A Pinky Toe in the Door

Shortly after my last blog post that begged future employers to read between the lines of my resume and give me a "pinky toe (as opposed to a whole foot) in the door," I received that crack in the door that I needed.

It wasn't an easy decision, but I am SO EXCITED to finally announce that.....

I'M MOVING BACK TO COSTA RICA!!!!

Yep, here we go...AGAIN. How many times is this now? Four, in case you're wondering. Not only that, but....

I'M GOING TO BE AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER THERE!!!

Whoooohooo!!! So here are the details.

Who: Academy del Sol (School of the sun. Perfect.) It's a private, bilingual school with expat and local families.
Where: Nosara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, I will be on the Pacific coast, on the northern Nicoya Peninsula. (Last time, I was on the southern Osa Peninsula).
What: PreK/Kinder social studies and language arts and 1st-3rd grade English, math, and science. (Sound familiar? ha)
When: I will land in Costa Rica next Thursday and spend a much needed weekend with Paco before starting work in Nosara on Oct. 28th.
How: Google, email, Kayak.com, Facebook, Sacramento, plane, Atlanta, car, Auburn, plane, San Jose, bus, Nosara. In that order.

And the biggest question: WHY. I have a job here in California, right?

To answer as candidly as possible, I am unhappy here. I came into this chapter of my journey with high hopes to teach, live, and learn about alternative lifestyles. Teaching a Farm to Table class and helping with field trips and working with my hands, outside in the beautiful weather, sounded nice. Quakerism would be an added twist to this wonderful adventure. This experience was supposed to be rich and challenging but instead, I am finding that this is not at all what I was looking for.

Unfortunately, there was miscommunication or misunderstanding somewhere along the line, and it turns out that I am only teaching one hour....yes, ONE. HOUR. per week, if that. If I add up all the hours, that means about 8-9 hours a semester. That's what one teacher gets in a day or two! Career-wise, that's just not going to cut it. While I appreciate high school students for some reasons, I've learned that my true calling is with the young minds. At that age, they light up the room with young curiosity, laughter, raw potential, spontaneity, earnestness, and creativity - all of these things you can find in high schoolers, but there is just something about kids' earnestness that captivates me! That's why I love teaching elementary grades, and it took that being absent for me to realize it.

Life here is also challenging in a way a didn't expect - working, living, and playing on the same campus with virtually no contact with "the outside world" turned out to be harder for independent me than I expected. I miss going and doing and seeing new things all the time. I also like to be able to separate work and play, and again, it took me not having that freedom to realize how important it was to me.

However, it hasn't all been bad. I learned to play soccer here, which I really am surprised I like so much. I doubled my knowledge about plants and farming, and I hate to admit that I have even adopted a Quaker practice or two! Haha! I have met people here that are very special, few and far between - I've learned about myself and the world around me through big conversations and teamwork with them. The community has been nothing but supportive, especially in this decision process, and I feel quite guilty for leaving them, especially Maggie who really needs my help in the garden. I learned about many things that I value, and I learned that I want to make those things a priority.

 I go on these huge, crazy, life adventures in search of an amazing life that fuels my passion for teaching, learning, cooking, exploring, loving, growing, and being healthy, and although this process right now is hectic and makes me want to panic and run away into Lalaland, I have to remind myself why I am making this leap of faith yet again. I have never felt as happy, healthy, and whole as I have living in Costa Rica (especially this last time!), and I hope that is how I will feel again. I can't wait to meet my kiddos and coworkers and new friends, and it will be nice being closer to at least one person I love. I will be near the beach and surfing too. Plus, there will be more bananas, pineapple, coconuts, AVOCADOS, and Gallo Pinto than I can eat, and the coffee snob in me will once again be satisfied.

The best part? My new school has the best extracurricular clubs maybe ever. Every Friday, students get out at noon, teachers plan for a couple hours, and then everyone meets up at the beach for SURF CLUB!! A local surf shop lets us borrow boards so we can all enjoy an afternoon of surfing. EVERY WEEK. Yes, please.

So, I leave tomorrow to go back home to repack and visit family and friends for a couple days. Then, I will fly to San Jose and visit with Paco  for a long weekend before taking the bus to Nosara. Hopefully, I'll have housing secured by then, and I will move in and start work the next day. My students will arrive on November 3rd, and I am so excited, nervous, and anxious, and I want to hug them all already! My very first, real, First Day of School.

