I've had some things in the works for awhile now and although I still don't know it all, I will share with you what I do know. I've given my notice at my institute and I'm leaving Chile to head back to the USA on June 15th. A few months ago, after a lot of thought about what I wanted to do next, I decided that I didn't see myself living here long term and that it was time to go back and make a new life in a new place back in the States. It wasn't a decision that I made lightly, and I still have a few lingering doubts about whether it was the right one or if I jumped the gun...
I resigned from my old teaching job back in February, my townhouse is now rented until August of 2012, and as of this moment I don't have another job or a place to live. I do have some job opportunities at home that I'm still waiting on, and I know deep down that if those don't pan out that there are other options here in Chile should I decide to come back at some point.
I really like teaching English and working with business professionals and I've enjoyed my opportunities here to gain more professional teaching experience and to improve my Spanish.
It's definitely an "in-limbo" period, but I think for now I'm doing the right thing. I'm sad about leaving Chile, it's been a good home to me, I've made some really good friends here, and I've loved my English students.
Whatever comes next, I know that I made the right decision in coming here in the first place!
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Changes and going with the flow
Do you ever stop and think about how life seems to be going perfectly in one direction and then suddenly out of nowhere something pops up to take you somewhere completely new?
It happens on a small scale, like when I leave the institute thinking that I'm going to go and do one thing, and then suddenly I bump into a friend and end up at happy hour, and it also happens with the big things, a conversation in passing that sparks an idea that takes you off to a completely new place, either physically or mentally...
A fleeting thought about the beauty and grandeur of the Great Wall of China and a week a later appears a grant opportunity for foreign language teachers. Coincidence, or destiny? The trip to China somehow leads to me living in South America, and here I am looking at the next "next step"...
That's exactly what they are, steps to something bigger and better if we allow them to be. If we knew what was ahead, would we ever take the small steps? If someone told me that this move to Chile would result in me going back to the USA to leave my old teaching job and look for another job would I just opt to skip the Chile part and make only one change instead of two? Sometimes we prefer the easiest course of action, but isn't that where we'd miss the learning?
I want to emphasize that I would classify my time here in Chile as exactly that, a learning experience. Yes, I've traveled and shared lots of photos with you here on this blog, but I can assure you that when I look back on this experience I'll remember more about all the things that I learned, both big and small. Yes, I came to Santiago to gain English teaching experience and to put my Spanish into a more practical context, and in the meantime I learned about a new culture and embarrassed myself a few times in the process. I didn't write much about my daily frustrations on this blog because I try to focus on the bigger things and frankly with everything that's going on in the world I don't think my minor setbacks would always be very well-received.
It is appropriate to share, however, that my experience here isn't about how many people cut me in line or stared at me or grinned when I opened my mouth and actual Spanish came out. I've tried to take a better look at myself and how I react in these moments and also keep in mind that there are plenty of crappy people in my own country. When you move to a different country you realize very quickly that the easiest course of action is not to try to change or be bothered by how everyone else does things. The best way to assimilate is to get with the program and quickly set your own expectations aside. At the end of the day it boils down to how we adjust, grow, and internalize these little changes that we've made and put them into practice when the next opportunity for change appears in our lives. For me, patience and acceptance are two big things that I hope to be able to take with me when I go.
It happens on a small scale, like when I leave the institute thinking that I'm going to go and do one thing, and then suddenly I bump into a friend and end up at happy hour, and it also happens with the big things, a conversation in passing that sparks an idea that takes you off to a completely new place, either physically or mentally...
A fleeting thought about the beauty and grandeur of the Great Wall of China and a week a later appears a grant opportunity for foreign language teachers. Coincidence, or destiny? The trip to China somehow leads to me living in South America, and here I am looking at the next "next step"...
That's exactly what they are, steps to something bigger and better if we allow them to be. If we knew what was ahead, would we ever take the small steps? If someone told me that this move to Chile would result in me going back to the USA to leave my old teaching job and look for another job would I just opt to skip the Chile part and make only one change instead of two? Sometimes we prefer the easiest course of action, but isn't that where we'd miss the learning?
I want to emphasize that I would classify my time here in Chile as exactly that, a learning experience. Yes, I've traveled and shared lots of photos with you here on this blog, but I can assure you that when I look back on this experience I'll remember more about all the things that I learned, both big and small. Yes, I came to Santiago to gain English teaching experience and to put my Spanish into a more practical context, and in the meantime I learned about a new culture and embarrassed myself a few times in the process. I didn't write much about my daily frustrations on this blog because I try to focus on the bigger things and frankly with everything that's going on in the world I don't think my minor setbacks would always be very well-received.
