It's less than a week until departure. I am practically completely packed except for the exact amount of clothes I need to last me 5 more days and some necessary items such as toiletries and electronics.... I've been very confident about accepting this job... I know I can do it and I know that they wouldn't have accepted me if they didn't believe in me... but today I've been having doubts. I've just received my real school email address, which is a silly thing to freak out about but its all becoming so real... I have five days left in the states, I've already said goodbye to my parents and now its suddenly sinking in........
What if I can't do it? What if I back out before my contract is up? What if I fail as a teacher? What if I hate it there? What if I miss my family and friends too much? What if I am miserable???
These thoughts are in my mind today and its making me doubt myself. I know I need to be confident that I am making the right choice but I can't deny the fact that sometimes I do question myself. I remember saying to my sister when I got the job that I know I will be sad, I know I will miss my family and friends, I know it will be hard but I also know that I have no doubts in my mind that I am making the right decision... I need to remember how confident I felt then and remember that no matter what happens, at the very very least, it will be a great experience and that is all that really matters.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Expectations
I don't know what to expect.... it's hard to say when I only know vague details of what I will be doing, where I will be living an who I will meet. Here's what I do know:
1. I will be teaching preschool (probably the 4 year old class)
2. I will live somewhere in Bogota with another preschool teacher at my school who is named Pamela and has a cat
3. A bus will pick me up and take me to and from school each day (about 30 minutes away)
4. My students will know little to no English when they arrive in my classroom
5. I will have a maximum of 18 students in my class plus an assistant
6. School starts on the 15th of August
7. I have to leave for school around 6:30a.m. and will get home between 5:00 and 6:30p.m. except Fridays around 3...
Other than that I'm pretty much waiting to find out till I get there... I'm going to meet the person I'm living with and get an apartment with her. I don't know anyone in Bogota other than a few acquaintances who I may never see... so I am pretty much banking on the idea that I will get along fabulously with my roommate and co-workers in order to have any kind of socialization in my life. To be honest, I'm fully expecting to be lonely, at least for the first 6 months....
This is how I picture my daily weekday life:
wake up
get ready
eat
leave for work
work
get home
exercise
shower
eat
plan lessons
sleep
AND repeat
Sounds like an exciting life in Bogota, huh?? If it's anything like my past teaching experiences, which I believe it may very well be the most difficult of all... I will probably dedicate a Saturday or Sunday to a full day of planning as well... mainly because I'm extremely anxious about being prepared for class and tend to be overly obsessive about that... but I suppose that is to be determined and will become less frequent as the year goes on. I hope I will eventually be able to find a balance, but as of now, I'm ready for the overwhelming workload.
I know that its going to get hard, its going to get boring, its going to get stressful, its going to get lonely, its going to get frustrating, etc... but I also have full confidence in myself that I will be able to keep going and not give up. I have to accept that I need to go through the tough times in order to reach the fabulously wonderful benefits of it all! Who knows, maybe it will be a blast and I will magically make a million friends the first day... but I have to say that although I am a very optimistic person, when it comes to moving somewhere new, I always expect the worst... that way I can't be disappointed.... I don't consider that pessimistic as much as just realistic. I don't know how I could realistically move to a new job in a new country and not be scared and lonely for a while... it just is what it is and I have to know that it will get easier, more comfortable and more fun as time goes by.
1. I will be teaching preschool (probably the 4 year old class)
2. I will live somewhere in Bogota with another preschool teacher at my school who is named Pamela and has a cat
3. A bus will pick me up and take me to and from school each day (about 30 minutes away)
4. My students will know little to no English when they arrive in my classroom
5. I will have a maximum of 18 students in my class plus an assistant
6. School starts on the 15th of August
7. I have to leave for school around 6:30a.m. and will get home between 5:00 and 6:30p.m. except Fridays around 3...
Other than that I'm pretty much waiting to find out till I get there... I'm going to meet the person I'm living with and get an apartment with her. I don't know anyone in Bogota other than a few acquaintances who I may never see... so I am pretty much banking on the idea that I will get along fabulously with my roommate and co-workers in order to have any kind of socialization in my life. To be honest, I'm fully expecting to be lonely, at least for the first 6 months....
