Everything must belong somewhere

Big news: I completed my first year a couple of weeks ago. While it seems like a rather blogworthy event, I haven’t had time to write the celebration post it deserves. Between calculating grades and trying to decide what to do next year, I’ve had to put my final sigh of relief and moment of reflection off until now.

When I quit my real job last year to be a volunteer teacher in Costa Rica, I came up with three reasons why it was a good idea. I wanted out of journalism and thought teaching might be a suitable career to pursue but wanted to find out firsthand before shelling out money and time on a teacher-licensure program. I’d never traveled, much less lived, outside of the country and wanted to stop the growing feeling of regret before it got ugly. Also, I figured learning Spanish couldn’t be a bad skill to acquire no matter what career I eventually chose.

Turns out my rationalizations were valid. I can’t imagine returning to journalism. Looking back I know how ill-suited I am for that work. Thanks to the blogosphere, I can always fulfill my desire to write, and I don’t have to deal with editors, politicians, grieving/proud parents, annoying coworkers, overzealous talking heads, competing reporters or the newspaper-reading public.

It also turns out that I like teaching English. It’s not so much that I love working with children or that I have a real passion for education. Mostly I just love the English language and like imparting its intricacies to others, especially those who can use the language to give themselves a better life.

While my Spanish skills are still lingering somewhere around the intermediate level, I am finally able to speak and understand enough to make connections with people. I am starting to love this new lanuage, too, and find myself accosting any native speaker who is willing to listen with questions about its own intricacies.

So, I was right. Thanks to all of you who suppressed your eye-rolling and let me make a crazy decision to quit my job to work for nothing in a developing country. Thanks to all of you who donated money or wrote me letters or sent me care packages or came to visit or racked up outrageous phone bills listening to me go on and on about things impossible to explain.

I hope you’ll all keep reading next year, as I have yet again shrugged off the necessity of making a living and have extended my volunteer service through July. I'd like to say I'm doing it all for the kids, but really I'm doing it for myself, knowing that the kids will benefit, too. Sometime next year I will decide when to come back to the U.S. and whether to pursue the teacher-licensure program I am still trying to avoid.

I’ll be home from Dec. 22 to Jan. 13. It’s not nearly enough time, but I plan to make the most of it. Hope to see you then!