Getting it All in Line

It's been about a week since I've accepted my new position, and it has been a CRAZY week!! So here's the update....

Plane ticket to San Jose - BOOKED!

Puddle jumper plane ticket from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez - BOOKED! 

Find a place to live - CHECK

I will be flying out of Atlanta the morning after graduation. Like, I will be leaving for the airport about 12 hours after graduation. So much for having any semblance of a summer break! I will have to spend the night somewhere, hopefully with one of my CR friends from last time, then my second plane leaves at 5:45 AM Monday morning!! Go big or go home I suppose...HA! I land in Puerto Jimenez early Monday morning, I will have the day to unpack and settle, and then I start work the very next day!!! Gotta start working on lesson plans.....

So, on another note, I am sad to say that Kamden and Oreo probably won't get to come this time around. Things are too expensive and complicated to make that happen so quickly when I have such a short term contract, so I will have to go by myself. No worries though, this is hopefully just a temporary stepping stone that gets my foot in the door to a longer term setup. THEN we can all move together and live the dream. Baby steps.

Needless to say, this whole going alone thing added an element of anxiety to the situation....LUCKILY, I have settled that anxiety (and the anxiety of my mother ha!) by finding a place to live with other volunteers/teachers at the school. Volunteers hold a big presence at the school it sounds like, so they have a house set up for short term and medium term living. I will be sharing a house with the volunteer coordinator and some volunteers. One volunteer is staying in her/his room for 12 weeks, so I'll get a chance to get to know her/him. I have my own room with 2 twin beds (room for a visitor!) and I will share the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and POOL! YES a pool! And the best part is, rent is only $100 a month, with $21 in utilities. Just what I need :) It's also within walking distance to school, so that problem is solved as well. I am quite less apprehensive now that I have this part of my journey figured out. Whewwww.

I am slowly...well I guess quickly...but surely getting the pieces together. I have a lot of little paperwork and organization things to still do, but the main, big things are covered. I have ONE paper and ONE small assignment left for my degree, then I will start to work on lesson plans, pack, get ready for graduation, etc. 

I think it's finally starting to set in that this is about to be my real life.

Here We Goooooo!!!!

I am SOOOO EXCITED to announce that I have accepted a job at the Corcovado School in Puerto Jimenez, COSTA RICA!!!!!!

Corcovado School is a bilingual, private school on the southern Osa Peninsula, one of the most wild, untouched, and biologically diverse places in the world. I will be teaching English, Math, and Science - these subjects are taught in English while the other subjects are taught in Spanish by another teacher. I will have  Materno (ages 3-4) in the mornings and 3rd-6th grade in the afternoons. My contract is only until December because I was a mid-year emergency hire, but there is the option to re-sign with the new school year if I am a good fit. The school is very small, with only about 40 students and staff, so I will be joining a very tight family, and I couldn't be more excited. If you'd like, here is the link to a great intro video from Corcovado School.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=M6nX36G-k6s

Here's the scary part - I graduate on Saturday, August 3rd, I will move down there on August 4th, and I will start teaching on Monday, August 5th!!!! Talk about whirlwind experience for the next month (or more)!

I am amazed at how all of this worked out....If I didn't believe in fate before, I do now. After applying to several international schools abroad as well as many schools domestically, I was getting frustrated at the lack of interviews or even response period! I was also getting frustrated with the house/apartment hunt! I began to think ahead to January when the Costa Rican school year starts. After researching it a little, I found that most schools there would start looking for new teachers for the new year in the fall. So, I found a school, emailed them to ask about vacancy, and was offered an interview!! After all those hours and hours I had dedicated to lost job applications, I was so excited and surprised at this offer! Obviously, OF COURSE I was interested in an interview!!!! I believe I emailed last Monday or Tuesday, interviewed Thursday, and I accepted the job today around noon! Before today, Kamden and I had been struggling to find a place to live, I still didn't have a job, and I was only able to daydream about starting a life abroad. Now, I can pick up and leave without a lease or without having to quit a job, and my dream is now a reality!!! I could not be happier.

I will get to see my old friends, introduce Kamden to life abroad (yes, he and Oreo are coming!), eat the best pineapple/bananas/coffee on the planet, get invaluable teaching experience, improve my Spanish, and TRULY begin to LIVE! Needless to say, this blog will be the best way to keep up with me....like I said, my new home will be an untouched corner of paradise, so phones are out of the question. Skype however, is a great alternative.

HERE WE GO! Off to book flights now..... :D :D :D