It took a bit of time, but I have arrived! More importantly, I arrived with all of my luggage!!
My apartment is really great. I have two furnished bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a quaint kitchen, and a spacious dining/living area. I also have some sort of 'bonus room' which appears to be used for laundry...I'm thinking disco ball. The apartment is on a corner and looks onto the busy streets below. I can listen to different music playing from the street out from different windows, and there is always the infamous 'Call to Prayer' announced from the Mosque just over a block from my house. It is busy, but I do enjoy it quite a bit!
The school is wonderful as well. My classroom is on the ground level, and I have a four row, staduim style seating patio area. I am so psyched to not only have windows, but an outdoor 'teaching arena' as well.
Sadly, my boxes have not arrived, so all the things I rushed to pack are still on a shipping container somewhere between here and Baltimore. Granted, so is everyone else's! Other than that, life has been very good here in Casa. There are many new faculty members, and all of us are getting along great. I'm happy to be working with some really great people!
The traffic here is rather crazy, and I learned that what I am seeing is only about half!! Many families holiday during July and/or August. It will be interesting to see the change when school begins....
Friday, August 22, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Of all the schools in all the world…
The first Friday of May, I began the process of my application. On May 13, 2008, my application with Search Associates was activated and I was out there. It was fun to see what countries were popping up in my inbox. Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Dubai, Germany, China, and many, many other places all had available math positions.
I first interviewed with a school in Bavaria (over the phone) and the interview went well. Then, on May 31st, I received a message from a school in Morocco asking me if available and interested to contact him. In an effort to be fair with the school I had just interviewed with, I did nothing with this school in Morocco. When I did not hear back from the first school by the time they had hoped to let me know, I went ahead and replied to the school in Morocco on June 6th that I would be interested.
On June 10th, I once again went through a phone interview process, but I felt much better about this interview. The director was polite, thoughtful, to the point, helpful, and he has a good sense of humor. The next morning, I arrived at school quite early to get ready for the senior class trip. I opened my email, and Casablanca American School had offered me a position teaching high school math. I ran through the building looking for someone to share my exciting news with, but no one else had arrived. I phoned my sister knowing since she is also a teacher, she, too, would be up. Thankfully she was! That Friday, one month to the day after my application became active, I happily accepted the job.
After a rushed packing a vacating of my apartment in Vermont, I traveled home with the remainder of my possessions to be stored at my parent’s home. Dad always said he wanted me to move back home, I just don’t think he expected all of my stuff to come with me! :) And now, I sit here with a quick final update before I leave. I will be arriving at the airport for departure in just over twelve hours from now, and it is unbelievable the number of butterflies in my stomach. I know I have everything I will need, in fact I am quite sure I have packed way, way too much, but I am too tired and anxious and excited and nervous to do anything about it now. As for Morocco, and in the words of my niece (when playing hide-and-seek), “Ready? Here I come!”
I first interviewed with a school in Bavaria (over the phone) and the interview went well. Then, on May 31st, I received a message from a school in Morocco asking me if available and interested to contact him. In an effort to be fair with the school I had just interviewed with, I did nothing with this school in Morocco. When I did not hear back from the first school by the time they had hoped to let me know, I went ahead and replied to the school in Morocco on June 6th that I would be interested.
On June 10th, I once again went through a phone interview process, but I felt much better about this interview. The director was polite, thoughtful, to the point, helpful, and he has a good sense of humor. The next morning, I arrived at school quite early to get ready for the senior class trip. I opened my email, and Casablanca American School had offered me a position teaching high school math. I ran through the building looking for someone to share my exciting news with, but no one else had arrived. I phoned my sister knowing since she is also a teacher, she, too, would be up. Thankfully she was! That Friday, one month to the day after my application became active, I happily accepted the job.
After a rushed packing a vacating of my apartment in Vermont, I traveled home with the remainder of my possessions to be stored at my parent’s home. Dad always said he wanted me to move back home, I just don’t think he expected all of my stuff to come with me! :) And now, I sit here with a quick final update before I leave. I will be arriving at the airport for departure in just over twelve hours from now, and it is unbelievable the number of butterflies in my stomach. I know I have everything I will need, in fact I am quite sure I have packed way, way too much, but I am too tired and anxious and excited and nervous to do anything about it now. As for Morocco, and in the words of my niece (when playing hide-and-seek), “Ready? Here I come!”
When in Rome…
I love places that are beautiful and offer excellent food and drink! Ah Greece, ah Italy. For April holiday of 2008, I spent an amazing week in Rome. The hotel I stayed at was located a perfect walking distance from everywhere, as I learned with the help of a most wonderful hotel staff gentleman, Paolo. As he exclaimed to me my first morning in Rome, “Roma is my city. I will tell you where to go.” Most every morning from then on, Paolo would give me new destinations to see, and new places to eat at.
