Airport-Shannon

 We are at the airport nearly four hours early – because that’s how Justin rolls. I forgot my extra pair of gloves and the pillows on the couch were not straightened when we left the house. That’s been bothering me for the last two hours. I’m also fairly certain that Howie has chewed a hole through a window at this point. He was not pleased to be left so unceremoniously this morning. He’s also upset that the couch was straightened.

I’ve been thinking of teaching overseas for a while now, and it was at about this time last year that I learned about the UNI Fair Of course it was too late to register, but I resolved that I would attend in 2014. It was a blessing that I had to hold off a year, which allowed me to begin relationship with Justin. I wonder if he had any inkling that in a mere eight months later would be agreeing to abandon his life as he knew it and embark on an unknown journey with me. (Why is it that all boarding agents have heavy Spanish accents? It’s very distracting).

I’m looking forward to a fresh start somewhere new. While I love my Freedom Middle School family I’m afraid I’ve grown cynical towards our public education system.  I feel my spirit is in need of reinvigorating and I’m hoping that an international school, without the overbearing influences of political agendas and superfluous testing upon testing, will provide an ideal setting to renew my choice in education. (Also , I’m a little alarmed at how easy it was to bring needles through security. Like, I don’t even think they noticed I had them. Too worried about suspicious baby formula and hazardous hand lotions I suppose…)

Airport-Justin

I’m sitting at the airport about to leave for Iowa for this trip. It’s crazy to think that in two and a half days, I am going to know what country we will be moving to. I think teaching abroad is a great opportunity to see the world and practice my craft on someone else’s dime. In the meantime I feel like my current state of mind is refreshing as well. I think everyone should have a chance to just press the reset button on their life and take a chance. I have been a planner my whole life. I have always had specific goals and milestones ahead of me. First I was going to graduate high school, then college, then a graduate degree, and then start my career. Now that I have accomplished all of that, I am fully embracing the idea of allowing myself to enjoy a life curveball. I feel like a lot of my life has been part of a plan. I have worked extremely hard to accomplish my goals and follow my plan and I’m proud of it but it’s time to reset that and just go with it for a little while. I have no regrets about the way I have lived my life but look forward to the chance to live with some uncertainty. I think being out of my comfort zone is going to be an adventure…even if that sounds a little corny.

So while I’m sitting in the Orlando airport where it’s been in the balmy 70s for the past few weeks I am equal parts excited to see what comes next in this process, and also dreading the forecasted -15 degree weather. I hope things go well at this fair and have faith that they will. I will check back in after I have done some interviews and have a better idea of where things are going.

*Update: We just got a lovely automated phone call saying our connecting flight from Chicago, Illinois to Bumbledunk, Iowa has been cancelled. We're in the process of figuring that out now. Oh the joys of winter travel to the Ice Planet Hoth.

Interview

Yes, that's me doing an interview on Skype with a school in Mexico. Yes I am wearing a shirt and tie, basketball shorts, and socks. It was quite a unique experience. Not going to lie, I had to ask Shannon for advice weather I should tuck the shirt or not. I'm a classy fella like that.

First Post

The point of this blog is to help us both connect with our friends, family, and any other future potential teachers who plan on teaching abroad. If you have stumbled across this please feel free to comment or communicate any other way possible. When Shannon and I discussed teaching overseas as a possible option for ourselves we really saw it as an opportunity to do a variety of different things. If things go well at the fair coming up soon, we will be teaching in another country for the next year or two. We wanted to create a little space where we could share our experiences with loved ones and strangers alike but we also wanted to have something for ourselves. This blog will serve as a way to communicate with people but also as an outlet for our frustrations, a journal of our experiences, and a way to connect the lives we've built over the past two plus decades with our present and future. I hope you all find it enjoyable.