Reflections of my First Year in Quito
It is my final day of work for the school year and, my goodness, I have experienced and changed so much already. I can't help but reflect on this past year and the events that led me here, and I want to share some of these with you. Firstly, here is a new and improved video promoting my school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdr_qaEGkaY
I start of the 2013-2014 school year brought a lot of promise and hope for me. I attended a workshop in the Summer of '13 for SEPA at UW-Milwaukee with Rochelle to bring real-world science experiments to my students. I was going to use zebra fish and earthworms as models for understanding how environmental toxins affect embryonic development and nervous system function. I was also going to have a new room space, which I immediately started to infuse with color, to change the feel of my space from grey prison to legitimate classroom. I also had a blessing of donations for supplies from DonorsChoose.org, a new class I was designing, and promise of professional development to increase science literacy. The new year started out smoothly and I felt like it would finally be a successful school year. Not long after the start, things started heading south quickly and I was not feeling fulfilled or successful. Honestly, I was having serious doubts about my choice in profession.
I remember driving to work through the Third Ward in Milwaukee one day. The garbage collectors were transferring waste from receptacles to their truck in the freezing cold morning, yet I couldn't help but think that their jobs were more rewarding than mine. They work consistent hours and don't bring any of it home with them. I also remember getting home from work each day and just sitting in my car for a good twenty minutes feeling emotionally and mentally drained, unable to get out... and then going into my apartment and sitting there for hours, until the sun set beyond the horizon, just wondering what was happening to my life. I was regretting becoming a teacher and regretting wanting to work at Bradley Tech. The school had changed so much since I student taught there in 2010. In late October, I re-registered for the UNI Overseas Placement Fair and completed my file quickly. I didn't give much thought to it for a while after then because it was still a good four months away. In the meantime, I was planning my EuroTrip to Berlin and Amsterdam with Michelle.
In the coming months, the quality of my job at Tech continued to down spiral because of a "positive-feedback system"... as my days continued to get worse, I became less invested in my job. Escaping to Europe for two weeks kept me going.
I made it to Germany and had the time of my life with Michelle. I got out of my comfort zone, I explored, I experienced; I made it my mission to live and work in Germany one day at any cost. It was halfway through my 30-hour return trip back to the states that I received and eMail from a school in Ecuador. After really looking closely at it, I remembered interviewing with this school the first time I attended the UNI fair. -----While the two people who interviewed me then really liked me, I wasn't offered the position. One reason was that I had too much debt and I might not have had a good quality of living because the salary isn't very much, compared to the states. This motivated me to paying off about $20k of my loans over the next 18 months, I made my final payment the first month living in Ecuador.----- I literally started crying on the floor in Frankfurt airport with a McDonald's breakfast sandwich in my hands. A few days later, I interviewed with the school. A couple days after that, I was offered the job and started crying again. My dream was coming true: travel the world and have a job that will challenge me to grow professionally. And now I am here, having lived overseas for about one year. Here are some of the things that I've really learned and embraced:
I have done a lot of really personal reflections, too. Basically, I am a more realized version of myself. There is still work and learning for me to do but I am heading in the right direction.
I am looking forward to being cut-off from the world for two weeks while I travel through Bolivia. It has been my dream all my life to visit this beautiful country, and I am making it come true. Once I return to Quito from this trip, I will have one week to prepare for my visit back in the states. I will be home for three weeks from the end of July to the middle of August. I hope I get to see many beautiful familiar faces. After that I begin my second year at Colegio Americano de Quito.
Before finishing, I want to send a huge thank you to my parents. They have supported me through my decision to live and work abroad, including assisting me with paying off part of my debt so that I can follow my dreams. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you both very much and could not have accomplished all of this without you.
I start of the 2013-2014 school year brought a lot of promise and hope for me. I attended a workshop in the Summer of '13 for SEPA at UW-Milwaukee with Rochelle to bring real-world science experiments to my students. I was going to use zebra fish and earthworms as models for understanding how environmental toxins affect embryonic development and nervous system function. I was also going to have a new room space, which I immediately started to infuse with color, to change the feel of my space from grey prison to legitimate classroom. I also had a blessing of donations for supplies from DonorsChoose.org, a new class I was designing, and promise of professional development to increase science literacy. The new year started out smoothly and I felt like it would finally be a successful school year. Not long after the start, things started heading south quickly and I was not feeling fulfilled or successful. Honestly, I was having serious doubts about my choice in profession.
I remember driving to work through the Third Ward in Milwaukee one day. The garbage collectors were transferring waste from receptacles to their truck in the freezing cold morning, yet I couldn't help but think that their jobs were more rewarding than mine. They work consistent hours and don't bring any of it home with them. I also remember getting home from work each day and just sitting in my car for a good twenty minutes feeling emotionally and mentally drained, unable to get out... and then going into my apartment and sitting there for hours, until the sun set beyond the horizon, just wondering what was happening to my life. I was regretting becoming a teacher and regretting wanting to work at Bradley Tech. The school had changed so much since I student taught there in 2010. In late October, I re-registered for the UNI Overseas Placement Fair and completed my file quickly. I didn't give much thought to it for a while after then because it was still a good four months away. In the meantime, I was planning my EuroTrip to Berlin and Amsterdam with Michelle.
