Reunion

We had a lovely day yesterday! My buddy and her sisters took me out for brunch at a landhuis--a former plantation house. The soil on the island is rocky and not conducive to farming. Plantations here did not serve agricultural purposes, instead their owners built and maintained them to show off their wealth. The landhuis we visited yesterday is now a restaurant and serves incredibly large Dutch pancakes. I had a pancake topped with ham and melted cheese. Mmmmm.

After brunch, we visited a nearby beach, out on the western end of the island. Wilemstaad, the capital city is located on the eastern end, so most of the population lives on that side. On the way out to the beach, we passed a group of flamingoes basking in the sun. It seems so strange to see those animals in the wild! Beaches on Curaçao often have maintenance groups, so there is an entrance fee. The sand on the beach we visited was white and fine, and the water so clear that I could easily see my toes.

In the evening, we went out to a bar that is set on the sand--literally! Our table was a picnic table on the beach. There we met up with my good friends from Turkey, whom I hadn't seen in about two years. It was strange and wonderful to see them again. Their son was scared of me at first--he was only four when he saw me last. He quickly decided that I was fun in a scary way. (Can't be helped--we were playing witches and vampires. He told me he would turn me into a witch and I asked, "How are you going to do that? I AM a witch.")

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!

Flight

I am at the Miami airport, on my way to Curaçao. Friends have been saying how excited I must be about my move. I hadn't been excited at all...up until now. At the moment, I am thrilled to know I will soon be meeting my buddy, the teacher who has been facilitating my arrival. We've been emailing and instant messaging each other, and it will be wonderful to finally meet her in person. I am also excited to explore the island, check out my new apartment, and begin getting my life in order.

In LAX, I was sitting next to a delightful family from Colorado, on their way to a 3 week vacation in wintry Australia. The daughter had with her a gnome, peeking out of the side of her backpack. She was setting out to document his travels. I thought I'd do my part to help out, so here is a picture of Seamus the gnome at the airport.


(Brittany, if you are reading this, post a reply and let us know where he's been!)

Reasons for blogging

I am journaling about my thoughts and experiences in order to have a written record of them, as well as to share them with others. Some of my friends have a tendency to romanticize my life in other countries…. I hope that this blog will illuminate both the novel and mundane facets of my daily life. Also, I hope that my writing will be viewed by teachers pondering the possibility of working abroad, so that they may learn about the joys and challenges wrapped into one individual’s experience.

I began teaching abroad because I had a strong desire to live and work in other countries. As an anthropology major, I love learning about different cultures. Living abroad is one of the most powerful ways of gaining cultural knowledge. Teaching is also a passion of mine, and I find great joy in learning from my students. When I teach abroad, even my youngest students recognize the wealth of knowledge they have to share.