Flying High

So it's official.  I have my plane ticket.  I'm out of here on the 27th of July; only a short month away.  It's been a hectic week up to this point trying to get the ticket ordeal worked out.  Let me just say this:  Central American sense of urgency is NOTHING like ours.  Maybe it will be good for me to learn to be a bit more laid back.

The Bureaucracy of Paperwork

I cannot begin to describe the process in which I must request EVERYTHING in the world in writing. I have all sorts of things I need to obtain my work visa. I have been at work on this for two months. The teaching licensure place told me to wait until the end of the year and then I could get it and now they say it will take weeks. The police have sent me to every possible building in Asheville in search of a copy of my NC police record..... They have also directed me to non-existent websites in search of a "form" to submit. Appalachian, though stating otherwise, has taken over a month to send my official transcript. It's all just nonsense and utterly frustrating. So the only headway I made on my overwhelming "to-do" list today was to reserve a u-haul and change my address with the school system. Lame. Bureaucracy.

People are strange when you're a stranger....

Today feels like the first day in a very long journey. I have been spending the day moving out of my classroom here in Asheville and preparing to move out of the city permanently in just a few days. Just in the past six months have I begun to feel like Asheville is home. I have fantastic friends, a lovely home, and a good job and here I am leaving it all to go to a place I've never even visited, a place where I will have no friends, a place where I won't even speak the language very well. Most days I know I can do this. Some days, like today, I am not convinced.

However, I know this is the opportunity of a lifetime. This will be one of the most exciting things I ever do and, in the long run, it will make me a better teacher, friend, and person.

Stay tuned. Let's just see how it all goes.