Thursday, March 11, 2004

G'day.

Well I've been getting a lot of good feedback about the Kuwait thing, so that has been nice to hear. That being said, I've certainly been on an emotional rollercoaster the past few days, up, down, and all around. I know it is what I want to do, but occasionally a sense of "buyer's remorse-style" feelings creep into my noggin. To be expected I suppose.

Busy this week, even without the decision to move to the Middle East. Work, papers etc. But I'm not the only one.

I'm thinking about growing the beard out for the summer. What do you all think?

Well I thought I had more to rant about today, but I'm running low on ideas. Sorry. I'll try to post something a little more exciting in the next day or two. Hope this finds you well.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 7:07 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Monday, March 08, 2004

Change on the Horizon

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have a rather interesting announcement to make. As some of you know, I interviewed for a teaching position in Kuwait near the end of January. Well, as it turns out, I made the grade and have been offered a teaching position in Kuwait City for the 2004-2005 school year. I have accepted this offer, although not without a lot of serious thought.

I will be teaching at A Takamul School, which is a school of about 1200 kids from grades 1 to 12. The curriculum is taken from Fairfax County, Virginia, which is recognized as one of the best in the Western world. Essentially this is a western school catering to Kuwaiti children. This is a very well to do school, as they recently opened a new facility, complete with two gyms, swimming pool, smart classrooms etc. I will be teaching high school English and Social Studies, as well as coaching basketball.

My salary is modest, but tax free, which makes it quite attractive. As well, I am provided with a free apartment, health coverage, round-trip annual airfare to Canada, and free transportation for the first two months. As well, they pay for my initial flight over there. The perks are rather sweet, to say the least.

I interviewed with the Superintendent of the school, who is an Albertan and used to be a superintendent here in Alberta. As well, the school hired 4 U of A education graduates last year. The faculty is made up of teachers from all over the world, including Canada, the US, Kuwait, the UK, and Thailand. An eclectic bunch, I'd imagine.

I did not come to this decision lightly, and in fact I have known about the offer for the past two weeks or so. Megan is happy but sad, excited but worried, and I guess I can say the same. My family (and Megans) have been extremely supportive, which has made this decision a little easier to make. The fact is that I would most likely not have been teaching in Edmonton in September, so we had kind of prepared for some distance in between us. Kuwait is quite a distance, but I truly believe that this is an opportunity not to be missed.

I will be in Kuwait for one year, minimum. Provided I do not beat any kids or create an international incident, there is a good chance that my contract will be renewed. I have committed myself to one year, and after that, who knows? I will take my time and get a feel for the school, the culture, and the entire experience and cross (or not cross) that bridge if I come to it.

So that is about it. Provided all the paperwork goes through, this looks like I will land in the Middle East by August 25. I am a little scared, a little excited, and somewhat overwhelmed by it all. I will keep in touch and send pictures, and most likely the blog, or a version thereof, will continue to exist. I hope this does not shock you too much and, well, thanks for reading. Take care of yourselves.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 8:14 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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