This is how I picture my daily weekday life:
wake up
get ready
eat
leave for work
work
get home
exercise
shower
eat
plan lessons
sleep
AND repeat
Sounds like an exciting life in Bogota, huh?? If it's anything like my past teaching experiences, which I believe it may very well be the most difficult of all... I will probably dedicate a Saturday or Sunday to a full day of planning as well... mainly because I'm extremely anxious about being prepared for class and tend to be overly obsessive about that... but I suppose that is to be determined and will become less frequent as the year goes on. I hope I will eventually be able to find a balance, but as of now, I'm ready for the overwhelming workload.
I know that its going to get hard, its going to get boring, its going to get stressful, its going to get lonely, its going to get frustrating, etc... but I also have full confidence in myself that I will be able to keep going and not give up. I have to accept that I need to go through the tough times in order to reach the fabulously wonderful benefits of it all! Who knows, maybe it will be a blast and I will magically make a million friends the first day... but I have to say that although I am a very optimistic person, when it comes to moving somewhere new, I always expect the worst... that way I can't be disappointed.... I don't consider that pessimistic as much as just realistic. I don't know how I could realistically move to a new job in a new country and not be scared and lonely for a while... it just is what it is and I have to know that it will get easier, more comfortable and more fun as time goes by.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Getting Ready... Getting Set... Almost GO!
MOVING TO BOGOTA IN TWO WEEKS??? REALLY? It hasn't set in, yet.... I have my amazing job, my 2-year VISA, my one-way plane ticket scheduled for the 23rd of July, 2012 and a room full of things to be packed up. All I can say is, "O.M.G.... I AM SO NERVOUS!"
... but I have to admit that I am also very ecstatically excited. I know, I know... I've already lived there a year so what is there to be nervous about??? WELL this is going to be a completely different experience... and when I say completely different I really mean COMPLETELY different...
Last year I lived on an undeveloped, rural island off the coast of Cartagena, teaching English to grades K-3, where it is excruciatingly hot, inconvenient and extremely harsh living conditions. a.k.a. no water 25% of the time, constant power outages, no air conditioning, millions of bugs, rodents, reptiles, dogs and cats that roam inside and outside your house, not much food, booming music blazing from the town at all hours of the day and night, crazy drunks, a classroom that is actually a bamboo hut with no walls, students who YELL instead of talk, a school with no discipline policy, no materials, etc, etc, etc... Not to mention that the only way to reach the nearest city is by 20-30 mins on a motorcycle, to a 5-10 minute canoe ride, to a 1 hour bus ride and depending on the bus route that day, sometimes you still had to flag a taxi and ride in that for another 15-20 mins.... It sounds terrible when I put it all that way but I will tell you that it was the most amazing experience of my life. I had a blast and learned more than I ever thought I could. I met the most amazing people and had one of the most unique and rewarding teaching experiences I could possibly imagine. I am a little sad not to be returning to my little island of craziness but I am also excited to pursue a new direction in my career and live a completely different lifestyle in a new city.
THIS year I am living in the big time capitol of Colombia... Bogota!!! It's huge, its chilly, its very developed, its traffic-filled, its busy, its rainy and I will have consistent running water, electricity and internet PLUS the wonderful convenience of nearby banks, pizza, gyms, food, stores, etc... needless to say, I'm expecting to have some culture shock about how spoiled I will be here... but I have a feeling I'll get over that pretty fast :)
So why Bogota you ask??? Well, I will explain... when I arrived back to the United States in December I had no idea where I wanted to go next... but here's what I did know I wanted:
1. To teach young students
2. To have my OWN classroom-- no more of that 200 names of students to learn... I wanted my own little classroom family
3. To learn Spanish
4. To eventually move out of Atlanta for a bit... (however, this eventually became lowered to at least move out of my parents house)
5. To make money... no more of this volunteering crap.... hehehe :)
When I put all of these together I came up with the most wonderful, brilliant beyond brilliant idea! I decided that the most perfect and ideal job for me would be to go teach at an international bilingual school in South America. This way, I can have my own classroom, I can learn Spanish, I can live on my own AND I can make $$$$... how perfect?!?!?!
