Ever since middle school and Mr. Butterfield's class, which is where I was first introduced to the idea of these things, I've thought I'd do well working with an organization like Greenpeace.
I talked with Patrick last night about the idea of teaching English abroad.
I have to say, the idea first came over my radar from a friend who heard it from a guy on a plane who apparently was all kinds of gung-ho about it. I didn't think excessively about it at first. Actually, I was kind of complacent or under-enthused about this type of opportunity. I don't know why that was . . . timing?
But the more I've talked to people about it, the more I've realized how common it is. All walks of life, all age ranges, people from all over the place and from all different backgrounds are teaching English in all sorts of foreign countries.
Patrick has a handful of college-aged friends scattered all over the world teaching English (and helping people). Meanwhile, my co-worker's middle-aged sister-in-law is doing the same thing. And even more, our new book keeper at work can attest to the awesomeness of this kind of endeavor first hand. She spent six years working and teaching in Uganda.
So thanks to the familiarity of the whole teaching English abroad thing to so many people around me and thanks to the inspiration that I'm about to tell you about, I'm working on a life plan. A real one.
Which brings me to the next bit of recap from my conversation with Patrick last night. He has a friend in the Peace Corps who's been encouraging him to come experience Peace Corps life with her in Costa Rica for awhile. Patrick said he thinks the Peace Corps would be something I'd be very successful with.
What most people don't know is that I considered that right after high school, but there were a few very important lives stopping me. Maybe you've heard of them ... Lucy and Blondie?
As backwards as this is going to sound, I think I could deal with being away from my family for extended periods of time, but I can't fathom being away from my pets. The reason? I can't call Lucy or Blondie, or Olive, or Charley and tell them I missed them and love them very much. I worry about them forgetting me, or worse, I fear they will think I have forgotten them.
And so we get to the life-plan stage of the blog.
Here's what I know:
one day I will be able to look back and say I accomplished these things:
1. Help rebuild houses after a natural disaster in America.
2. Participate in the Global Village Program with Habitat for Humanity.
3. Get my TEFL degree and teach English in foreign countries.
4. Go on sabbatical to a place like Costa Rica for a few months.
5. Serve or join Americorps or the Peace Corps.
Then, during and after all that, maybe I'll have the life epiphany. You know the one ... the one about being ready for a husband and kids and a house and a yard and family dog! Then, it's on to personally rewarding things like those. But before I can accomplish those things, I want to experience numbers 1 through 5.
Lofty and grandiose, yeah. But it wouldn't be me if it wasn't aimed highly.
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