I finished my MA…now what?

-
I kind of knew when I started my MA in Applied Linguistics two years ago that the day would come when I would want to leave Atlanta again. After all, my degree would prepare me to teach English as a second or foreign language.  It’s only right that I take advantage of these new skills! Sure enough, after a whirlwind of events, I now find myself in Bogota, Colombia!

How did I choose Bogota? Well, it sort of just happened. I knew I was interested in Central or South America, but had no attachments to any specific place. I decided to apply for the English Language Fellows Program (ELF), which is sort of like Peace Corps but only for people in my field. They would send me anywhere in the world for 10 months. I saw they had locations in Bogota and Quito, which started me thinking about how cool they could be. However, as time went on, and I heard nothing from ELF, I started to get nervous. What was I going to do in the fall?!

Then, a job description came through my department listserv. It was for a teaching position at the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogota, a top-five university in Latin America. Since I still hadn’t heard from ELF, I decided to apply. Even if I didn’t get the job, it would tell me a little bit more about the opportunities out there. Three hours later, I received an interview request, and 5 days later I accepted the job! I decided this job was a better fit for me than the ELF because it was in a location I knew I wanted, it was close to home (5 hour flight), the job had longevity, and I could finally work on my Spanish again.

Funnily enough, I received an ELF assignment one week later! Seeing how they placed me in north Vietnam on the Chinese border, I found it easy to decline. As most of you know, I have already spent so much time in Asia, and I really wanted a new location. Isn’t it nice how things work out? It was also very nice to have more than one choice!

The next month was extremely hectic, as I was busy packing up my apartment, seeing all my friends and family, eating all the good food I could, and teaching at Georgia Tech for the summer session. The real stress came from the fact that my GT contract was through July 25th…and the semester in Bogota started the 28th! Absolutely crazy, I assure you. I had a few “moments” getting ready, but overall everything went smoothly and I had a lot of help from wonderful people (you know who you are).

The Friday night before I left, I had a going away shindig at my local bar, The Independent. I was overwhelmed by how many people came out to say goodbye. I only cried about 8 times! It was such an incredible feeling to know how much I am loved, and a little scary to realize I would be leaving them all behind! Luckily, Atlanta will always be my home, and those people will always be part of my life. In fact, I think I carry a little bit of them in my heart everywhere I go. Otherwise, what I do would not be possible. The support and love from the people in my life is essential for my world travels. 

Even though I am so excited to begin, there are always doubts and fears. When I experience these feelings, I remind myself of my favorite quote:  "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." -William Shedd.

And so now...my new life must begin.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Afternoon in La Calera

-
Image
One weekend, my friend Corrie asked if I wanted to wander outside of Bogotá for an afternoon. The answer was a resounding YES and we found a bus headed to La Calera for about $1.50. It only took 45 minutes and the drive took us up and above Bogotá, so we had some really picturesque views. The fun, winding roads reminded me of moped-ing in Bali...guess I need a moped now :) Once we arrived in La Calera, a very small town, we wandered through the streets to the main plaza. Since it was a lazy Sunday, there were also many lazy locals taking advantage of the calm. We all lounged in park benches in the plaza and watched the kids play with a ball in the middle. It fairly oozed small town vibe. Corrie, smart gal that she is, picked La Calera for one main reason: the food. We found our way to some food stalls and ordered some picada (I wrote about this dish before from Montserrate ). Even though the idea was the same, it was a slightly different variety. For example, less intestines and m...
Read more

A New Life in Bogota

-
Image
Here we are: my first week in Bogota! It all began with the flight, an easy, 5-hour direct flight from Atlanta. I even had a special guest to keep me company, a bobble head Rosie the Riveter! It was a going-away gift from my friend Sara, who told me it will remind me that YES, I can do it! I love it! I wonder where we will go together.... Now this is where it gets (more) interesting: At Georgia Tech, I had a student from Bogota (Natalia) who initially wanted me to stay with her family when I arrived. I thought that would be a bit much, so I turned it down. However, I did accept a ride from the airport because the plane would be arriving at 10:30pm. It was pretty funny to have Natalia’s mother, father, and older brother waiting for me with a sign that said “Kathleen!” I immediately realized how kind and generous they were, so I was not actually surprised when they just took me home with them. They were pretty much like “No, we’re your family now so you’re staying wi...
Read more

Museums of Shanghai

-
Image
I needed out at some of the museums of Shanghai, so let me give you a little taste of what I learned! The Shanghai Museum was my first stop, and it was phenomenal. First, it was free! Good job, China! Second, it had artifacts from thousands of years of Chinese history. As an American, that's hard to fathom. Imagine walking through galleries full of bronze, sculpture, ancient coins, and calligraphy scrolls. Some of my favorite things included traditional Chinese paintings, which were often scenic views of famous places in China, exquisite jade molded in shapes that ranged from name prints to elaborate dragons, and the ceramics, which included beautiful vases and tea and China sets (go figure). Another cool room was filled with ethnic minority costumes from the past. I thought it was really great that China chose to honor all of the minority groups in this way, especially since China is not well known for treating them equally (ahem, Tibet). I spent about 2 hours here, and I could ...
Read more