I apologize to the five people that read and follow my blog (sorry mom!) for the excessive amount of time between blog postings. However a lot has happened! In late May and early June after Michael returned to the United States we started to imagine our life back in the states. There was a list a mile long of pros and cons of both decisions but in the long run we realized that Gavin needed an in home daycare situation in which he could socialize and work on increasing his social skills. Unfortunately the life we were living in the UAE did not seem to provide enough opportunities for him to interact with kids as we would like him to. I know that many teachers can tell you a much different story but for our family personally we just were not making the right connections and it wasn't working out for us. The compound living in close quarters with so many other teachers was having its long-term affect on us and it was really becoming apparent it wasn't a fit for us and our situation. The other thing that was really clear was that it was stressful for Michael to be the stay at home dad with little to no opportunity for social interaction for him. Due to the way labor forces work in the UAE there was not going to be an opportunity for him to work there. The reality for our family was it just wasn't healthy for me to work and my boys to stay home all day together. Many of my wonderful friends in the UAE had great suggestions and solutions but in the long run we just knew it was time for us to go.
I want it to be very clear that we had an amazing experience with our year overseas and we were able to do and see many things that I never had thought would be possible in our lifetimes. I had an amazing year in the classroom and will never forget the 47 beautiful girls I had the opportunity to work with. I also made some friendships I hope will continue to last over the years. With all that in mind I made this decision and moved forward with it. I started to apply all over the nation thinking in terms of both teacher pay and areas that my family and I thought would be nice for us to live. With in weeks I was interviewing for multiple positions with in Anchorage, Alaska. I came home knowing that I would likely not return to the UAE and spent some time in Iowa with family and friends. On my way from Iowa to New Mexico I had a phone interview for a special education Language Arts Middle school position and I hung up thinking, that is my dream job, that is the school I want to work in. With in days I was offered the position.
I will be honest we have faced a great deal of criticism from both family and friends in our decision to make this move. The biggest thing we have heard is the 6 months of winter, the increase in the cost of living, and of course we may be eaten by a bear or stomped by a moose. We thought really hard about these cons and here is our response. Let me start by saying the biggest increase is in rent and we were able to find a reasonable rent margin by moving outside of Anchorage in Wasilla, housing is significantly lower and there is a great small town vibe that we have been getting in the few weeks we have been here. For example an afternoon at the park means learning everything we can possibly do with our children from all the moms. Or the cashiers chatting with you or cars letting you in and using their blinkers on the roads. Walking in a store and bumping into someone and both parties apologize and smile, strangers chat in grocery isles and lines. I could go on and on but most of you know what I mean and as much as I thought I was a big city girl because I kept identifying with that Iowa girl that wanted to get out of small town Iowa so desperately, well it is me and I feel happy. I can already visualize myself joining the bowling league, the aerobics class with other teachers and I see myself happy.
Michael has already done his research and there are multiple options for employment for him right here in Wasilla and as soon as we can get Gavin into daycare (which is looking very promising and will happen in just days) then he can begin to actively seek employment. With us both working we will be making significantly more money then we did in the UAE and start to make some headway in some of our debt. We can both see our futures here and raising our son and future children here. Before we get too ahead of ourselves we of course plan to get through the winter, but I am confident if we can get ourselves out sledding, ice skating, skiing and being active the darkness and cold and longevity of it will hopefully not prevail and make us completely insane. Only time will tell but I am hopeful we will come out the other end putting some roots down.
I have been in my new school now for three weeks, two weeks with my kids. I am again feeling at home in the middle school special education classroom. I am amazed at the money in the district and the plethora of supplies and well the complete lack of the need for me to supplement as I have had to in previous teaching jobs. I swear I keep getting slanted looks when I ask, "are you sure I can have this whole container of glue sticks? Should I only take 3 or 4 for the kids to share?" And when I am super excited that we get free school t-shirts and we have enough consumables for all the kids and they were in my classroom at the beginning of the year. My desk was covered in teacher supplies with a welcome note and everyone wants to help me. The school is less than 15 years old and absolutely beautiful with an amazing view from every window. Another astonishing thing that I am not used to is the staff meetings and staff lounge are filled with positive attitudes, I have yet to come across the jaded teachers that complain. Everyone problem solves and everyone is enthusiastic. I am thrilled to be working in a school where learning is happening and parents are involved and the staff seems so competent at their job (I have never seen such a competent staff usually there is the sit on my chair and yell teacher and complain about any changes coming down the pipe or in the UAE the lazy Arabic staff that seemed to float around and drink lots of tea etc.).
Life is falling into place here and I am starting to form a nice routine in my classroom and really enjoying my kids and my troublemakers are far less then they have been in previous schools and I am even figuring out what works for them. I am meeting with a mom here in Wasilla starting an in home daycare this afternoon. She has a three year old daughter which will be great for Gavin and I have just felt really great talking to her. She is certified through the state which means she has had all the appropriate background checks and she is of course cpr/first aid certified. I will keep you posted on how that works out but thinking it will be a great fit for Gavin as he will get more one on one attention.