And here we go again.....
PURA VIDA

What Resumes Don't Tell You

Humor the teacher inside me and raise your hand if you are a recent graduate and can't find a job to save your life. You are applying for jobs like it's your job. You maybe even have not one, but TWO degrees that you slaved over for, in my case, 18 out of 23 years of my life...which, if you do the math you learned in school that won't help you get a job either, equals approximately 78% of my life. Your resume is littered with relevant jobs here and there - literally, for our generation is traveling more than any other before us. You've nit-picked your resume and rewritten enough cover letters to deem yourself a professional cover-letter-writer (and you're now thinking, "Can that go on my resume??"). You just don't understand....WHEN will someone take a chance on you?!

Trust me, I've been there, done that...or...well...live there, do that all the time. When will someone looks at my piece of paper that outlines a fraction of my life (aka: my resume), and say "There's got to be more than this. A simple piece of paper cannot begin to describe what this girl is capable of, even though she's 24 years old and never worked somewhere for more than 6 months at a time. I think she can be a life changer."

Please, just put me in a classroom and give me a long leash to teach how and what I want, and most importantly what the kids want, and I know you won't regret it. Just crack the door so I can stick my little pinky toe in. That's all I need. A pinky toe in the door.

But that's the problem. Our society relies too much on that little piece of paper...a completely non-exhaustive list of the "relevant experiences" you've had along your still blossoming career path. What if employers were able to read between the lines? What if they saw the intense journeys in between those minimum-wage jobs that changed your entire inner being? In truth, resumes don't tell you much.

For one, resumes don't tell my potential employer about the path I took to become a teacher in the first place. They can never illustrate the dusty, paint-chipped, cinder block walls of the first, over-crowded classroom I ever taught in, the holey uniforms and rot-spotted teeth of my students, or my acute disquiet as I tried to teach English in a Spanish only classroom even though I spoke about five words of Spanish. This volunteer experience may have only lasted two (painful) weeks, but it changed my entire career path.



Resumes won't tell you the stories of each student who sat in my classroom in Puerto Jimenez. On that piece of paper, you won't find the inspiration I was able to squeeze out of my most difficult students. Those four intense months of teaching were pivotal to me, and the freedom I had in teaching allowed to me discover my true teaching style. I thrived in my passion for teaching there....But oh, you won't find that under "summary of responsibilities" section on my resume (although maybe I should try that...).

Read aloud for 3rd-6th graders

Resumes don't show you the intestinal fortitude it took to climb up one of the world's highest active volcanoes to get to the glacier, hike that glacier with crampons and ice picks in white-out conditions, or the pride I felt afterwards, nor will they show you the smiles on the faces of the beautiful people you met, helped, and overcame the language barrier with along the way. They also don't show the courage it takes you to overcome a fear of heights while repelling down a 100 foot waterfall.

Hiking the glacier on Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Repelling Ecuadorian jungle waterfalls

Resumes may outline job experience, but they will never outline the internal transformation that accompanied those experiences. I may have been a dolphin tour guide in Costa Rica, but no words on any piece of paper can describe the awe, curiosity, care, and patience that comes with witnessing Mother Nature's greatness first hand (remember those close-call waterspouts?!), introducing guests to the wonders of our Earth, helping others overcome their fears, or challenging passengers to make wiser, sustainable choices. Those moments are the ones that allow me to be enthusiastic about an elementary science lesson, and they are also the moments that inspire me to delve deeper in the realm of sustainability.

Sea Cucumber

Waterspout

Sometimes, lesson plans can be overwhelming, but I am able to overcome obstacles. If my resume allowed examples, my employer might know that I have hiked Sallqantay in the Andes up to 15,5091 feet on my way to Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail. My body hurt so bad I questioned whether I would finish, but I did. Then, when I stepped out of my comfortable life as a student to pursue a teaching job off in the unknown jungles of Costa Rica, I questioned if I could do it, but the results have been rewarding and life changing. I can step up to challenges in and out of the classroom, but I doubt my resume says so.

Sallqantay, Cordillo Vilcabamba, Peru

We made it to Machu Picchu (it's behind me..)

Remember the time you pushed past your limits to reach greatness? You gained a better sense of yourself and showed determination in reaching a goal? Those moments of courage and determination...I wonder if they're is listed on your resume?

Don't employers want to know that their candidates are motivated, goal-oriented, and determined? Often employers are seeking "passionate team players" and "experienced employees."  How in the world does a list of my past jobs express that better than my true stories. Employers may see that I volunteered in Ecuador or worked abroad in Costa Rica, but what about all the things that come with that?

In closing and in my opinion, resumes can't even begin to describe who we are as humans and why we are suitable for this job or that internship. Only WE can do that. Our experiences define us, yes, but ALL of them do, not just the ones suitable for listing on a resume.

To those future employers, know that I am more than a few four-month job stints in far flung places; I am everything that comes with that - passion, enthusiasm, hard work, motivation, determination, courage, self-awareness, and positivity. In fact, my experiences do define me, so when you read my resume, please read between the lines.