10 Months



 

I meant to write this post at least a month ago, and here I sit with very little time left to my first 10 months of living and teaching in Dubai.  First off; where did the time go?

 

Ten months ago I zipped up my last suitcase and made my brother stand on the scale to weigh all of my bags.  I cuddled the cats one last time and walked out the front door of my house for an adventure.

 

I never once questioned my decision to this process of teaching internationally until I arrived in Dubai, and then I wondered:  "What the hell was I thinking?"  I was the one that wanted the adventure and the opportunity to do something different.  I wanted change.  You know that old saying - be careful what you ask for - well, there is some truth to that saying.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to jump off the deep end, but it has been an incredibly amazing journey of both highs and lows.

 

As I look back on the past 10 months of my life all I can say is Wow!  What a year of growth, learning, excitement, and adventure. 

 

I remember waking up last August, after I was dumped in my apartment, making a mug of tea with my favorite tea that I bought from Colorado(now I can't even remember the tea - I have another green tea to replace it), going and sitting out on my balcony and feeling like I was in a furnace (the weather has become very similar to that time), and wondering what had I done. 

 

I will be the first to admit that the transition was very difficult and full of raw emotional roller coasters, but now I feel comfortable.  For the last couple of months I have felt comfortable with Dubai, and know I'm leaving for a couple of months.  I'm sitting here thinking, "What will the next couple of months bring?'  I am excited beyond words to go home and see everyone and cuddle with the cats, but what other adventures are waiting around the corner? 

 

I have learned some very fundamental truths in the last 10 months.  Here are some of them:

 

1.  Schools are schools wherever you go.  There will be things that you really like about each school and there will be things that you don't like about each school.  No school is perfect, no staff is perfect, no administration team is perfect.  Truth learned:  focus on the good and positive and move forward.

 

2.  Students and parents are the same wherever you go.   You will have great students and parents, and you will find not so great students and parents.  You will have to deal with the same issues:  homework not being done, formatives and summatives not being done, parents denying any knowledge of assignments, etc.  Truth learned:  Holding students and parents accountable is the toughest part of teaching, and you teach as best as you can and hope that somewhere along the line learning takes place.

 

3.  People for the most part are good hearted.  Sometimes I think we get jaded and we loose sight of the good heartedness of people.  I think about all of the people who have helped me through this year and I am amazed at their kindness and willingness to help in the simplest ways.  Many times throughout this year I've had to turn to total strangers and ask for help and their kindness has been heartfelt.  I have had to rely on strangers in each country I have traveled to and never once did I feel threatened or nervous.   Truth:  Humanity is alive and well.

 

4.  I look back at the beginning of this journey and I look at myself now and I'm amazed at what I have accomplished and learned.   I wanted an adventure and I got one!  I 've learned and grown the most from this experience.  I wonder how much I've changed; how much I've grown.  One of the most valuable lessons that I've learned is just how important it is to have the love and support of people, accept what others can give and in return give to others no matter how strong and independent you think you.  Truth:  no man is an island unto himself.

 

As excited as I am to return to The Springs for summer I have anxieties about returning.  Odd, isn't it? I wonder if my cats will remember me, I worry about whether or not I'll survive seminar and how much I have lost, I am concerned about that awkwardness of reconnecting with friends,  I wonder if I can still remember how to clean a bathroom (I haven't cleaned a toilet bowl in over 9 months),  I have to remember to pump my own gas (here they have workers that do that),  I know running will be challenging -  I'll be coming from maybe 10 ft. above sea level up to 6,700 ft.  that is going to hurt for awhile.

 

When I arrived in Dubai one of the first units I taught was on change and accepting change.  We read Who Moved My Cheese for Teens.  In that book their is a handwriting on the wall that states:

 

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

 

I have tried to live by that motto for the last 9 months, and I have learned that sometimes I am the one that holds me back from experiences.  I will continue to try to live by that motto for rest of my life.  Have I grown and changed?  Yes, in one respect - everyday is a journey, every day is a new adventure; enjoy and savor it because you will gain so much in the end.

 

Ready or not I am returning home for 2 months and regardless of my anxieties and worries I will enjoy and savor in order to gain.  Here I come.  And I can't wait to have a Green Tea Frappuccino - I haven't had one in 10 months and I just may savor it enough to have whipped cream with it.

 

See ya soon!