Wanderlust Update

I think it's really interesting that the last post of my previous blog was about change and travel. How sad that it has been almost a year and I really haven't done anything about it, right?

Lets update a bit. I went to India in June for a little while; my younger sister got married. It began to rain on the day of her wedding. I was worried for her and asked her if she was OK. Her response was, "Hey! I'm having a Monsoon Wedding!" Nothing got that girl down. She looked beautiful and she was so happy!

In September, my roommate and her boyfriend quit work and moved to Boston. They are getting married in November. I truly believe that their move really hit me. They had the guts and went out there and made change happen. They kick-started their lives into action.

So in the following month, I began to look for work in NYC, Boston, San Fransisco, and the rest of the world. I did Google searches, spoke to colleagues with International experience and just tried my luck and sent resumes to schools. At the end of the month, I didn't really actively look again. I got back into the swing of things at work and wasn't upset any longer.

Come March (and this is when schools generally hire), I get an email from a school in India. The Department Head (UR) and Director of Curriculum Studies (CV) want to set up a phone interview with me. I completely freak out! What, SBT, actually act? It was ridiculous. I couldn't sleep or eat. I checked out the website again and decided to write back. I wasn't going to be rude, now!

So a time is set up (work schedules and time zones taken into consideration) for me to speak with CV. He calls me before I head out to work. He is wonderful on the phone and I was impressed. We set up a time for UR to call me; however, I missed her call but she left me a number so I called back. We spoke on the phone for an hour! We connected so well over the phone; our views on literature, teaching, and students were very similar. It was a great conversation. She then told me I would speak with DW, the Head of the School. As I put down the phone, panic set in again. I was pretty sure I was going to get the job offer and typical SBT style I started worrying about mundane crap: packing!

I spoke to my friends MR, JN, RK, NM, my sisters and my parents. I let them know the situation and they were thrilled. I wanted to know so much about the work environment in India and the surrounding area of the school. I kept fluctuating: I'll take it, no I won't....

So DW calls, he offers me the job. I negotiate terms and benefits, call my family again. Communicate with current teachers at the school (who were so enthusiastic and encouraging). Make some really tough personal decisions, more sleepless nights, a lot of calculations, and voila, I accept the job offer!

I'm going to India at the end of June!