Interestingly, I did not wake up one day and decide to move
overseas. There were specific people and events that were pre-destined into my
life before I made that decision. The following are five things that inspired me to fill a position that allowed me to meet some of the coolest kids that changed my life and see some of the most beautiful places in the world.
One. Study Abroad.
I stayed with three local families. To
this day I keep ties with my brother Kwazi who lives in Cato Manor and my
sister Tracey who lives in Wentworth. Tracey has come to America multiple times
and I was fortunate to meet her in Chicago during her time as an Au Pair. Most
recently she came to my hometown and was able to meet my family as well.
Studying abroad opened up a desire in my heart that I had
never felt. I developed an urge to work with international students and also
travel the world. I had no idea how to make this work but somehow I knew it
would.
Two. Peace Corps.
After returning home from my trip to South Africa, I needed
to start thinking more about my future. I was near graduation and needed to get
serious about what would come next in my life. My major was in Early Childhood and
my minor in African American Studies however, I had absolutly no interest in teaching. I
knew I would need to come up with other options for my career. I loved kids but
my desire was much bigger than the traditional classroom.
I came up with the bright idea to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. I’d
be able to travel overseas and use my educational training to work with kids in
underprivileged parts of the world. I attended a seminar to prepare. The long application
process and the benefits of serving were discussed and weren't very convincing for me. There was a requirement of a two-year commitment and during those years my student loans
would be deferred rather than forgiven. I was asked to find someone who would
take full responsibility for my bills and debt in case something happened to me; I
chose my mom of course! There was a minimal stipend for living expenses but not enough to save. I started to question my decision however, I began the
application process anyway. They requested dental x-rays, full medical exams,
and paperwork for many different things. Eventually I was told that I would be
placed in Micronesia, an island located near Australia. I was so excited; it
was finally becoming a reality!
The application process was taking much longer than I
expected and graduation was nearing. Reality told me that I had to buckle down
and make a “grown up” decision; look for a job or continue with the application.
I decided to look for a job. I was eventually hired as a pre-kindergarten
teacher in the Edwardsville School District. While my dreams were preparing me
for a journey to fly across the world, my reality was preparing me to drive highway 55 South back home to Alton, Illinois.
Three. Patty.
I moved back to my mom’s house and worked the traditional
classroom life that I dreaded to experience. While I worked, I decided to sign
up for classes at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and pursue my
Master of Education degree in Learning, Culture, and Society. I was teaching
full time and also taking night classes. Although I wasn’t overseas, my classes
were filled with international students from around the globe. During this
time I met a girl named Patty. Patty was from Brazil and
she was very pale with long blonde hair. She didn’t look very “Brazilian” to me. I
always imagined Brazilians to look very exotic with long dark hair, tanned skin and amazing bodies (see what the media does to our perceptions)!
Patty and I became very close friends. Her mother was a principal
in Kuwait. She was the first person that exposed me to the phrase international teacher. What is an
international teacher? I had never heard of this before. No one had mentioned
international teaching during my teacher education classes or during my
seminars where I given limited options of what to do with my degree. I decided
to investigate and do some research.
Four. International
Recruitment Fair
Patty was right! International teaching did exist and there
were many opportunities for American teachers to teach around the world. I
found the University of Northern Iowa during my research. It is known to host an annual
International Recruitment Fair and extends an invitation to recruiters who work for international schools all over the world. To my knowledge, this is the only university in the United States, with no connection to an agency, to host this type of fair. I registered for a small fee and my grandmother and I drove to Iowa in
the midst of blizzard to attend.
I had one and a half years of teaching experience, an Illinois teaching certificate, an almost
complete master’s degree, and no international experience when I attended this
fair. I had interviews with four schools that were from Venezuela, Morocco, Shanghai, and
Thailand. I was offered and accepted a two-year contract with the CasablancaAmerican School in Casablanca, Morocco. It was finally time to prepare for the
departure that I had longed for.
 |
| I sold my car |
I’ve come to believe that when things are forced,
they most likely aren’t in your plans for that time. You’re unconsciously creating
space that wasn’t necessarily meant to be there. There are many things that I reflect on as I recollect these memories. After a while, I stopped
questioning why I didn’t end up in the Peace Corps. With time and patience, I’m now
able to look back and see that there was something bigger planned for my life. In
five months I finished my master’s degree, sold my car for $10,000 cash, sold
many of my possessions, and even had time to say goodbye to my family with a big farewell party. I
had a henna artist and belly dancer there too!
