... 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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