Sunday, July 24, 2011

First posting -- 3 1/2 days before departure

I am remarkably at peace right now. The butterflies have settled down. Sivan and Amali have been terrific about packing and getting their rooms ready. They are making as much time as possible to visit with their friends. I played ultimate frisbee this morning and played my best game in years, even though I probably slept only 3 hours last night.
There is still a lot to do to finish packing and getting the house ready for the tenants. Becky left this morning for South Africa. She will be there two weeks with two dozen teachers, courtesy of Toyota, after which she will return to Albuquerque for five days with her parents. She will join us in Hanoi on August 17, two days after the girls start their school year at Hanoi International School.
Let me step back a bit for those who don't know what we are doing this coming year. Last fall, Becky and I decided that our dream of taking our family abroad for a year was beginning to slip away. It was now or never. We talked to our school administrators and family and decided to try. We created very professional looking .pdfs with a joint cover letter, personal statements, resumes, and rec letters and sent them out to about 200 schools. It was an arduous and totally fruitless effort. The schools that had jobs either wanted a 2 year minimum commitment or required that we fly off to San Francisco or Des Moines to interview at job fairs. Then my friend Stephanie, who teaches at Albuquerque Academy, told me about School Year Abroad -- a one-year program for American high school students. I sent our application and after a couple skype interviews was offered a position. From there life has been an intense sequence of logistical and emotional preparation.
Getting my classroom cleaned up for my replacement (a packrat like me can accumulate at lot of junk in 14 years). Getting our house ready for renting (lots of deferred maintenance could no longer be deferred). Preparing curricula -- I'll be teaching AP Environmental Science and AP Economics. Getting all the bills automated, getting all the stuff we need, etc. etc. etc...
After a trip to NYC to say goodbye to my family, we returned to Albuquerque. Becky flew to South Africa for 2 weeks while we got the packing and house work finished. Becky will return to Albuquerque for 5 days and then join us on August 17.
(Most of this blog was written 3 days before we left, but the last few short paragraphs were finished after setting up my internet in our Hanoi Apartment. The trip and first night will be the subjects of my next blog).

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