Here's a question for you: how do you
know when you're making the right decision? This is one I've been
puzzling over for the past week because Tom and I have made a big
one.
On February 4th 2013 we are
heading off to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to try our luck at being
English teachers. The teaching gig is really a means to an end,
allowing us to explore South East Asia for the next year or so. In
saying that though, I'm pretty excited about dusting off the cobwebs
in my brain and learning some completely new skills….all while on a
one way ticket.
We've been told to expect a huge
workload for the course we're doing. It's called the CELTA and is
essentially four weeks of classes, lesson planning and soaking up as
much information as humanly possible about how to teach English as a
second language.
The schools are fully English speaking,
so students aren't allowed to speak in their native tongue. This
means that our complete and utter lack of knowledge about the
Vietnamese language won't be too much of an issue (inside the
classroom at least!).
The course runs Monday to Friday from
around eight in the morning till five or six. On top of this, each
night you're expected to do three to four hours of homework and
around six hours on the weekend. Combine this with a completely
foreign environment, add in a generous splash of humidity, dash of
insane scooter driving traffic and stir together with rich history
until you have a nice wee brew of culture shock.
Yes it's scary but also incredibly
exciting. My heart is thumping just writing about it and I'm so
grateful to know that Tom will be there as support. One thing is for
sure, this is going to test our relationship. In fact I think we can
bank on quite a bit of testing over there, educational and otherwise.
I'm trying to mentally gear myself up
for the move but I know that nothing can really prepare me for how
I'm going to feel. Lately I can't stop thinking about everything
we'll be missing out on back home. Watching all the gorgeous engaged
couples we know share their first kiss as husband and wife. Hanging
out with our beautiful nieces and nephews as they learn to walk, have
birthdays and grow ridiculously fast. Spending precious time with
Grandparents..the list goes on. Makes a solid case for doing your OE
straight out of school!
In saying that though, it finally feels
like the time is right for us to take the plunge. Turns out that
travel isn't something you just get out of your system. Ever since I
got back from backpacking around Europe I've felt this kind of
unrest. Traveling really puts the world into perspective and makes
you realise just how much there is to see and experience out there.
So there are the two sides of the coin-
what's out there to experience and what we'll miss out on back in NZ.
Brings me back to my initial question, the one about knowing whether
making such a big life decision like this is the right one...
After a lot of thought, I've decided
that there is no right path. Life is kind of like one of those 'pick
a path' books we all rushed to get first from the library in primary
school. The point is that you just don't know if you've made the
right decision. Which is a good thing really, because finding out is an adventure in itself.
