Subscribe

February 2007

High-Points

• Best Teacher 2006!

• Back in Bali

• Prepare for Jakarta

• New Apartment

• The New School Opening

• PreSurgicalCare - the book and website

Best Teacher at Wall Street Institute - 2006

At the Annual WSI Christmas Party last month, I was very surprised and very honored to receive "Best Teacher Award" from my school.  It makes it even more special since it is voted on by the students there!  I had the this picture taken with Stephanie, the Center Director, and Hywel Davies, the Service Manager.  They'll even be sending me a trophy!

I was so sad about leaving this great school and will really miss all the staff, teachers, and students there.  The management has been really great.  They fully understand my desire to return to Indonesia and my wish to be closer to my family here.

Back to Bali

Yanti and the kids returned to Bali on Jan 16th, and I returned 2 weeks later.  (The two weeks without Yanti and the kids did seem like two months, I missed them so!)

So I'm back to a warm climate (about 30C here, while it was about 2C in Shanghai).  I visited with old friends; had a massage; got my haircut; and now am packing for the trip to Jakarta!

Unfortunately, Jakarta just had their '5 year' floods early this month.  Everything seems to be better now, so Yanti I will fly to Jakarta  at the end of this week to find an apartment and get me settled before the school officially opens on Feb. 26th. 

Prepare for Jakarta

I'm busy deciding what I'll need to bring with me that I'll need right-away and what I'll have shipped there.  I'll need my clothes and teaching supplies for now, but will have my desktop computer; a microwave oven; and other things shipped as soon as I'm settled.  We've been in contact with RE agents and I think I can find a nice 2 bedroom apartment in a nice building with a pool AND a fitness center that won't be too expensive or too far from the school.

Since the Wall Street in Jakarta is a franchise owned by a company that opened them in Thailand; AND they opened 6 in less that two years; I'm hoping that the expansion In Indonesia will go as well.  With some luck (keep your fingers crossed and some prayers coming); I have a good chance of being named Service Manager of the next school they open in Jakarta, maybe with in this year.  Then, when they are ready to expand to Bali, I hope to head up the team that will do it     :-)

New Apartment

Well, with Yanti's in fatigable help, I'm now settled in the new apartment.  I literally, couldn't have done all that was needed in such a short time without her!  She has been such a great support for me, I'm so glad she is my wife.

We're on the 21st floor with nice views of west and south Jakarta.  It's a 2 bedroom apartment with a great kitchen and even an OVEN!  This is my first oven since arriving in Bali in 2001.  Most apartments in Indonesia and in China do not have what we in the west call a stove.  They have usually just a 2 burner cook top.  So, I'm excited about baking things (I'll start with some chocolate chip cookies!  Yant's returning to the kids and Bali in a few days.  She'll be starting at the university in a few weeks.  At first taking accounting and tax classes.  Then in September, she'll have a full load, leading to a degree in business.  She is about as excited as I've ever seen her.  She'll be the first in her family to go to college :-)

The Opening

Feb 26th is the BIG day!   It's the Grand Opening of the new center, which, by the way, looks INCREDIBLE (click on image and go to a page with more images)!  As the 'Senior Teacher' I have a lot of responsibility!   I must impress the new and the potential students with how fun and easy it is to learn English at Wall Street.  So, I've been reviewing the class material (all new since I left China) and all the other classes I must teach.  But, I know I'm up to the challenge :-)  The new Indonesian Wall Street Institute web site is at www.wallstreetinstitute.co.id. 

Let me take this opportunity to talk about Wall Street English and why I'm so proud (and lucky) to be a part of it.  What Wall Street has done is create (over many years of constantly making improvements) a method of teaching English that is supported by a professional staff.  It's this combination of friendly staff and the method that makes Wall Street the MOST successful English teaching school in the world (over 400 centers world wide).  Each center is a fun and 'cool' place for the students to learn, study, and meet new people!  Wall Street is so different from other schools because a student can come whenever he/she wants (well, not 24/7, but something like 14/7).  

So, this week everyone will be VERY busy.

 top

<= Last Month    Next Month =>

Indonesia
...Well, it's there somewhere above Australia and below Singapore...