Sean Banville's Blog

The last three months of 2005 were a real rollercoaster ride, complete with all the loops and rolls but without the thrills. The life savings had dwindled to piggy-bank proportions and the revenue from my website had still not broken a dollar a day.

Two miracles happened. At least that’s what they seemed like at the time. Two different educators in Japan gave me leads to possible jobs at universities. I was interviewed and offered both jobs. The downside was that both jobs were hundreds of miles from my home. There was no way I was going to live apart from my family, which meant we would have to sell our house and relocate.

Then another idea came along. If I was to sell house and home and move on, moving overseas became a viable option. I had always been interested in working in the Middle East. Many years earlier I looked at jobs in Saudi Arabia. I didn’t have a Master’s degree then so dropped the idea.

The very first search I did on Google came up with a college in the UAE that was looking for teachers. This was in November; the positions started in January. In my very best typewriting, I completed the application forms. I got and passed a video interview and then waited for the screening process to take its course.

In the middle of December I got the e-mail that said, “You’ve got the job. You start in four weeks.” After months of thinking I’d be bankrupt and jobless, I suddenly had three job offers. As much as we dearly loved Japan, we decided on a new adventure.

We had four weeks to empty our house and tie up the hundreds of loose ends. It’s amazing how much stuff you accumulate when you buy a house.

I lived in a quiet village in a valley. The road in front of my house had recently been widened to take two-way traffic. Sometimes there were two cars visible on it at the same time. This lack of traffic didn’t bode too well for another bright idea I had – a garage sale. It was the only way to get rid of everything we owned. We couldn’t afford to ship it overseas and desperately needed all the funds we could get.

Garage sales are a very unusual event in Japan. My two-metre roadside sign created sufficient bemusement for a fair percentage of the valley traffic to stop, reverse and then find out what this English man was doing. It took me two weeks to sell almost everything in the house.

• I gave away all my books.
• I sold my treasured 450 albums for peanuts.
• My children watched other children take away their toys.
• We uprooted and sold the plants and trees we had taken such pride in growing in our garden.
• I gave away my kayak.
• I parted with my chainsaw.
• We put our house up for sale at a price far less than what we still owed on it.

The morning we left Japan we got rid of the last items we owned that weren’t in out four suitcases. The futons we slept on the previous night, the heater, and the kettle and cups we would use for a last cup of coffee.

I tried hard, but couldn’t stop the tears flowing as I left my beloved house and valley. I desperately wanted to stay.

Moving on three years and eleven months.

Coming to the UAE was one of the best decisions of my life. Life is good. I’ve learnt so much here. I work with amazing teachers. My students are awesome. Life savings are now something to raise a small smile.

Both risks were worth it.

Next post: Using sound files in the classroom.