Skip to main content

Whoa Nelly!!

Well, the next two years for D and I will be filled with sandy beaches, exotic animals, a new language, and a whole lot of adventures.


We survived the overseas fair (and the Iowa weather, negative 8 for the whole weekend)! The whole experience was absolutely amazing. I have never seen, met, or talked to so many wonderful, dedicated, and encouraging people before. All of us were in the same stressful state of mind that we seemed to emphasize with each other immediately. Instead of there being the atmosphere of competition, there was a feeling of "we are all in this together." It was incredible.


The fair started on Friday morning. The first thing we had to do was check our mail folder for the ever-elusive interview request slips. Because of our special situation, where I am the only teacher in this marriage, there were no interview requests to be found in my mail folder. To say the least, we were discouraged but not all together surprised. We were then given a brief orientation and some time to plan our strategy for the round robin portion of the fair. The round robin is where the schools who are seeking teachers are set up in rows in the huge conference room. We are then given an hour and a half to visit as many tables as possible and convince them to interview us in 45 seconds or less. That means that D and I had less than a minute to sell ourselves and convince the schools that we were worth interviewing even if D does not also have a teaching degree.
By the end of the round robin, we had four interviews lined up and the day was looking a bit brighter.


We ended up interviewing with a school in Ecuador, Turkey, and Mexico (the school in Trinidad filled the position before my interview time). I think all the interviews went well, but it was Ecuador that I felt the most connected with. D, who went to all the interviews with me, and I clicked right away with the director of the school and had a complete peace about the destination and terms of the position.
Saturday, the director offered us the job and just like that our lives changed. We leave in 5 months and will be gone for two years. We are excited, scared, ecstatic, and sad all at once. It is an adventure of a life time, and I can't wait.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Vivo en Guayaquil, Pero Mi Corazón Está en Quito

Oh Quito, how I love thee... Dave and I needed a break from the heat and honking of Guayaquil, so we hopped on a quick flight north.   We spent a wonderful four days in beautiful Quito, Ecuador.  Enjoying the many artisan markets, coffee shops, restaurants, mountains, and cool weather.  I wore jeans and long-sleeved shirts, slept with three blankets on the bed, and never left without my jacket, hat, and gloves for the first time in months.  It was pure heaven. Quito is a very tourist friendly destination, with people from all over the world walking through the streets.  It is not uncommon to hear whispers of French, Dutch, German, English, and, of course, Spanish as you travel down its cobblestone avenues.  The people are also so very friendly, pointing out points of interest that they have discovered to any other tourist they see.  People often can be seen giving tips on which restaurants to try or where the nearest bookstore can be found to complete strangers they bump into.  Many ar
Read more

Años Viejos, Pyromaniacs, and Fireworks...Oh My

I have to admit, it has been quite awhile since I have actually been awake to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the old.  Dave and I have always been a bit more concerned about the eight hours of sleep necessary to enjoy life rather than seeing the ball drop.  But this year...is different.   It is 12:58 and the neighbor's hired band just started, there are rapid fire explosives (aka fireworks) going off in three minute intervals, and the car alarms throughout our block seem to be answering the loving call of said fireworks.  There will be no eight hours to start off the year for the Richert's this time. Nothing about our experiences in Ecuador could be classified as typical, and New Year's Eve is proving to be no exception.  The evening started out quite and low key, dinner at home with a movie.  There were the occasional firework, but that isn't anything atypical.  I was even contemplating continuing the tradition of snuggling into bed by 10:30.   Before I called
Read more

Yes or No?

A couple weeks ago, slipped in the far reaches of my mailbox, I found a note that took me back to the good ol' days of elementary school.   You know what I'm talking about. Remember how you would just be sitting at your desk, one leg pumping back and forth, pencil eraser nudging your bottom lip, as you tried to puzzle out those mind-boggling multiplication tables?  And then, out of the corner of your eye, you would see Andy passing a note to Melissa, who would then pass it on to Mark, who would then palm it off to you right before Mrs. Nelson turned around from the blackboard.  Your name would be written all in cursive and curly-q's on the clumsily folded paper.  Carefully, stealthily, you unfold the paper to find: Well, InterAmerican sent me a 'check yes or no' note, and it raised the same sensation of anxiety that those old love notes of yesterday used to inspire.  Instead of the traditional, "do you like me?" question, it was the "will you continue
Read more