July 2008 - The BIG Move Over the Pacific

I'll be honest - July was very stressful. After our trip to the B.I. to secure housing, we received a call from our prospective temporary landlord, saying that she didn't think it would be a good fit after all. I think because of our dogs, she had second thoughts. This was very disappointing to hear, especially because we had spent the time and the money to come out and stay in her place one night and make sure it would work for us. So, it was back to the drawing board to try to find housing that would take our dogs and us sight unseen.

What we ended up doing, and I would highly recommend, is to go to http://www.vrbo.com/ and find a vacation rental to live in short term. There weren't a lot to choose from that would take dogs, but there were a couple. Don't be afraid of the nightly rate. Many of these owner's will negotiate a monthly rate with you that is more like a long term rental rate. We found a lovely furnished 2 bedroom, 2 bath home in Volcano for $900.00 a month. We ended up staying 5 weeks before we found the current furnished rental we have now in Keaau.

Once our housing was lined up again, I relaxed just a tad, and focused again on the physical task of packing and the logistics of shipping belongings, one car, and us and the dogs to Hawaii.

My niece, Tamara came to visit the week before we left, and she was a big help in getting things packed, and for moral support. We packed several closets, photos, kitchen items, and sorted them into "ship now" and "ship later" sections in the garage. We ended up leaving the house with all of our furnishings, wall art, and some kitchen and bath items intact, as we knew my SO, Tim would be back to mow the lawn and look in on things, and we were still trying to sell the house. I also felt having the house "staged" would help it show better to prospective buyers. So, even though we didn't pack up the whole house, it was still a lot of work.

We shipped just one car (mine) using Horizon Lines. I used Horizon because they ship in a closed container, as opposed to the open air system used by Matson. It was approximately $1100 and took 2-3 weeks. You need to drop the car off about 5 days before sailing, if I remember correctly. We ended up renting a large SUV to take all of us, our luggage, and two dog kennels to the airport on moving day. Tim left his small truck in the employee parking lot at SEA-TAC airport so he would have transportation on his return trips. (He works as a flight attendant for US Airways, which is nice that he can come back and check on the house when needed.)

July 15th - Arriving at the Airport: If you are traveling with dogs, get there at least 3 hours early to be safe. We pulled up to the curb about an hour and half before flight time and found a friendly sky cap to help us get our mountain of luggage and the dogs and their kennels to the ticket counter. Once there, there was a lot of paperwork that had to be filled out, we had no idea. We thought we had done everything we needed to do, and were surprised by all the extra paperwork required by the airline. By the time, we filled everything out, we had very little time remaining and the dogs had to go to a separate security area and be taken out and their kennels checked for chemicals and drugs (I guess). The skycap stayed with us the whole time and then took the dogs down to the plane. We tipped him $30.00 just because we knew without him, we wouldn't have made it.

After boarding the plane, all kinds of thoughts were rushing through my head - "Are my dogs going to be okay?" "Are they scared?" "Do they think we're deserting them?" "Are we crazy to move to Hawaii?" "What if the house doesn't sell?" "What if we don't like it?" Then I had to calm myself down and remind myself that 1) dogs travel in cargo all the time and they would be just fine, and we would see them in a few hours, and 2) Life is an adventure - there is seldom a move you make that can't be undone if you so desire. We could always move back if we needed or wanted to. So, once my irrational fears were quelled, I tried to imagine what life would be like on the Big Island of Hawaii and what new adventures I might get myself into.

July 15th - Arriving in Honolulu - "Where are my dogs?" Finding the Animal Quarantine station is a little tricky. After a few missteps, we finally found the office. We had brought two rolling luggage carts to pick up the dogs and check them in for their inter island flight. They were both alive and well, but we couldn't take them out of their kennels according to the officer or they "could be shot." What! I don't know if the officer was trying to scare us or what, but I thought that was a very strange statement coming from someone who takes care of animals! So, we loaded them up and took them just past the inter island terminal to the post office, where there is a fenced in area and grass. We took them out of their kennels, let them do their business (which we picked up) and gave them a little water. We walked them on their leashes for a few minutes, reluctantly put them back in the kennels, and wheeled them back to the inter island terminal to check in for the Hilo flight.

