If you know me, then you probably know that I've always dreamed of traveling and living abroad. Well, upon graduating I immediately immersed myself in applications to teach outside the USA. The response was instantaneous. I connected to an agency that was interested in representing me and was thrown right into an interview.
It was June, only one month after graduating and I had my first interview. The school asked questions, allowed me to ask questions, and we seemed to click. They offered me the position of a Kindergarten 2 teacher on the spot. After letting the informations sink in and wrap around my head for a week, I sent in my acceptance offer and proceeded to prepare documents.
If you're considering the opportunity to teach abroad, make sure you consider what that means you need to have done. I was NOT prepared in the slightest to begin my journey on gathering all of my documents. It began difficult and ended difficult for me. I was already working two summer jobs, which didn't allow me much 'business hours' times available. I ended up having to resign from one job to allow my schedule to be open on some business days.
Documentation goes like this (especially if you live in NJ):
1. You must have all documents notarized (luckily my sister works with people who are notaries)
2. You must have documents certified by your state department. Hello trip to Trenton NJ.
3. The US State Department must also certify documents. Again, hello Washington DC trip.
4. and lastly, the Embassy of the country you're visiting. (TIP: try to plan your trip around Holidays, because they WILL be closed during holidays that you may not celebrate in the US)
Once you've run your mind crazy over all of that, then it's time to pack! Something that I've only just thought of with a week left to go before my departure to the sandbox! I've barely had a minute to breathe through all these complications.
So, now I am down to the last few moments of stress before I board a 16 hour flight to Kuwait...to actually live out my dream of living and teaching abroad; starting my first year as a new teacher. Is this real life? Someone pinch me.
