Arms Outstretched

    Happy 2014! 2013 was a year I will never forget. It began with hearing about the death of a dear friend, included a job I loved, an incredible adventure overseas, huge decisions about how I wanted to live my life, old and new friends, and the loss of both my beloved cat and grandfather. It took me on an emotional roller coaster. It scared, touched, moved, spun, and challenged me. I said goodbye to my kids at Sullivan, with a heart full of love for their eagerness, affection, and appreciation. I left for Prague in August with stars in my eyes. I came home at the end of October, without any idea what the rest of the year was going to look like, much less what I was going to do once the calendars were switched out.
     But that's not entirely true anymore. God's timing has come through yet again. In the middle of December, right when I was starting to think that my goal of going back overseas in January was unachievable, I spoke to a woman from my church who was hosting an exchange student from Bratislava, Slovakia. She said the school in Bratislava (a sister school of Minnehaha Academy here in the Cities) was looking for English teachers. Native English teachers with a degree- no teaching license necessary. So after talking to the student, I decided to contact the school about any possible job openings. About a week and a half later, I had an interview with the head of the English department who said she would like to set something up with the principal. At that interview, the questions about my experience and thoughts on teaching turned into questions like: This is how much we would be paying you. Would that be all right? And: You'd be sharing a flat with a couple other American teachers. Does that sound acceptable? And, finally: Would it be possible for you to get here on the 24th or 25th of January? All of the sudden, I had a job!
     I'm going to be a high school English teacher at a private high school in Bratislava. They already have a literature teacher, so my focus will be primarily on writing. Both people I talked to assured me that the school and the other teachers would help me through my learning curve, never having taught either high schoolers or writing before. I'm going to need lots of guidance, but I'm very excited.
     Bratislava itself, while not one of the blockbuster European cities, still has a lot to offer. In many ways I think it will be a better fit for me and my lifestyle than Prague was. It's small, the population is less than 500,000, and much of the city was rebuilt under Communism, so it doesn't have as much historic charm as other cities might. But I think that's ok. Prague was intimidating, full of so many people that I felt anonymous. There were so many tourists around all the time that it sometimes distracted me from my real life, and made me feel more like a visitor. Bratislava seems less intimidating. I've heard there are lots of nice restaurants and cafes in the old town, there's a castle on the hill, a notable, if not stellar arts scene, a UFO bridge, and a university. It is not the city with the highest beer consumption per capita in the world. It's about an hour to Vienna, less than 3 to Budapest, and less than 5 to Prague. There are mountains and rivers providing numerous opportunities for exploration.
     No, it's not Prague. It's not Paris or Berlin or Rome. But Minneapolis isn't New York, Chicago, or LA, and I love it here. It's home. Obviously, with my not having been there yet, I cannot say whether or not Bratislava will feel more like home to me than Prague did. But after my experiences in Prague, and knowing what I do about Bratislava, I think it has a chance.
     I'm leaving in less than three weeks, and it still hasn't sunken in that I'm really going. Every so often, I'll have a moment of panic where it all comes together in a blinding moment that all this is actually happening, but then I realize, like I did before going to Prague, that it's all right to be scared. It's all right to feel like I don't have a clue. Because I'm going to learn. I'm going to experience new things. I'm pushing away from the dock and leaving the breakwater behind me. It's times like this when I need to remind myself I'm not sailing this ship by myself. I have some of the greatest crew anyone could ask for. So I'll go. I'm ready. Ready to once again throw myself into the world and let the wind carry me across the ocean. I am so excited.