In the coming months, the quality of my job at Tech continued to down spiral because of a "positive-feedback system"... as my days continued to get worse, I became less invested in my job. Escaping to Europe for two weeks kept me going.
I made it to Germany and had the time of my life with Michelle. I got out of my comfort zone, I explored, I experienced; I made it my mission to live and work in Germany one day at any cost. It was halfway through my 30-hour return trip back to the states that I received and eMail from a school in Ecuador. After really looking closely at it, I remembered interviewing with this school the first time I attended the UNI fair. -----While the two people who interviewed me then really liked me, I wasn't offered the position. One reason was that I had too much debt and I might not have had a good quality of living because the salary isn't very much, compared to the states. This motivated me to paying off about $20k of my loans over the next 18 months, I made my final payment the first month living in Ecuador.----- I literally started crying on the floor in Frankfurt airport with a McDonald's breakfast sandwich in my hands. A few days later, I interviewed with the school. A couple days after that, I was offered the job and started crying again. My dream was coming true: travel the world and have a job that will challenge me to grow professionally. And now I am here, having lived overseas for about one year. Here are some of the things that I've really learned and embraced:
- I am a good teacher. All it took was to have a classroom full of students who had at least a little motivation to succeed. ***I had many students like this in MPS but they were outnumbered by the disenfranchised and apathetic.*** I have pushed myself to be more creative, set high expectations for my students and myself, and improve my classroom management. Now, I have been exhausted all year because I have never had to work so hard in my life before. I taught 10th / 11th / 12th grades, HL biology, homeroom and SA&A, and mentored a personal project and an extended essay. I felt so overwhelmed at times because my responsibilities at work are more than most... and it motivated me to be better. For the first time in my career, I was evaluated as proficient by my supervisor / administrator.... that never happened in MPS. Because I remained so positive and hard-working, I was offered the position of area head / department chair for next school year. I accepted it, of course! Anyway, I finally feel like a good teacher. I still have a lot more to learn and do, but I finally feel good about myself.
- I enjoy taking my time when I have the opportunity. Ecuadorian culture, max o menos, can be slow moving. I outlined this in one of my first blog posts, and attributed it in part to the crazy congested traffic. But I have over the past year removed a lot of sense of urgency to make it to places on time. It is okay to be a little late. This has helped me to become a much more relaxed person.
- I am a risk-taker. One of my goals for next year is to be more adventurous given that I will have a little more open time. However, I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone on many occasions. I traveled the coast alone for 10 days. I am traveling through Bolivia for two weeks by myself. I have met some nice people both at and outside of work. I've learned the public transportation system. I've held conversations in Spanish with taxi drivers... and I came to Ecuador with almost no knowledge of how to speak the language. I learned how to cook and bake things I never imagined I could, such as: bread, pizza from scratch, bolons, and soups. I have said "No" when I wanted to and resisted (some) peer-pressure to go out on the town on a school night. All of these and more have changed me and given me a positive self-image.
- I have stability in my life for once. My life in Milwaukee was good but I was missing something. Something that was keeping my life constant and stable. When I registered for the UNI fair the first time, I asked my principal for a letter of recommendation. During the meeting mentioned to my principal that I needed to make a big change in my life, and that I was ready to settle down. She came back at me perplexed and said "that doesn't make sense… you want change but you want to settle down?" I got that with moving to Ecuador, surprisingly.
- I unleashed an adventurous side of me, which is willing to try new things and retry old ones. Long story short, I grew up with a distaste for mariscos (seafood). Kind of weird considering my family background. Some of my best memories of my bumpa was fishing with him during the summer, even though I hated fishing. Once I moved to Ecuador, I have developed a taste for mariscos… ceviche, shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, shellfish, lobster and crab…. I eat seafood at least once every two or three weeks. And I love it.
- I am capable of making new and meaningful friendships, and starting over fresh. One of my fears of moving to Ecuador and starting over was that I would feel alone and isolated. I have maintained to stay in better contact than imagined with my loved ones back home. However, the I am extremely grateful for the friends I have made here. In particular, my roommate, David; my colega, Kara; y su novio and my Spanish tutor, Jaime. I honestly could go on and on but these three are the best.
I have done a lot of really personal reflections, too. Basically, I am a more realized version of myself. There is still work and learning for me to do but I am heading in the right direction.
I am looking forward to being cut-off from the world for two weeks while I travel through Bolivia. It has been my dream all my life to visit this beautiful country, and I am making it come true. Once I return to Quito from this trip, I will have one week to prepare for my visit back in the states. I will be home for three weeks from the end of July to the middle of August. I hope I get to see many beautiful familiar faces. After that I begin my second year at Colegio Americano de Quito.
Before finishing, I want to send a huge thank you to my parents. They have supported me through my decision to live and work abroad, including assisting me with paying off part of my debt so that I can follow my dreams. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you both very much and could not have accomplished all of this without you.
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