The food, the sights, the people of Rome were just what I needed. While seeing many of the sights of Rome, I also did a couple of tours. I walked to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the area surrounding the Coliseum. As for tours, I did a tour of Vatican City, and a tour inside the Coliseum as well as its surrounding grounds.
One of my highlights was reminding myself that when in Rome…. Therefore, when Paolo offered to give me a personal driving tour of Rome, I accepted. I then realized I was getting a tour on the back of his motorcycle! Holy fright! It was so exhilarating to ride on his motorcycle with him! He was also sweet enough on my last day in Rome to drive me out for an afternoon on the beach. Truly magnificent!
It was somewhere in the middle of my own ‘Roman Holiday’ I discovered I needed to teach internationally. A passion had awoken within me, and I was finally ready to answer the call.I flew home on Sunday, and the very next day at work, I filled out the necessary paperwork to take Friday off and complete my application to teach overseas. Thankfully, I still had that business card on my coffee table.
The food, the sights, the people of Rome were just what I needed. While seeing many of the sights of Rome, I also did a couple of tours. I walked to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the area surrounding the Coliseum. As for tours, I did a tour of Vatican City, and a tour inside the Coliseum as well as its surrounding grounds.
One of my highlights was reminding myself that when in Rome…. Therefore, when Paolo offered to give me a personal driving tour of Rome, I accepted. I then realized I was getting a tour on the back of his motorcycle! Holy fright! It was so exhilarating to ride on his motorcycle with him! He was also sweet enough on my last day in Rome to drive me out for an afternoon on the beach. Truly magnificent!
It was somewhere in the middle of my own ‘Roman Holiday’ I discovered I needed to teach internationally. A passion had awoken within me, and I was finally ready to answer the call.I flew home on Sunday, and the very next day at work, I filled out the necessary paperwork to take Friday off and complete my application to teach overseas. Thankfully, I still had that business card on my coffee table.
Beware of Greeks? Naw, bring ‘em on!
The school year of 2006-2007 was a stressful one. February break came and went, and I still wasn’t feeling overly happy. Then, after filing my taxes, I did a bit of thinking about my refund and how I had always wanted to travel to Greece. I’d taken a history of ancient Greece class at UNC-CH, and have always been fascinated with ancient history.
Rather out of the blue one March afternoon, I headed over to AAA and booked myself a holiday in Athens for April break.
I loved my week in Athens! I quickly became comfortable either walking through Plaka (the old part of Athens) or taking the Metro/Subway/T to other parts of the city. My two side excursions included a day trip to Cape Sunion, where Poseidon had a temple, and a day trip to Delphi.
My first day in Athens I attempted to do as the Greeks and went for a self-guided (with my trusty tra
vel book) tour of the Acropolis and surrounding grounds. I think I spent close to six hours walking through all the ruins. It was pretty crazy how close you could walk up to objects that had been around for 4,000 years!
I knew at this point, despite becoming horribly sick at the end of a fantastic holiday (Greece is a country of smokers!!), that I would have to do this again the next April holiday and my next trip was going to be Italy! I had also decided I would love to teach and live in Athens. Thankfully I still had a business card sitting on my coffee table.
Rather out of the blue one March afternoon, I headed over to AAA and booked myself a holiday in Athens for April break.
I loved my week in Athens! I quickly became comfortable either walking through Plaka (the old part of Athens) or taking the Metro/Subway/T to other parts of the city. My two side excursions included a day trip to Cape Sunion, where Poseidon had a temple, and a day trip to Delphi.
My first day in Athens I attempted to do as the Greeks and went for a self-guided (with my trusty tra
vel book) tour of the Acropolis and surrounding grounds. I think I spent close to six hours walking through all the ruins. It was pretty crazy how close you could walk up to objects that had been around for 4,000 years!I knew at this point, despite becoming horribly sick at the end of a fantastic holiday (Greece is a country of smokers!!), that I would have to do this again the next April holiday and my next trip was going to be Italy! I had also decided I would love to teach and live in Athens. Thankfully I still had a business card sitting on my coffee table.
A Conference Worth Attending
It was October of 2006, just one year after traveling to Japan, and my colleague, Dusty, and I were off to attend a National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference in Atlantic City, NJ. As hoped, the conference was great. We attended a bunch of interesting workshops, and on the second day, made our way to the booths.
It was here I met Bob and Sally. Sally is an associate with the company Search Associates. A company who works with international and American schools throughout the globe to place teachers. I remember walking by the booth and Bob calling out to me, “So, are you interested in teaching overseas?!”
We chatted for a good twenty minutes, and I left with excitement and a business card I kept on my coffee table for over a year and a half.
It was here I met Bob and Sally. Sally is an associate with the company Search Associates. A company who works with international and American schools throughout the globe to place teachers. I remember walking by the booth and Bob calling out to me, “So, are you interested in teaching overseas?!”
We chatted for a good twenty minutes, and I left with excitement and a business card I kept on my coffee table for over a year and a half.
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