Somehow, this summer ended up being both the longest and shortest summer of my life. It was my first summer not spent at the Lake of the Ozarks, so it didn't feel quite like summer. I mean, it was hot and all, but I spent my weekends traveling to teach, so there wasn't much opportunity for traditional summer fun. I'll be heading back to the Lake tomorrow, so maybe I can squeeze in some pool time before fall is upon us.
Now that my teaching job has officially come to an end, I have to move on to the next thing. This has been a struggle. With a total of 147 students over the summer, I barely had time for anything else, but I don't regret it for a minute. It's amazing to think that I had an impact on 147 different lives in just ten short weeks. I sometimes doubted my effectiveness as a teacher, but hearing all the positive feedback from both parents and students at the end of the program was extremely heartening. For the last 5 weeks, I had a 1st grade class in which parents stay for the first hour and learns how they should be assisting their children with reading. One student-parent pair did very well working quietly together, and it seemed like they weren't getting much out of the class. To my surprise and joy, the mother approached me on the last day and expressed how much my class had helped her and her daughter. The sincerity in her eyes told me how worried she had been about her daughter's future and how grateful she was to have found a way to foster her daughter's reading development in a fun and productive way. I was shocked to discover how much my class had really meant to them. It was moments like that that made the long weekends and ridiculous travel well worth the effort.
Yet, all good things must come to an end. As of now, I am currently unemployed and technically homeless. That is, I no longer have an official residence to which my name is attached. The lease on my Kirksville apartment finally ran out. I was under the impression that I would be able to retrieve my remaining furniture from that place just before this upcoming weekend, but I found out last minute that the owners need to repaint and clean the carpet starting this week. So here was my problem: the apartment needed to be empty by Monday, but I wouldn't get back from South Dakota until that Monday night. I left a sectional couch, an armchair, a mattress/boxspring set, a small desk, a small chest of drawers, and a few boxes of random dishes and whatnot. That is a lot of stuff to move from 761 miles away. I called everyone I knew who might be in Kirksville or be able to get to Kirksville to help me out. Luckily, an angel from heaven known as Caitlyn Davis was kind enough to move my stuff out on that Monday. My mother and I will be up there Friday to collect my things and thank Caitlyn on bended knee for being so awesome.
So, I've handled wrapping up my summer teaching job and have almost completed my move out of Kirksville. Now what?
My parents are all for me moving back home and getting a job as a substitute at my old school district. While I do miss the Lake somewhat, I would like to avoid moving back in with Mom and Dad, and I also wouldn't mind a break from teaching. I miss having a place to call my own for more than a few months at a time. I miss the comfort of having a long-term job or school to keep my weeks regular. (Is there some kind of Activia to keep my weeks regular, Jamie Lee Curtis?) I didn't really get a chance to feel like a full-time resident of St. Louis. Fridays-Mondays were spent out of town, so I never even got to experience a weekend living in the city. I applied for a serving job that is basically right across the street from the house I've been living in. Joey and his roommate, Eric, are being nice enough to let me stay for a few more months. I want to save up just a little more money before finally making my move to teach English abroad.
I think I've finally found the one--a program for teaching ESL. The Language House offers certification in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Prague, Czech Republic. At quite a low price, I would be living in the middle of Prague for about a month, get TEFL certification, have hands-on teacher training, learn survival Czech, meet other ESL teachers, and receive lifetime career assistance. This is exactly the kind of challenge I need. I want to push myself to learn a new language completely different from English, do something that will be professionally beneficial, travel to new cultures, and meet like-minded peers. The program is offered at several different times throughout the year, so the hardest decision will be when to go. For now, I'd like to save up a little bit more so I have plenty to pay for the program and be able to support other needs while abroad and for a couple of weeks after the program ends. It takes about one to three weeks to secure a job teaching ESL once certified depending on what country you would like to teach for.
Again, life seems just as uncertain as ever, but it is not dull by any means.
-Anthony
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