Arrival

Exhaustion sets in... I arrived in Curaçao on Wednesday afternoon and met 4 other teachers at the airport. 3 of them were teachers from the school that had come to welcome us, the fourth was a new teacher like me, on my same flight. All of them seem nice. One asked me, "So, where are you coming from?"

I wasn't sure what he meant, so I replied, "Hawaii."

"I mean, where else have you taught?" he asked. "Or is this your first experience teaching abroad?" I laughed, and answered him again. I had forgotten what the community of international teachers is like! Passports become resumes, almost.

The airport in Curaçao is tiny and was very crowded when I got in. The teachers apologized, explaining that normally there are much fewer people there. On Wednesday, however, many of the local 18 year olds were leaving for college. As Curaçao is Dutch, the young people can attend college for free in the Netherlands. Mothers, fathers, aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, and acquaintances had all come to see the students off.

My buddy is amazing and has been taking excellent care of me! Since Wednesday I have had a tour of the school, set up my bank account, met teachers for drinks, gone car shopping, bought a sim card for my phone, gone grocery shopping... Everything has been non-stop. Each night, we say we will get to bed early, and each night, I arrive home at 11pm or later. Last night, I went with her mother and sisters to her uncle's house. He cooked us a dinner of lemon chicken and fried rice, and I felt right at home!