I want it to be very clear that we had an amazing experience with our year overseas and we were able to do and see many things that I never had thought would be possible in our lifetimes. I had an amazing year in the classroom and will never forget the 47 beautiful girls I had the opportunity to work with. I also made some friendships I hope will continue to last over the years. With all that in mind I made this decision and moved forward with it. I started to apply all over the nation thinking in terms of both teacher pay and areas that my family and I thought would be nice for us to live. With in weeks I was interviewing for multiple positions with in Anchorage, Alaska. I came home knowing that I would likely not return to the UAE and spent some time in Iowa with family and friends. On my way from Iowa to New Mexico I had a phone interview for a special education Language Arts Middle school position and I hung up thinking, that is my dream job, that is the school I want to work in. With in days I was offered the position.
I will be honest we have faced a great deal of criticism from both family and friends in our decision to make this move. The biggest thing we have heard is the 6 months of winter, the increase in the cost of living, and of course we may be eaten by a bear or stomped by a moose. We thought really hard about these cons and here is our response. Let me start by saying the biggest increase is in rent and we were able to find a reasonable rent margin by moving outside of Anchorage in Wasilla, housing is significantly lower and there is a great small town vibe that we have been getting in the few weeks we have been here. For example an afternoon at the park means learning everything we can possibly do with our children from all the moms. Or the cashiers chatting with you or cars letting you in and using their blinkers on the roads. Walking in a store and bumping into someone and both parties apologize and smile, strangers chat in grocery isles and lines. I could go on and on but most of you know what I mean and as much as I thought I was a big city girl because I kept identifying with that Iowa girl that wanted to get out of small town Iowa so desperately, well it is me and I feel happy. I can already visualize myself joining the bowling league, the aerobics class with other teachers and I see myself happy.
Michael has already done his research and there are multiple options for employment for him right here in Wasilla and as soon as we can get Gavin into daycare (which is looking very promising and will happen in just days) then he can begin to actively seek employment. With us both working we will be making significantly more money then we did in the UAE and start to make some headway in some of our debt. We can both see our futures here and raising our son and future children here. Before we get too ahead of ourselves we of course plan to get through the winter, but I am confident if we can get ourselves out sledding, ice skating, skiing and being active the darkness and cold and longevity of it will hopefully not prevail and make us completely insane. Only time will tell but I am hopeful we will come out the other end putting some roots down.
I have been in my new school now for three weeks, two weeks with my kids. I am again feeling at home in the middle school special education classroom. I am amazed at the money in the district and the plethora of supplies and well the complete lack of the need for me to supplement as I have had to in previous teaching jobs. I swear I keep getting slanted looks when I ask, "are you sure I can have this whole container of glue sticks? Should I only take 3 or 4 for the kids to share?" And when I am super excited that we get free school t-shirts and we have enough consumables for all the kids and they were in my classroom at the beginning of the year. My desk was covered in teacher supplies with a welcome note and everyone wants to help me. The school is less than 15 years old and absolutely beautiful with an amazing view from every window. Another astonishing thing that I am not used to is the staff meetings and staff lounge are filled with positive attitudes, I have yet to come across the jaded teachers that complain. Everyone problem solves and everyone is enthusiastic. I am thrilled to be working in a school where learning is happening and parents are involved and the staff seems so competent at their job (I have never seen such a competent staff usually there is the sit on my chair and yell teacher and complain about any changes coming down the pipe or in the UAE the lazy Arabic staff that seemed to float around and drink lots of tea etc.).
Life is falling into place here and I am starting to form a nice routine in my classroom and really enjoying my kids and my troublemakers are far less then they have been in previous schools and I am even figuring out what works for them. I am meeting with a mom here in Wasilla starting an in home daycare this afternoon. She has a three year old daughter which will be great for Gavin and I have just felt really great talking to her. She is certified through the state which means she has had all the appropriate background checks and she is of course cpr/first aid certified. I will keep you posted on how that works out but thinking it will be a great fit for Gavin as he will get more one on one attention.
Congrads...glad u did what was best for your family. Very interested in how this move works...keep us all posted. This reform is falling apart and you moved at a good time. The Arabic teachers all know they are leaving next year and they quit day one.
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find out about this new position?
Essentially I knew that Alaska hires sight unseen after researching as around 80% of the teaching force comes from the lower 48 so I put an app in both with Juneau and Anchorage public schools. I went through a screening interview while still in the UAE and then I was up for grabs by principals. I think the special education background helped a little. But essentially I had around 5 phone interviews with 5 different schools and the one position that felt and seemed exactly right was the one I got.
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ReplyDeleteFrom speaking with colleagues still in the UAE I know that I would be unhappy if I was still there, most teachers left at my school (which was combined with a boys school) are now teaching boys and they are burnt and exhausted at the end of the day. I know I would be super stressed and exhausted -
ReplyDelete