July 15th - Arriving in Hilo - "Free at Last!" The dogs came off right away even before our luggage. Tim went to get the rental car and bring it around. We loaded up the luggage and kennels and drove away from the airport and stopped at the amory area to let the dogs out to potty. They were SO happy to see us and be out their little boxes. We gave them a little exercise and then back into the rental car for our 40 minute drive to Volcano. Before we left Hilo, we stopped at Safeway to pick up groceries, and were shocked at how little we bought and how much we spent. $180.00! Well, I did send Tim into the store and he is not known to be the most frugal shopper. :)

By the time we got to Volcano, it was about 7 pm (10 pm Seattle time) and we had been up since about 4:00 a.m. We were exhausted. We met our new landlord there, where she gave us the key and showed us around. It looked better than the photos, so I was very happy. She left, and we promptly unpacked the car, and fell into bed. Whew! We made it!

The next 5 days were spent getting acclimated and collecting the daily boxes from FEDEX that we had shipped. We shipped about 10 boxes a day before we left for a total of about 40 boxes in all. Tim gets 75% off 2nd day air, but can only ship 10 boxes a day maximum. So, that worked out well. I had about 7 classroom boxes, 5 dog boxes (beds, gates, food etc), clothes, books, and kitchen items.

On July 21st, I had to fly to Honolulu for three days of orientation with my new employer, Kamehameha Schools. What a culture shock! I was introduced to Pule (Prayer), Mele (Song), and Olelo No'eau (Hawaiian proverbs and stories). I was impressed right away with everyone's professionalism and committment to education. I felt I was really going to like my new job, but felt a little intimidated by all that I had to learn about Hawaiian culture.

On July 24th, I saw my new school for the first time, started unpacking and making our two classrooms look like science and literacy classrooms. There are two other teachers besides myself and two assistant teachers that work for Kamehameha Schools here at this public school site. It's the first year the program is being done at this school. We are all in this adventure together. One of the teachers, ironically, found this blog site and we had been communicating prior to finding out we would be working together. Hi Jen! :) She moved here from New York just a week or so before we arrived. The other teacher, is also from the mainland, but has lived on the Big Island for about 6 years. One of the assistant teachers, I found out, was born and raised in Arizona (although Hawaiian), and went to the same schools as my son. She actually knew him and his friends when we lived in Arizona. That was really spooky! It reminds me of the six degrees of separation stuff . . . weird . . . The other assistant teacher was born and raised in Hilo and worked for the DOE about 30 years before retiring and coming to work for KS. So, we were quite the motley crew ready to step out into uncharted waters.

New Year's Resolution

I have probably lost any of you that were following me, due to the long period of inactivity. Well, one of my New Year's resolutions is to update this blog at least once a week.

I will attempt to go back over the last six months and share what I have learned and experienced so far. I'm on vacation until January 12th, and I'm home in bed with Pneumonia, so being flat on my back with nothing to do, this seems like the perfect project.

Let's get caught up . . . .

The Dog Days of Summer

Since my last post, I have finished teaching here in the PNW, packed up my classroom (and relocated it to our garage), took a quick 4 day trip to Hilo to look at rentals (which included two long days of travel time), started packing, and have made travel arrangements for us and the dogs. Whew!!

I found the best place to get dog kennels is on http://www.dog.com/. I purchased the 'Sky Kennels' which were given great reviews by users on their web site. They are very sturdy, come with the stickers you need for the kennels, two cups that attach to the door for food and water, and they are ventilated on 4 sides (most kennels ae ventilated on three sides). They were about $67.00 each for an intermediate size. (32 x 22) I also purchased two fleece crate pads - blue for Bailey and pink for Jazmin. ($16.99 each) I thought they would help keep them secure and not slide around in the kennel during the trip.

