The Journey Begins

I went for coffee and dinner with a friend one night in January to give my roommate some time alone.

Kathleen

Kathleen began helping me with my resume.  While drinking delicious hot chocolate from Caribou Coffee, Kathleen mentioned her cousin attending a job fair for international teaching. (picture Meghan screeching to a halt) “WHAT!?”

I frantically began researching the UNI International Teacher Job Fair – UNI yep that is the University of Northern Iowa (the middle of nowhere Iowa).  It was Tuesday January 10^th.  The deadline for all materials, transcripts, and letters of recommendation to be received by the fair was Friday January 13^th.  I thought there is no way this is going to work out and I can finally teach in another country.  I called 3 – very busy – people (Heather Smith, Brian Chelmecki, and Ann Tysiak) and asked for letters of recommendation within the next two days. I dug in my files (under the bed, in the closet, bottom drawer of her desk) and finally found copies of my teaching certification.  Then I finally sat down and wrote a statement of why I have always wanted to teach in the international community.  All of these steps were actually completed before 7pm on Friday evening.  Holy Crap, I thought, this might really happen.

Two weeks later, I received a packet, as large as a telephone book, of schools attending the fair and some general information about them.  Within the packet were also a few articles about how to prepare for the fair and what to expect.  After reading the first few articles, I called my parents, as the articles stated job offers are often proposed during this weekend,  I spoke with my mom and explained a little of the process. Her response was finally.  I laughed and told her how I didn't really think anything would come of this but just in case I should give you a heads up.  Mom then passed the phone to Dad and the conversation was repeated with the additional comment of I can stay with you wherever you go though, right?

I had already booked my hotel accommodations - in the middle of nowhere Iowa, but as it is a very long day at work and then a 5 hour drive to Waterloo I was going to carpool with another fair attendee.  That attendee called me on Wednesday night to let me know they had been offered an accepted a position in Indonesia and were no longer attending the fair.  I thought very hard about this as I knew there was no way I could get everything ready Wednesday night, get enough sleep, work all day Thursday, drive 5 hours to Iowa, and then be ready for job interviews Friday morning.  It started sinking in that I would probably not be able to attend the fair.  I decided to send a quick message to a friend and see what happened.  I continued packing and planning for Friday’s lessons just in case.  Jessica got back to me and said she was going out with friends Thursday night but was available for the weekend. I pounced and began bribing Jessica with baked goods, massage services, money, and hugs.  The hugs won her over and Jessica agreed to get in a car with a sleep deprived Meghan on Thursday evening and drive the 5 hours to Waterloo Iowa and spend the weekend hanging out while Meghan attended interviews.  I thought again, wow this might still happen.

During the weeks, and very little free time, leading up to the fair, I sent my resume out to schools I thought about working with.  Upon arriving in Waterloo at the hotel for the night, I listened to a voicemail I had received during the drive.  It was a school from Dubai, UAE and they were asking me to please visit them in the morning as they were greatly interested in me as a candidate and my qualifications in special education.  Finally, after 3 weeks, I started thinking about actually taking a job in another country. Jessica was a huge help with the excitement and anxiety which ensued.

Oh wow,  I might have options!! was what I was thinking - when I finally figured out the fair set-up- when I had 7 messages from different schools in my "mailbox" asking me to come see them during the fair to set up an interview.  After reading the messages and developing a strategic plan for getting to each table, I met up with Catherine (Kathleen's cousin) and we went to a speaker series which opened the job fair.  A man got up and informed everyone he had given his parents his dog and his car and told them he would be back in a year, 30 years later he is now the principal of the American School in Mexico.  He started in the international teaching community and never left.  I turned to Catherine and said oh gosh, that is going to be me.

Andrea

I met with many schools at the ‘cow herding’ job fair and dropped my resume off at additional schools I hadn't really considered before.  Near the end of the fair portion of the weekend, I ran into a girl I had seen numerous times throughout the fair.  The girl was undecided if she should drop off her resume at a table or not as the last table told her she needed to have more experience or her VISA would not be approved.We spoke for a few moments and while we stood there, the representative from the school broke away from the table to say hi and introduce herself. Andrea told us that the VISA information is correct. Brazil does require that teachers have 4 years of teaching experience. The girl wandered off and Andrea and I were left with the “ok, I’ll continue talking to you” feeling.  Andrea was very welcoming and we began talking about the fair and how it was going. I mentioned I was certified in Special Education and Andrea told me they did have an opening and asked for my resume.  The fair portion was actually over and we continued talking for about an hour. I realized I needed to go to my first real interview and Andrea asked to schedule another time to meet.  We scheduled a meeting for a few hours later.  Andrea works at the Escola Americana de Brasilia.

I met with different schools for actual interviews for the next 6 hours.  Each time I met with Andrea we talked so much we needed to end the interview to go to our next ones. 

After interviewing all day Friday and Saturday, I was focusing on Frankfurt, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Dubai, UAE; and Brasilia, Brazil.  I called my mom and told her to be a sounding board for my conversation/decision and specifically asked her not to tell me what she wanted me to do. My mom asked some good questions and at the end of the conversation, she said BRAZIL go to Brazil.

I continued to meet with administrators from Escola Americana de Brasilia in person and via Skype. I loved it. The more I learned about the school the more it seemed to be a really good fit.

EAB let me know I was their top choice, but they moved slower than other schools to make sure the fit was right.  I headed home on Sunday having told the other schools I would not be taking their offers. 

I had an additional interview Sunday night via Skype with the principal of the high school, Derrick.  Our thoughts aligned and our expectations of the position were awesome.  It was a great conversation and we ended about 8pm (12am in Brasilia) and were both excited for me to take the position at EAB.

Derrick

While we were talking, the Head of School Principal called me and I called him back after ending with Derrick. Barry and I spoke for a short time.  He was calling to get a few more bits of information and also ask to speak to my director. (Again picture Meghan screeching to a halt.) you want to talk to my boss. She doesn’t know I’m thinking of leaving. Can you talk to my assistant principal? He told me he really needed to talk to the principal. I asked if I could have a day to have a conversation with her before passing on the contact info.   Barry said it was great talking to me and they were excited about my candidacy.

Barry

Oh my gosh, I think I really want to go to Brazil, but what in the world will Josie say when I tell her I will not be coming back.  What will Josie say when I ask her to speak to my future boss. Oh wow this might not happen. Ok, it’s 8:30. There’s nothing I can do now anyway.

I went in the next day and asked for a meeting with my director then spent the morning anxiously awaiting the meeting.  When I went in for the meeting, I brought up leaving Garcia next year as I was hoping to be living in Brazil.  Josie was stunned but receptive and supportive. She told me of course she would talk to Barry about my qualifications. Yay! The conversation was emotional but good and I got excited again.

Peggy, Joe, Sarah, and Joe (aunt, cousin, and significant others) came into town and I was super paranoid, so I didn’t share the news about what was going on.  (Sarah was not happy about that later) There was no new info for a while.

Barry and Josie spoke that week and Barry called me on Thursday to offer me the position of Learning Support Specialist at The American School of Brasilia. Woohoo! I said yes and Barry let me know someone would be in contact to start the VISA process.

I went back to the students I was tutoring and finished up work for the day. I called my parents and siblings on the way home to let them know I was accepting a new position and moving to Brazil.  Tania asked if she could go with me. Danny told me to make sure there was room for him to move in to my place. The school will be providing a 2 bedroom furnished apartment for me.

So coffee (hot chocolate for me) and Northern Iowa is where my journey began.