It is appropriate to share, however, that my experience here isn't about how many people cut me in line or stared at me or grinned when I opened my mouth and actual Spanish came out. I've tried to take a better look at myself and how I react in these moments and also keep in mind that there are plenty of crappy people in my own country. When you move to a different country you realize very quickly that the easiest course of action is not to try to change or be bothered by how everyone else does things. The best way to assimilate is to get with the program and quickly set your own expectations aside. At the end of the day it boils down to how we adjust, grow, and internalize these little changes that we've made and put them into practice when the next opportunity for change appears in our lives. For me, patience and acceptance are two big things that I hope to be able to take with me when I go.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Is happiness a choice?
I've managed to form quite a routine since I began my summer school schedule, one that involves going to bed and waking up at same time every day, something I hadn't been able to do in my first 5 months here. Although it was nice to have a bit of a variation in schedule, it's definitely true what they say about your body being happier if you get the same amount of sleep every night.
Part of my morning routine gets me to the Metro just in time to grab a Publimetro, one of the free newspaper publications that they hand out every morning. I usually go straight to my horoscope, peruse the remaining contents for awhile, and then take it home to Ita who then reads it cover to cover every afternoon.
This morning's edition is dedicated to happiness, more specifically about taking control and learning how to be happy. It also features a brief interview with Gretchen Rubin, the author of a book called The Happiness Project, which now appears to be published in several different languages. I actually read this book over the summer before I left for Chile, and although I didn't start my own project, I focused on the underlying theme that is present in many books of this nature, the idea that we are partially responsible for creating just how happy we actually are. In order to change our level of happiness, we have to change something.
Many of us fall victim to the circumstances of our lives. In saying this I'm not referring to those people who are truly suffering with a horrible disease or who have experienced something really tragic. I mean the people who get caught up in their daily lives without ever really taking the time to think about what's important to them or if they even like what they're doing. I had started to become one of those people, and indirectly that's what brought me here to Chile. I just needed a change...
I wanted to get away from my American lifestyle of going through the motions and killing time by buying more stuff at Target. I didn't give away everything I own, but simply due to space limitations I am living a much more simplistic life on a wage that's about half of what I was making at home. It's not having less stuff that has made a difference, it's what I've done to fill the space that has sparked the change. I don't drive, shop, or watch a lot of TV. That alone has freed up time to ride my bike, practice more yoga, read, journal, walk, improve my Spanish, etc. My friends Amie and Bryan are making similar plans for their own lives, and Bryan writes beautifully about minimalism here.
I know that many of my friends at home don't have the option to spend this much time on "themselves". They have busy lives, small children, work, and other responsibilities that bring them stress. The author of this book was in a similar situation with her own busy life and small children, but over the course of a year she managed to make very small changes and saw significant results.
What's something very small in your own life that you could change that would bring you greater happiness? Not a resolution, not a diet, not a pledge to give up Diet Coke...think about it. Pick up Gretchen's book, check out her website, or start making your own list. It could be something really small like pledging to have dinner with your family at the table every night. It's still January people, the perfect time to start.
Part of my morning routine gets me to the Metro just in time to grab a Publimetro, one of the free newspaper publications that they hand out every morning. I usually go straight to my horoscope, peruse the remaining contents for awhile, and then take it home to Ita who then reads it cover to cover every afternoon.
This morning's edition is dedicated to happiness, more specifically about taking control and learning how to be happy. It also features a brief interview with Gretchen Rubin, the author of a book called The Happiness Project, which now appears to be published in several different languages. I actually read this book over the summer before I left for Chile, and although I didn't start my own project, I focused on the underlying theme that is present in many books of this nature, the idea that we are partially responsible for creating just how happy we actually are. In order to change our level of happiness, we have to change something.
Many of us fall victim to the circumstances of our lives. In saying this I'm not referring to those people who are truly suffering with a horrible disease or who have experienced something really tragic. I mean the people who get caught up in their daily lives without ever really taking the time to think about what's important to them or if they even like what they're doing. I had started to become one of those people, and indirectly that's what brought me here to Chile. I just needed a change...
I wanted to get away from my American lifestyle of going through the motions and killing time by buying more stuff at Target. I didn't give away everything I own, but simply due to space limitations I am living a much more simplistic life on a wage that's about half of what I was making at home. It's not having less stuff that has made a difference, it's what I've done to fill the space that has sparked the change. I don't drive, shop, or watch a lot of TV. That alone has freed up time to ride my bike, practice more yoga, read, journal, walk, improve my Spanish, etc. My friends Amie and Bryan are making similar plans for their own lives, and Bryan writes beautifully about minimalism here.
I know that many of my friends at home don't have the option to spend this much time on "themselves". They have busy lives, small children, work, and other responsibilities that bring them stress. The author of this book was in a similar situation with her own busy life and small children, but over the course of a year she managed to make very small changes and saw significant results.
What's something very small in your own life that you could change that would bring you greater happiness? Not a resolution, not a diet, not a pledge to give up Diet Coke...think about it. Pick up Gretchen's book, check out her website, or start making your own list. It could be something really small like pledging to have dinner with your family at the table every night. It's still January people, the perfect time to start.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)