locating the bus I was supposed to take. Then I got on the bus going the wrong way, so I had to get off and cross the street to head back the way I came. Then I got off on the wrong stop! I finally made it, though, and found out that the "interview" wasn't so much of an interview as filling out paperwork. Which really does mean that the company is only slightly semi-reputable. Basically, I think they'll just put my picture up and some info about me and if anyone wants to hire me as a teacher they'll let me know...we'll see how that goes. I've got a few more leads, so hopefully something real will pan out.

By way of contrast, though, looking for work in China so far is much more enjoyable than looking in Michigan. Most of the companies I email get back to me the same day; most of the companies in Michigan I emailed never emailed me back.

So anyway, I retraced my steps and this time I got cocky and took a bus back instead of walking the 2-3 miles. When I made it back to the school, I ran through the gate, pumping my arms and grinning triumphantly. One small step for Josh, I guess.