My Story

Welcome to my new blog!

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would have considered teaching abroad I probably would have given you a very unconfident head nod of yes. I've always wanted this experience, but never really considered myself an adventurous type. So what changed?

Well I knew I wanted to work with kids at a young age, and when it came time to apply to colleges I was baffled. I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Luckily enough my 10th grade english teacher(and at the time my boyfriend's father) told me I deserved more. So I applied to several colleges and somehow ended up choosing teaching as my major at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Summer after freshman year I was dying to go volunteer in another country to gain some experience, but my finances limited me. I also didn't get the opportunity to study abroad because I finished my undergraduate degree in 3 years instead of 4.

I entered Graduate school knowing that when I completed my year of student teaching I would have a hard time getting a job. I of course was considering moving to a state that would need my service more than Minnesota. The year of grad school and full time student teaching was rough and there were several times when I doubted my ability to be a teacher. At the end of October I went through a really rough week where I was unable to function as I considered what my next move would be, quitting the program, or toughing it out. I stuck with it and was very happy when I returned from my crazy week of classes to the classroom. Turns out it was the tough load of 18 grad school credits that was scaring me. However this week really got me thinking about where I wanted to go next.

After work one day in November I was driving home and thought to myself what an experience it would be to move to spain and teach for a year. And boom! Things started happening. A man came to talk to our class about the opportunity to teach in Thailand for a summer. I got connected with someone teaching english in spain, and finally my English Language teacher introduced me to this site called Dave's ESL Cafe. So I started visiting, and applied for several jobs. I was hoping to end up in Europe if possible. And eventually I completed a skype interview with administrators for Memorial International School Of Tirana. They offered me a job and I accepted, wholeheartedly knowing it was the correct "next move" for my life and career.

And there you have it. The shortened version of my story and how I ended up accepting a job in a country I hadn't even heard about until I applied for the job.

This blog will be used to post about experiences in both teaching in a new country and traveling throughout Europe. In the next few months I will record my thought processes as I pack and prepare for the trip. Welcome to a blog of emotion, exploration, and excitement!