Wednesday morning's video interview went very well. In fact, it couldn't have gone better. I'd gotten enough information from various sources in my home department and from one of Hubby's colleagues who will be working at the overseas location, that I pretty much had a cheat sheet of the exact questions they might ask. And they did. And my answers were great. One of my answers even elicited a "perfect answer" from two of the hiring committee members!
There were 4 members, all of whom were very warm, personable, and eagar to offer useful information about life in Qatar (no big secret anymore, I suppose). Any remaining hesitations, questions, or concerns were generally assuaged, and they all seem like a group of colleagues I could learn a lot from.
Hubby got his interview request Wednesday morning, and his interview is set for Monday. Unless he blows it or there's a long list of candidates we know nothing about, I think there's an extremely high chance that we'll be invited for a fly-back. As I understand it from Hubby's colleague, if you're invited for a visit, it's understood that you're being offered the job, as it's an enormously expensive fly-back ($7K airfare tickets, lodging at the Ritz, etc.). It's a long flight, 24 hours, so we'd end up having to be gone for about 5 days, which means we'd have to ask my mom to come down and stay with the girls. I'm not sure how she'll feel about that, as she usually tries to only have one of them at a time on her own, but if they continue their daily schedule of school for H and montessori for E, this would give her the daytime to rest in between the morning and evening routines.
Also helping us feel better is that I talked with my ex-husband (H's biological dad), and he's given us his full consent and support. He recognizes the kind of opportunity it would be for H, understands that it's only for 2 years, and knows the value of the economic benefit it would be for our family. It also helped him to know that I was willing to let H spend as much time as she likes at his house during the summer.
My mom is talking to me again after a brief e-mail Cold War, but we're not talking about the job possibility. I'm just going to give her some space and try not to bring it up until the time comes (if it comes) where we have to think about arrangements for a fly-back. I do have an uncle who seems to be supportive of the idea, and he's offering a sounding board, which takes some of the sting off of not having my mom to talk to about this.
I still have lots of questions...like, What would we do about H's braces? Is there a neurologist I'd be able to see for my neck/DDD issue? Where would I get my hair cut? Will I be able to find pork products in grocery stores? Would we still be able to get Netflix? I realize some of these sound really random or silly or vain, perhaps, but these are the kinds of things that aren't really dealt with in the Relocation Binder provided by our home university. And these certainly aren't the most important questions or issues I have, either, but you know, they're on my mind. They're right there next to the grading, teaching, dissertation revisions, etc...In fact, my head may explode any minute. Or, more likley, I'll burst into tears and I won't be able to stop crying until I'm "all cried out" as my grandmothers used to say. I have a feeling this is inevitable at some point.
Friday, February 20, 2009
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3 comments:
I can answer one of those "silly" questions for you: no Netflix outside the U.S. C and I can't even get Netflix in Canada, although there are several Canadian equivalents. We actually rent movies through our itunes account. For $3.99 a movie, you get a pretty nice selection of movies; once you download it to your computer, you have 30 days to watch it, although you have to finish watching it in 24 hours once you begin watching it.
And not to add one more thing to your list of things to worry about, but if you do get a flyback, you might as well just go ahead and apply for H & E's passports. It shouldn't take too long for them to come in, but it could take up to 6 weeks. Considering you'll also have to apply for #3's passport at some point, getting their passports now would be one less thing on your mind.
Oh, if you never take my advice on anything in the entirety of our friendship, take my advice on this. Don't waste your time or your energy trying to have E's passport photo taken at a grocery store or a drug store; having it taken there will be infinitely cheaper, but it will take much, much longer. E has to be looking straight at the camera for her passport photo, and the people taking these photos at the drug stores or grocery stores are not trained to get a toddler to do this. Go to a camera shop and pay the $15 to have it done right the first time. It will save you much time and aggravation. Trust me on this one.
I can't answer the pork question, because it probably depends on the particular middle eastern country in question. I will say that if all goes well and you get a flyback, you should think about this as an opportunity to try all that the new location has to offer. You can live without pork (or just occasional pork experienced on those visits home). But, if you focus on the experience, you most likely won't even miss it.
Regarding the hair question... no matter where you are going, get your hair cut right before you go, and make sure you choose a low-maintenance style. This will buy you time until you find a salon in the new location. In order to find one, ask your colleagues who have been there for a while. Having to get entirely established from square one is a reality of living abroad. It won't seem unprofessional to ask this question like it might in some circumstances here.
I'm curious -- is this a country where you will need to wear a headscarf in public? This might actually make the hair issue a bit simpler...
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