I have talked to some friends about this and I am sure that everyone is curious to know what San Fran meant on my facebook status this week. I am finally ready to blog about it so here goes...
Goal 2&3 on my Hundred Goals is to take a risk and get out of my comfort zone. I have now done that twice since I wrote that goal and I am proud of myself for stepping out. The first time I applied for the DODEA and am still pursuing it as I think it would be a good fit for my kiddo and I. The 2nd venture out of my comfort zone was to apply with Teach Away Inc. to work overseas. The state of education in Arizona always has me stressed. Teaching is my second and last career and I LOVE it. Not like, LOVE. I love the kids (even though there are days I have to count to 100 and breath slowly) and I love seeing them get excited when they reach their goals. At this point after 4 years (5 if you count all my long term subbing), I am antsy and still stressed about the never ending battle for test stores, Career Ladder and Pay for Performance monies and always getting told our pay is frozen and we have to pay more into retirement, insurance etc. Every few years, I have had to move G to afford our housing because the cost of living goes up (and child support seems never to be caught up).
Anyway.. I digress.. back to Teach Away. I applied on Thursday evening after working on a cover letter for a very long time and updating my resume. On Friday, I received an email from them telling me that all though I would fit in to the Japan position nicely, I fit even better into Disney's Language Schools in China. Yes that says CHINA!! My poor teammate Steffany probably thought I was totally NUTS when I flung her door open and started talking animated 1000miles per hour. Never thought in a million years I would be told I would be a good fit. The next thing I know my cell phone is ringing and it is Teach Away asking me to call them back at my earliest convenience. I waited a couple very anxious hours until my prep and called them back. The woman that contacted me was very helpful and said that while I may be a good fit for Japan their next interviews for it are in San Fransisco on April 30. My head was spinning. She talked to me about Disney China for a long time and then transferred me to the recruiter for Japan who told me all about that program. More money, rural southern Japan, 7 month assignment etc. I spent the rest of Thursday figuring out what to do. Would I got to CA and interview or apply for Disney China because it was a great opportunity to just try and see where it led. I even tried to get some job clarification from Chip Coffey when I went to his show Thursday night but I wasn't called on for a reading. I spent Friday talking to colleagues and friends wondering what to do. I think once the excitement calmed in me, I had already known I wasn't going to go for Disney China. G has been very open minded about going anywhere in the world that I feel is safe for us except China (Thank you Karate Kid). I didn't want to stress him or my mom and dad out by going for that one, specially since the pay by US cost of living standards wasn't what I was looking for long term. I finally decided that while I would love the opportunity to teach English in Japan, I can't really get to San Fran April 30th and be comfortable in my budget. I did tell them though that I would like to keep my options open for the next interview session and see what happens.
I want to get my TEFL certificate in May, or at least start working on it. I have a feeling I will be out of my comfort zone again sooner than later. Teaching English in another country or teaching for the DODEA is still very high on my list to complete at some point in the next few years. It will be a very very tight year for us next year with the increases in everything but pay but I am hoping that it will give me a chance to get things in order and keep seeking opportunities to make our life better as a family and still be able to give back to kids or adults that really want to learn.
Update: 5/15/11 - I ended up applying for a Kinder position in Cyprus and I was very close in getting that 2nd interview with them but the school in Cyprus ended up hiring internally. The dream of overseas teaching is still alive and I started my TEFL classes.
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