Oh Man...
Posted by Lindsey , Thursday, May 26, 2011 1:37 PM
I am lame, I haven't posted anything in a year! In my defense, I started another blog about going out and doing things in LA on the cheap (although I did abandon that as well). I just have to admit to myself that I'm not great at this and I do get so busy that maintaining a blog usually becomes impossible for me. But some things have changed to where I think I need to make myself update something, at least so my family and friends can know what the hell is going on with me.
So I'm moving out of the country again. This is the main reason I came back to this blog. This year has been a whirlwind of me getting my ass in gear to finish school and get my credential. Thankfully, I am almost done. I have my final class and I'm finishing up student teaching. I have just less than five weeks left. I should graduate and receive my Master's/preliminary teaching credential by the end of June.
I started to stomp the pavement, sending out my resume to nearly every international school that had even a hint of an opening I would be qualified for. I also applied to every history position I saw for California. Unfortunately, I have never even been called for an interview for this state which is sad and disheartening. I do, however, continue to receive rejection emails in my inbox. Oh joy. So there were a few game changers with this. First of all, I found out from the credentialing commission that I could clear my credential internationally by working at a regionally accredited school and completing an online program. Because of this, there was no reason to keep looking for jobs here. My dream is to teach abroad so might as well do just that as soon as I'm able.
I started to get emails and calls for international positions. Within a one week time period, I had interviews for Korea, the UAE, and Honduras. I really didn't know how I felt about all of these places. I really didn't want to go back to Korea so fast after leaving (plus it is a University position, not teaching history). Also, it is in a very small city in the south. If I would go back, I of course would prefer Seoul. I still have friends there and I like big city life. I also didn't know how I felt about the UAE, obviously because it's in the middle east and all of the stereotypes and fears surrounding that region. After the interview, I decided it sounded even less appealing as I would have to deal with ridiculously rich self-entitled children who aren't used to hearing "no". Plus, with my background they wanted me to do kindergarten again. No thank you. I want to teach history to mini-adults. Point, blank, period.
Let's see...Honduras. I really didn't know much about it except that it is in Central America and hot, with some Mayan ruins. That sounded pretty appealing. When I started doing additional research, it didn't look like the most appealing place on earth (rampant poverty, one of the highest murder rates in the world, muggings are common) but things are not always what they seem when you don't actually live within a society. I know most people were really worried about earthquakes and crime when I moved to LA (I have only felt two smallish earthquakes in my time here and direct crime hasn't affected me yet though watch out for road rage drivers annnndd I'm knocking on wood). Also, everyone freaked when I announced my move to Korea ("Which Korea are you moving to?"....ughhh, as if Kim Jong-il would let Americans move there willingly dur..).
I mean, really. Even when I was traveling in Southwest Asia I heard terrible tales about thugs cutting off my fingers for a white gold ring if I wore it and keeping my money only close to my body hidden. There is always this awful fear of the unknown that is perpetuated. I know that bad things happen in the world and I don't intend to be naive or trusting, but come on. Some things people fear are just ridiculous. I don't know how some people accomplish anything, to be quite honest. Ok, so there's my unintended rant for this post. Moving on..
The interview for Honduras went extremely well and both the superintendent and the principal for the high school are Americans (United Statesians?). After a week, they offered me a social studies position. Ok, the package for this international school is not as great as other international schools, but it is a great way for me to travel and get my foot in the door of the international teaching community. Plus, it is actually a wonderful package for a developing country. I will obviously be making much much more than locals and will actually be able to save quite a bit since the cost of living is so low.
My package includes a very comfortable salary where I can save at least a thousand every month, free housing and utilities (though I will have to live with another teacher or two), insurance, round trip airfare x2 (they will send me home after a year as this is a two-year contract), a gym membership, and some of my costs to move reimbursed. This is wonderful for a beginning teacher. It will actually work out to be more than I would make in a school starting out here in LA since I won't have to pay the exorbitant rent. Also, I received the school calendar and the holidays are ridiculous. I will have ample time to travel around if I choose to do so.
So, status on this...I'm waiting for the finalized contract and my official start date. I found out yesterday that I will be teaching 12 graders and my subjects include economics, philosophy, and 20th century history. I don't know how comfortable I feel about the economics, but my teacher at student teaching has many resources to pass on to me for that subject so I'm not too worried. My next steps are a mile-long to do list which involve vaccinations, background check, packing, etc. etc...all while finishing up my Master's. Ha, I always seem to bite off more than I can chew. I also plan to go to Ohio for about a month and then flying to Honduras from there so I can spend time with family. I'm hoping all of this goes as smooth as possible.
I do have some regrets. I'm leaving so fast, I haven't even been back a full year and this is happening fairly quickly. I definitely didn't get to spend as much time with friends in LA as I would have liked. But I'm so extremely busy and I know my friends are too. I also have had little to no money since being back, as soon as I had the ball rolling on three jobs I had to quit one in order to student teach. This has really hit me in the pocket. Also, I got rid of my car which further hinders my ability to hang with people. If you are reading this and haven't seen me since I got back to Korea, I'm sorry and I miss you and hopefully our paths will cross at some point before I leave. If not, I know people are in our lives for a reason. This year was, unfortunately, not about cultivating relationships for me. That is regrettable as people are amazing. I still love all of you and do think of you often. I hope your lives are wonderful.
In other news, I was in the audience of the Glee finale last night ("Nationals") and I made eye contact with Puckerman. Yeah...be jealous...
