Decisions

[princessofburundi]

So I've decided to go forward and take a series of online courses that will qualify me to teach English as a Second Language. I've been thinking about it for weeks, and I can't see any downside to it. It all sounds great, especially the part where I might get to travel to someone wonderful and teach English there. I'm starting to brush up on my Spanish (at this moment I could order a beer but not say much else), so that my hopes of working in a Latin American country could be more easily facilitated. I would really like to use Spanish on a daily basis, so going somewhere like Peru or Chile or somewhere in Central America would be ideal. I'm actually getting a bit excited at the possibilities of teaching abroad. South America would be my first choice.

My elder daughter taught English in Ecuador for a few months some years back and loved her immersion into Latin American life, especially the weddings to which her entire Andean village was invited, including her, and which lasted for days. She also loved being able to pick fresh fruit for her breakfast from her host family's yard. Imagine waking up to fresh mangoes! On the way to her classroom in the morning she would always be approached by friendly alpacas, which she hand fed with fruit and sugar, and which sometimes followed her to school. D. was 9,000 feet up in the Andes, and the scenery was unbelievable. I would love an experience like hers. Of course, she was 18 and highly adaptable and very healthy, whereas I'm 53, diabetic, with mental health issues, and more set in my ways, but I think I could find myself a safe place in a new environment.

When I say "safe place", what I mean is my bed. When life gets rough I have the world's comfiest bed, and just sitting on it for a few minutes calms me down. Obviously I can't take my bed with me if I travel, but I can take elements of it - my snuggly blanket or one of my teddy bears, and be reminded of the safety of my cosy bedroom. I'd need that if I were working overseas, and I'll even need it when I go to the UK this September. I'm sure if I were living for three months in a foreign country that I could establish for myself a safe place to which I could retreat when panic threatens.

It's been another beautiful day, sun shining, blue sky, not too warm, and I had a nice time having coffee with my mother, which is something we do every Friday afternoon.

Comments

[wolfpack82]

glad to hear you're having a good day. A few years ago Christopher bought me a "noise maker". You know, the nature sound thingeys? I find those calming when I'm stressed out.

[princessofburundi]

Thank you!

I have an app that will play me ocean sounds when I get really tense. Listening to the water and sea birds really helps. Glad that they help you as well.

[wolfpack82]

Except Ethan likes them too much.. ;)

[norfolkian]

That sounds like a great app - I think I'll see if I can find one in the Google Play store. :)

[nonniemous]

That's a great goal--and I envy you. My head is not geared for languages.

[princessofburundi]

Thank you.

I'm more geared for languages than anything else, always have been. I'm enjoying re-learning Spanish - my goodness, I have forgotten so much!

[norfolkian]

My bed is my safe place too! I call it my 'cocoon'. If I've had a bad day or am feeling vulnerable, wrapping myself up in my duvet makes me feel a little better.

[princessofburundi]

I'm beginning to think that a lot of people have safe places on their bed! I have a soft fleece blanket, teal with white snowflakes on it, that I cuddle up in when the world is too much to handle. The fact that it's very pretty is actually part of its success as a cuddle thing; it appeals to me visually and that's relaxing in itself. I'm glad you have a safe place with a comfy duvet.

[norfolkian]

I also have a blanket for use on the sofa. :)

[coeur_de_noir]

Fantastic goal! My pal is a ESOL teacher and loves his work x

[princessofburundi]

Thanks!

I am hoping to love doing this. I was talking to my mum about it a couple of weeks back and she was groaning against the idea of teaching ESL, which surprised me as she was a primary school teacher. To me it sounds like great fun with the possibility of travelling somewhere exciting for work.

[dorchadas]

That sounds amazing. schoolpsychnerd and I taught EFL for three years and it was one of the best experiences of our lives.