My Farewell Tour

Years ago, sitting in class, didn't you wonder why you had to learn where Mesopotamia was? Why learn about the places so far away? What was the point of knowing about some huge desert in a place it was unlikely I would ever visit. Well, now I know why. One never knows in life what sort of interesting things will come about. And my life has certainly been interesting. But, now it's time to learn about another part of the world and depart from my safe haven of New Hampshire and head out to parts unknown in a place called Abu Dhabi.
I am calling this part of my journey, before I leave, my "Farewell Tour" because haven't you ever noticed that when a cool rock band is going to change members or break up, they have a Farewell Tour that lasts about a year? Well, I began my "Farewell Tour" at the Thanksgiving dinner table last November as I sat and looked around at my family, my cousins, aunts and uncles and I asked my mother what she would think if I decided to teach overseas. My mother responded favorably and I thought, well, then, this is it. This could be my last Thanksgiving dinner with the family in New England, for a couple of years. I mentally looked around at the family as if to impress their faces and that moment on my mind. At that point, my mother was the only one who knew that I was planning such a crazy, wild journey of my heart. I applaud her for being open to such an idea. Now that I am further along in my journey, she is still so very supportive. What more can one ask from her parents?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Why go?

Here's all the info that I have right now to share with you about where I will be when I go to Abu Dhabi. I began this journey in November 2011 when I was searching for jobs for English teachers on the internet. I found a site called www.Teachaway.com and I filled out the application and sent it off into cyberspace. That was on a Wednesday. On Thursday, I had an e-mail from Teachaway and they wanted me to complete more paperwork and send that back to them. By Friday morning, I had another e-mail that they wanted to interview me over the phone on Tuesday. I was impressed with how quickly this company responded to their job seekers. I also felt pretty good about the upcoming interview. On Tuesday, I was subbing in the high school in Keene, NH and left at the end of the day to wait in my car for the call. I spoke with a pleasant woman from Teachaway who told me about the job offer in Abu Dhabi. This seemed very exciting. At the end of the phone call, she told me that if I passed through the first interview process, I could expect an e-mail asking me to begin preparing my information.

My mind was whirling with the possibilities. I began reading everything I could find about Abu Dhabi. Shortly thereafter, an e-mail arrived from Teach Away instructing me to begin putting my material together. This was an exciting prospect. I was scheduled to be interviewed in February, in New York City. I also began to devour all the information on the Teach Away Facebook site. This site was populated by others like me who were hoping to get a job and also by those who were already in the United Arab Emirates working in the school system.

I was so excited the day I got my passport in the mail. This was my first passport and it now felt like I had the keys to the kingdom. In a way, I did, because travel outside the US was restricted to those having a passport. No longer could we slip over the border into Canada on our driver's license. I continued to collect my paperwork and finally was done by mid-January. I counted off the days until my February interview. On that weekend, I took the train out of Brattleboro, Vt into Hartford, to stay with my younger sister, and then the next morning, I took the train into New York City.

The interview was quite normal, but when all was said and done, I was not hired by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. My disappointment was tremendous, but I am a firm believer that one only receives blessings that are meant to be. At this time, it wasn't meant to be. As I continued filling out application after application, I truly had to think about whether the Middle East was the right place for me. Was this God's way of telling me that I should stay stateside? There were lots of reasons that could be the right path to take. My daughter was newly pregnant, my leaving would mean I would not be here for the baby's birth.

Now what?

2 comments:

  1. GOD BLESS!!! Our thoughts and prayers will be with you during this wonderful adventure!!!
    Lots of Love,

    Dad & Mom

    XXXOOO

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nancy,

    Looking forward to many more blogs about your time spent in Abu Dhabi! Wishing you an incredible adventure!!!
    Love,
    Susan
    xoxoxo

    ReplyDelete