Four months ago, I told kindergarten owner and principal that I needed to go to my mother’s 90th birthday celebration in Kansas. I presented her with June and July dates my kids proposed. She agreed that I should go, but had no suggestion on which date worked best for me to be gone. I kept her updated, as my kids e-mailed plans for a June 13 gathering of families with young children in Fredonia and Wichita, KS.
At Golden Sun, we took a field trip to see shell exhibits at Dadonghai. I helped with crowd control and taught an improptu phonics lesson, using display posters.
I asked my boss over a month ago if she might advance my arrival airfare (covered in contract, I thought, by “after teaching one year, airfare to return to home town”). That way, I could take advantage of low airfare prices now in the U.S. Would I give her my document? Of course! She said, “We will consider it.”
A week later, she said, “I don’t know what to do. My husband said the cost is not acceptable.” She admitted that an additional $200 was added because she hadn’t responded to my e-mail in time to change the arrival date she wanted (she had failed to tell me of a three-day holiday and student teachers living in my apartment until too late to change without a penalty).
Would I accept 8000 yuan? I said, “Would you, when you already spent 13,000 yuan?”
“I don’t know.” (She laughed.) “But you did not confirm cost with me. It is quite expensive. My husband checked, and it’s only 5,000 yuan to America. We think unacceptable.”
“I did not know you wanted me to confirm; I did not confirm with the two colleges I taught for before. They paid airfare according to my contracts.”
“Standard contracts say pay airfare to your hometown, not arrival cost. But for you I agreed to do this, think maybe 5,000 yuan. I am very surprised at one-way cost.” (I evidently mistakenly believed rountrip fares were standard across China for one year’s work.)
“Yes, it is expensive. I live in Montana, not Los Angeles or New York, where tickets are inexpensive to China.”
We see-sawed that way for a couple of weeks with long periods of silence in between. I made sure she knew I was helping teachers implement new ideas every afternoon, changed the huge bulletin board 
kindergarten has inherited outside her office (she took pictures), and led a top-notch teachers’ meeting and brought a visitor to English Corner. Venes’ birthday was great fun, thanks to my refridgerator, plates, bowls, and rice cooker. Caretaker Li attended. Only Venes and I spoke much English.
Then, I asked if her husband had helped her make a decision. He was out of town. I asked if we could look on Chinese internet sites for airfare costs–Sanya-to-Missoula or Spokane. She triumphantly showed me a 4,000 yuan trip Beijing to LA. She was sure Sanya to Beijing would be cheap.
I drew a map. “It’s another flight or two to reach my home from California.”
“What is California?”
I e-mailed my kids that I had three options: to eat the cost of airfare and simply stay in the US in June, take 8000 yuan and “we’ll talk about it in August” on trust and hope for the best. Not good options–Helen wasn’t born in the year of the snake for nothing!
Then I learned from Golden Sun teachers that Kindergarten Graduation was slated for June 30. I asked my boss.
“Yes. You must be here for the program. You give a lecture in English. Ella translates to parents.” I felt the noose tightening; I couldn’t disappoint the kids by bailing out, could I?
A few days ago, I wrote a proposal that we add my expensive ticket cost and the cheapest return cost they could find and give me half now, half at contract’s end.
Yesterday, she approached me. “He still cannot accept. He found 15 days in America with airfare and hotels for what you paid.”
How do I explain how tours are often quite cheap? “I know there are cheap group offers. Do they go near my Montana hometown?”
She didn’t know; instead, she pleaded, “Would you stay another year? I need you.”
“I will not consider it if we don’t find an honest way to settle the airfare problem.”
We dropped it and set an appointment to take her to a new, clean yoga place I’ve joined. Differences were forgotten, except for me deciding I just might have to pack up and leave in June. Sanya’s really heating up by then anyway, I hear!
I found myself near tears when, today–out of the blue–my boss said her husband and she would give me 8000 yuan reimbursement ($1100, on April 2) in advance AND provide my return ticket (first I’d heard of this) to Spokane or Missoula. She’s learning US geography!
She’s now working on getting me June 5 and 15 tickets for the KS birthday gathering. If I continue next year, I can “have a vacation” (without pay, I’m sure; kdgn teachers don’t get any vacation, except for national holidays). It all seemed a good compromise, and we’re still friends. Guanxi is intact!
I’m training one teacher, much like a student teaching, to take over Kindergarten English teaching. She’s shaking in her boots, but she’ll do 
fine. We watched and discussed “Charlie Wilson’s War” for last night’s English Corner; it was a successful discussion, although I felt a little embarrassed at Tom Hanks’ portrayal of a womanizing Texas legislator. The teachers discretely didn’t mention his behaviors, focused on how one small man could “help people.” They asked, “What is congress?”
Today’s time with my boss was a relief. I feel certain I’ll get to KS in June, will return to Sanya for the rest of my contract. How next year shapes up is anybody’s guess.
Breathing more easily now,
Virginia
and China have a problem about ships; maybe two people die. Also, maybe a problem for Sarcozy.” He has French internet/radio connections, but he’s unable to find out more. Nothing is covered by news on English-speaking news here. Can someone shed some light on this? Sanya’s definitely enjoying shorts weather now; I’m hunting shade with the Chinese who carry umbrellas at the first hint of sun.
My kindergarten English lesson cancels (as I pull out materials to teach it), gives way to “Tree Planting Day.” Parents are on campus all day; plantings take 30 minutes.Going with the flow, I bike along the river for a foot massage. Venes’ 30th birthday is Friday, 13th. My class is making a huge card and singing “Happy Birthday” as a surprise.
co-teaching with English teachers. Some days, I could pull out my already-short hair; others, I see them catch on to mixing quiet/noisy lively/peaceful activities to keep kids interested. It’s very teacher-led here; age-appropriate activities often mean different things to them and me.
learning “walk, climb, run…” in their books) and a song with motions. More scream as they build with colored shapes. I’m told to judge. (Oh dear!) “Jade’s is tallest. Sam’s is biggest. Tina’s has most colors. Soren’s is smallest.” (Whew!) They drag chairs to kidney-shaped tables, expectantly take a rectangle of paper. Did Teacher Venes really expect three-year-olds to fold a paper hat? So it seems. Chinese teacher, Auntie, and I do all the folding while 23 kids scream, then Venes takes their folded papers. “Tomorrow, we make it a boat.” I think I’ll be absent!
