Well, I officially have a plan for next year. After countless applications, several interviews, and long weeks of waiting, I have a job! What's more, it's a job I feel so good about that I cannot wait to get started. I'll be teaching at Lake Yojoa Bilingual School in Pena Blanca, Honduras. Pena Blanca is a little town in the mountains of central Honduras, the school a private non-denominational Christian school with around 400 students from kindergarten to 10th grade.
I am well aware that this is going to be something completely different from anything else I've ever experienced, but that's kind of the point. I don't know exactly what I'm going to be teaching, but it will probably be upper-elementary or middle/high schoolers. The situation of the town will be as different from Petrzalka as it is possible to be, almost. It's a small town in a rural area, in the mountains, near a lake. There's lots of hiking, not a lot of clubs, and I will certainly not be anonymous; I was told the American teachers stand out quite a bit from the rest of the population. While the children who go to the school will be well off as far as Hondurans are concerned, I will be living in one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
I will once again be living in a different language, an inevitable part of being an English as a Foreign Language teacher. However, unlike Slovak, Spanish is a language which I feel reasonably confident of being able to pick up quickly. I'll be able to dredge the remains of middle school from the depths of my brain, and put my hibernating French grammar to use again. I'm excited about actually being able to communicate with people, and not feel lost in a sea of sounds.
Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about what my situation will be. But this feels right. Talking to my family about it last week, I literally could not stop smiling.
I'm excited about the teaching I'll be doing, the students, teachers, and other locals I'll meet. I'm excited about no longer living in the concrete jungle of Petrzalka. At the same time, I'm going to miss the people here so much. Saying goodbye to my kids was the hardest part; they were really the main reason my time here was so good. If there was a way I could teach them in a vacuum, without any of the other complications of Bilgym or Slovakia, I would do it in a heartbeat. They are such sweethearts. When I leave, part of my heart will be staying behind with them.
Part of what comes with living such a nomadic lifestyle is that you get attached to people, and create connections that you are reluctant to let go, in the fear that they will disappear. But that's part of life. Pieces of my heart live all over the world, with my family and friends in Minneapolis, in various locations across the US, in Scotland, Prague, and now, in Bratislava. And while it may seem like I'm running out of heart to leave places, I think exactly the opposite is true. As humans, I believe we have an infinite capacity to love. The more love we spread into the world, the more we receive in return, and the more we have to give back.
I have been incredibly lucky in having found people in every place I've been who have made an impact on my life, and who I am proud to call my friends. Bratislava is no exception, and for that reason, I'm sorry to be leaving. But I'm sure the same will be true of Honduras, and I cannot wait to head out on this new adventure.
But first, I have almost two months at home to look forward to. Two months of sisters, friends, bike rides, road trips, and English. I absolutely cannot wait.
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