The kennels are sitting on the floor of our dining room now, and the dogs have been going in on their own to sleep in them. I hope in two weeks time they will feel okay about traveling in them.

Our pups know something is up. They are sticking by our sides and love to be in the garage as we are sorting and boxing things up.

We would never dream of leaving them behind! Here's hoping that the temps don't go over 85 on July 15th. We land in Honolulu around 12:30. We may need to wait for the afternoon temps to go down for our interisland flight to Hilo.

All the paperwork is turned in to the Agriculture Department except for the Health Certificate (as of yesterday). The airlines require it within 10 days of travel, so we are going to the vet on July 7th. The AG Dept. said we can hand carry the health certificate and show it when we pick up the dogs in HNL. The 'Dog and Cat Import Form', 2 Rabies Certificates and the $165.00 each Money Order, had to be in greater than 10 days before travel. One more thing I can cross off that big long list of mine!!

Back to packing - more on that later . . .

Aloha! (In 14 days we'll be there!)

The Countdown Begins!

27 days until we leave for the Big Island of Hawaii!

Well, we are also leaving for the BI in 5 days to secure a rental. We're going over for 3 nights and 2 full days, to look at some property and to check out a vacation rental I found, that is somewhat close to where I'll be working. The home is furnished, allows pets, and also is accomodating on a month to month rental. The amazing thing is, the house is owned by someone that teaches at the same school where I'll be working! I think the stars are aligned! :) We're going to stay at the Hilo Hawaiian for two nights, and then at the vacation rental for one night to see how we like it.

With travel time, that takes 4 days out of our packing time. We're going to take the bare minimum, especially if we'll be in a furnished home for awhile. A lot of our belongings we'll leave here in storage and ship later when we have a permanent place to live. I think we may leave our home here mostly furnished and try to rent it out as a vacation rental or, if it comes down to it, a longer rental. We have a friend in Arizona that may be interested in renting it. It's been on the market two weeks now with no interest at all so far. I'm pretty surprised by that. Although an offer or a buyer could come at any moment. I'm not going to stress about it. Okay, well maybe I am, just a little. :)

I just found out that I have to be in Honolulu for orientation on the morning of July 21st for three days. That doesn't give me much time to acclimate. I was hoping the orientation would be local. I'm looking forward to meeting my team and everyone else I'll be working with though. It should be fun!

I still have to finish packing up my classroom today and squeeze in two doctor's appointments. I'm trying to get all my medical, dental, hair etc appointments done before I leave, as I know it will take some time to find replacements for all those professionals.

I'm feeling a little anxious about coordinating everything - the dogs, the cars, the house here AND there, packing and storing. I know it will all fall into place though and I'll FINALLY be warm! (It's about 58 degrees here today for a high!!! It's the middle of June people!!!)

Aloha!

How Did I Find This Position?

When I first considered teaching in Hawaii, I put my resume, letters of recommendations, transcripts, and teaching credentials on a site called, www.teachers-teachers.com From there, I was contacted by a recruiter, Carmen Leal (cleal@teachers-teachers.com) , who is NOT employed by the Hawaii Department of Education. She works independent from the DOE, and anyone considering working for the public school system should definitely work with an outside recruiter. If you would like your questions answered, emails returned promptly, and someone to hold your hand through the process it's definitely the way to go. There is no cost to you. I believe the DOE pays the recruiter somehow. I'm not sure how it works on her end.

I wasn't convinced I wanted to teach in the public school system, and while I was applying through the DOE, I was also checking out private schools. Some of the schools I investigated were, Hawaiian Preparatory Academy (www.hpa.edu), Kamehameha Schools (www.ksbe.edu), Parker School, (www.parkerschool.net), and Waimea Country School (www.waimeacountryschool.org). There are other private schools listed at, Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (www.hais.org). They have a link on their home page, "Job Board" where you can search for positions throughout Hawaii.