SOOO... I began my research only to discover that these schools are incredibly competitive... and although I know that I have the skills, knowledge and confidence that I need to be a great teacher, being only 24 years old, I am a bit lacking on the experience level of it all............ but I applied anyway. I applied to school after school after school.... I found the schools through the International Baccalaureate website and searched the bilingual schools located in Spanish-speaking countries. After applying, I waited for a long long time and was almost ready to give up until I got a call from an international school called CIEDI in Bogota.... then I got an interview.... then another interview.... then sent in more paperwork and after another very long wait for a response... I GOT THE JOB!!! I was so close to giving up hope several times after the long and treacherous waits but luckily I still hung onto my little string of hope and stuck with the slow slow slow process... I actually only officially got the job offer about 2 weeks ago! so here I am... returning to Colombia for my long awaited "dream job"... I just hope its as wonderful as I imagine!
... but I have to admit that I am also very ecstatically excited. I know, I know... I've already lived there a year so what is there to be nervous about??? WELL this is going to be a completely different experience... and when I say completely different I really mean COMPLETELY different...
Last year I lived on an undeveloped, rural island off the coast of Cartagena, teaching English to grades K-3, where it is excruciatingly hot, inconvenient and extremely harsh living conditions. a.k.a. no water 25% of the time, constant power outages, no air conditioning, millions of bugs, rodents, reptiles, dogs and cats that roam inside and outside your house, not much food, booming music blazing from the town at all hours of the day and night, crazy drunks, a classroom that is actually a bamboo hut with no walls, students who YELL instead of talk, a school with no discipline policy, no materials, etc, etc, etc... Not to mention that the only way to reach the nearest city is by 20-30 mins on a motorcycle, to a 5-10 minute canoe ride, to a 1 hour bus ride and depending on the bus route that day, sometimes you still had to flag a taxi and ride in that for another 15-20 mins.... It sounds terrible when I put it all that way but I will tell you that it was the most amazing experience of my life. I had a blast and learned more than I ever thought I could. I met the most amazing people and had one of the most unique and rewarding teaching experiences I could possibly imagine. I am a little sad not to be returning to my little island of craziness but I am also excited to pursue a new direction in my career and live a completely different lifestyle in a new city.
THIS year I am living in the big time capitol of Colombia... Bogota!!! It's huge, its chilly, its very developed, its traffic-filled, its busy, its rainy and I will have consistent running water, electricity and internet PLUS the wonderful convenience of nearby banks, pizza, gyms, food, stores, etc... needless to say, I'm expecting to have some culture shock about how spoiled I will be here... but I have a feeling I'll get over that pretty fast :)
(CIEDI--the school)
So why Bogota you ask??? Well, I will explain... when I arrived back to the United States in December I had no idea where I wanted to go next... but here's what I did know I wanted:
1. To teach young students
2. To have my OWN classroom-- no more of that 200 names of students to learn... I wanted my own little classroom family
3. To learn Spanish
4. To eventually move out of Atlanta for a bit... (however, this eventually became lowered to at least move out of my parents house)
5. To make money... no more of this volunteering crap.... hehehe :)
When I put all of these together I came up with the most wonderful, brilliant beyond brilliant idea! I decided that the most perfect and ideal job for me would be to go teach at an international bilingual school in South America. This way, I can have my own classroom, I can learn Spanish, I can live on my own AND I can make $$$$... how perfect?!?!?!
SOOO... I began my research only to discover that these schools are incredibly competitive... and although I know that I have the skills, knowledge and confidence that I need to be a great teacher, being only 24 years old, I am a bit lacking on the experience level of it all............ but I applied anyway. I applied to school after school after school.... I found the schools through the International Baccalaureate website and searched the bilingual schools located in Spanish-speaking countries. After applying, I waited for a long long time and was almost ready to give up until I got a call from an international school called CIEDI in Bogota.... then I got an interview.... then another interview.... then sent in more paperwork and after another very long wait for a response... I GOT THE JOB!!! I was so close to giving up hope several times after the long and treacherous waits but luckily I still hung onto my little string of hope and stuck with the slow slow slow process... I actually only officially got the job offer about 2 weeks ago! so here I am... returning to Colombia for my long awaited "dream job"... I just hope its as wonderful as I imagine!
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