Do I have some crazy, detailed stories for you! Where to start? *Grabs hair and starts pulling*
Ok, so we moved districts from Pudong to Minhang in February. That was an event in itself. The good thing was that we had an agent who didn’t waste our time. I’ve never had that. We gave her our requirements and budget, and she stuck with them. The bad thing was, it was hard to choose. But we did, and we absolutely feel that we got our money’s worth. It’s big, modern and beautiful. It’s on the 6th floor, but there’s no elevator, which might be why it was ultra-nice and still in budget.
This is not without so many snags here and there. For example, our building is in a complex with about 40 other buildings, however, only our building has one specific WIFI company. You can’t just transfer what you have, we had to change everything. Getting the piano up six flights was interesting. Our shower didn’t work, Raine’s bed broke on the first day. It took a while to sort these things out, but it’s all good now.
As we all know the key to a good place is location, location, location. And this may be the best location in Shanghai. You know how some cities have a Chinatown, or Little Italy, or whatever, this is Shanghai’s Foreign town. All the food, groceries, schools, and foreign things are there. We can walk to the best tacos, burgers, curries, sour kraut or bagels in the city. Plus, our hair salon, doctor, dentist, and the best hospitals are there.
This is an important detail, because last weekend I had a severe gallstone attack. Pain worse than childbirth. After a huge amount of testing and a long stay in the highest tech hospital that I’ve ever seen, we found out, that 1. My gallbladder needs to be removed. 2. I have a hernia that needs repaired. And 3. There are loose stones clogging my pancreas. Add to all of this a BP of 230/140. (That’s not a typo).
Why is my blood pressure so high? Ummm stress. So a few days before this, my new school told me I was being let go. They said that my attempt to getting my British Columbia Teacher Certificate was taking too long. I was never given a due date. I was told from them and all the other teachers that the whole process can take up to two years. My contract, and our verbal agreement said that I needed to be “in process.” I am currently “in process.”
Then, in this meeting, they told me I had 60 days to find a job. Second semester was in it’s second week. How in the world do you find immediate need in March? Schools are looking for August starts, but by March, most schools have figured things out. I went on a resume sending/interviewing/demo class giving spree. There were two openings down the street from my current school at a sister school who was in desperate need. I nailed everything. But I got turned down. Now things were getting very suspicious and desperate. Then my school said I only had until the 24th.
Clearly, I have a strong court case. I have everything in writing. But that doesn’t help me get paid or get a visa. Then the gallstone attack.
I was having brunch in my neighborhood with a coworker/friend, Busi from my last school, and I just got hit with so much pain. She insisted I go to the doctor. At first, he thought it was and anxiety attack and/or food poisoning. I even threw up several times. Pain killers weren’t touching it. Busi called Raine to bring me a bag, and Raine and Busi stayed with me the whole time. Previous to this, I had always managed medical things by myself. It was nice, but also weird to not have to be alone.
Then my angel of a doctor drove me in his car to the hospital and checked me in. I feel the need to point out that my doctor is not Chinese, he’s Indian. I’ve had him for about 4 years now and trust him immensely. Not that I don’t trust Chinese doctors or anything like that. A Chinese doctor performed a miracle and saved me from cancer. But, I really love my current doctor.
After staying in the ER until 3am, they managed it with medication. Took lots of tests, and sent me home. Their reasoning was that a planned surgery is way better than an emergency surgery. So, they planned a surgery.
My doctor wanted a second opinion because three things need to be done. 1. My gallbladder needs to be removed. 2. My hernia needs to be sutured. 3. The loose stones need to be removed. The first hospital planned surgery was to do the first two and worry about the third later. My doctor (and I) thought the loose stones should be taken first since they were the ones causing the problems and pain. So, he set up a second opinion for me –with the number one gallbladder surgeon in the country.
That specialist agreed with the order of things, and he also agreed to do it. He invented a less invasive procedure that involved one small incision rather than three small ones or one big one. That is scheduled for next Wednesday (22nd), with the pre-op being on the Tuesday before.
While I was at my doctor’s office yesterday for testing, I got a notice that the school I did a demo class for yesterday wants me. It’s another sister school which allows the girls to stay where they are. Salary and benefits should be the same. I’m not sure exactly when I will start there, but I can finally breathe.
Smiling in Shanghai 