Of the schools I researched, Kamehameha Schools was the only school that had a position that fit what I was looking for. They too, have an employment link to search for jobs throughout Hawaii. On the Big Island, their campus is located 7 miles south of Hilo in Kea'au. They also have campuses on Maui and Honolulu. Their enrollment is close to 7,000 students which makes them the largest independent school in the United States. They also have community outreach programs which benefit students who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend KS.

I applied on line for the Literacy Resource Teacher position the day before I had an interview in Seattle for the Hawaii Department of Education. I didn't know how long it would take to hear from KS, so I went ahead and did my mainland interview in Seattle. The DOE gave me an offer letter to teach special education on the Big Island. It wasn't a contract, but an offer that they would have employment for me.

March 30th I applied online with KS, and March 31st was my interview with the DOE. I was told by the DOE recruiter that it may be a month before I heard about an open position. It was actually about a week and a half before I heard from a principal from Laupahoehoe Elementary on the Hamakua Coast (my first choice). He offered me the position over the phone, and I explained that I was waiting to hear back from KS about a position I applied for there. He said they wouldn't hold the position but I could check back with him after I had my interview with KS.

I heard from Kamehameha Schools a few days later. They wanted to do a video conference and suggested I go to a Kinkos to set it up. I suggested Skype and a web cam, but they were unwilling or unable to download any software to their computer. The nearest Kinkos to me that did video conferencing was 2 hours away in Seattle, so that was definitely out. I ended up downloading WebEx which allows you to set up web based meetings, invite participants, and they can view your computer screen (if you like). They can also view you with an attached webcam. They agreed to that scenario if they didn't have to download software or host the meeting. I was all set to go on the day of the interview, but for some reason they couldn't get into the meeting, and I couldn't get my web cam to turn on. So . . . after all that, they did agree to just do a phone interview.

My interview was on April 29th and I felt it went well. They also had me answer an essay question and send it back to them in 30 minutes. It was basically about 5 different philosophies of teaching - I had to pick one, elaborate and say why I chose it.

They told me it would be a couple of weeks before I heard back as they had to check my references and verify my employment history. I was in touch with their Human Resources person off and on for various questions and paperwork I had to fill out. They were very accommodating and responsive in all the emails and phone calls that were going back and forth.
On May 14th, I received my official confirmation of Employment. I am very happy with the position, the salary (over 10% higher than the DOE), and the personnel I have dealt with so far.

The only caveat is that I will be working at a DOE school, and farther away from where I would like to live. This position is a sort of contracted job. I will be working with a team of 4 other KS employees and we will be collaborating at a DOE elementary school and teaching literacy through the content area of science. I will be working in the Puna District in Mountain View about 16 miles south of Hilo. We want to live north of Hilo, so we'll have to keep commuting distances in mind when we are looking for property.

Right now I'm feeling excited and overwhelmed all at the same time!

Aloha for now!

I Have a Job in Hawaii!!

Aloha! A little background about me - I've been wanting to move to Hawaii for almost 20 years. The time is right (for many reasons), and I now have confirmation I have a teaching job starting on July 21, 2008. In less than 2 months, I'll be on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaii employed by Kamahameha Schools as a Literacy Resource Teacher. I currently work as a 4th grade teacher in the Pacific Northwest.

I've decided to start this blog because when I first started doing my research for the move and teaching jobs, I found very little information. I know teachers are busy, but it seemed that the only information out there was from people who had second (or third, or fourth) hand knowledge, or were disgruntled former teachers who had moved back to the mainland or weren't in the teaching profession anymore. I was hoping to find current teachers and/or teachers who had moved from the mainland to teach in Hawaii. It's my hope I can fill that apparent void and take people along on the journey I'm about to embark on.

I'm not going alone - thank goodness! I have my SO, Tim and my two canine kids, Jazmin and Bailey. We are all very excited, energized, and looking forward to the new adventure!

I have three weeks of school left here, report cards to write, a classroom to pack up, a house to sell, reservations to make, and housing to find in Hawaii in less than 2 months! I love a challenge and this is definitely a challenge! Come along for the ride!