I never thought God could be a comedian, but through this process, I felt like God had a sense of humor! Last Wednesday I had my phone interview. The next few days I had a roller coaster of emotions. I was overwhelmed with trying to decide if I could actually make the jump to do this-- the low salary was very scary, being away from my family and my best friend, living in a big city by myself...
Friday evening I actually submitted two applications for special ed positions, I guess basically as fall-backs. Saturday morning I got an email asking for an interview from one of the schools. My lovely neighbor (a.k.a. the bar-- which I didn't know it was there when I moved here) was having their lovely Alumni dance Saturday night, and I didn't want to have to listen to loud music till 2 a.m., so I spent the night with close friends in Lawrence. This ended up being a huge blessing for me. Thanks to them, I was able to talk and process out whether or not I should go. I went to church with them the next morning, and in the middle of church I leaned over and told my friend, "I'm going to do this!" I had made the decision to go! After church my friend's neighbor came over, who actually was from DR, and had been in the states for 7 years, and I was able to talk with her for over two hours asking questions about living there. She is in her 50's and had lived in Santiago till she was 14, and then after that was living in the capital city. It was really good to talk with her and hear her interpretation, but it also brought up a lot of anxiety about the decision! As I left their house, I checked my voice mail and I had a voice mail from the other school, asking for a interview!
I had to get groceries, and then after I got home I called my best friend, with my anxiety level being really high. Talking with her really helped, and brought me back "down," and I felt a lot better about the decision. The next step was telling my family (my parent's), and I was really worried about telling them. What parent wants to hear that their single daughter is going to live in a foreign country for 2 years?? When I called and told them, they were surprisingly okay (which I hope is still the case! LOL) with my decision-- which I feel like is an answer to prayer as well. After that I called my brother and told him, and he was happy for me as well. After that I emailed my principal and told her I was taking the position-- which I thought I was officially accepting-- but I later found out that it wasn't official yet, b/c they needed my reference forms back first.
I had my timeline of how I wanted things to go, but of course it didn't go the way I wanted! I didn't feel like I could officially resign Monday, so I waited. Monday after school I had a voice mail-- this is where the sense of humor I felt really came to play-- I checked my voice mail as I was driving home from school (yes I know I probably shouldn't be doing that while I'm driving), and I had a voice mail from KU wanting an interview!! I literally said out loud, "Seriously God??? What are you trying to do to me???" And I was actually laughing about it! Working at KU has been a dream of mine for a really long time--not teaching, but working in something sped related. I had applied for jobs at KU before, and wasn't even looked at, most likely b/c I didn't have college experience. The job I had applied for (and thinking that I wouldn't get) was for an Accessibility Specialist-- it didn't require college experience-- former sped teachers that have worked with students with disabilities and assessment-- which fit me to a T!
The fact that God had opened so many doors for me, made the decision to leave my current job a tiny bit easier (but not entirely)-- and I knew it was time to leave, but it made it again overwhelming to what to decide. I still was leaning toward the DR job though. Though I remember saying after I had decided to take the DR job, that the only way I would pass up the DR job was if I got the KU job (though I hadn't gotten the interview yet).
Tuesday we had a half-day of school, and by the afternoon, I felt the urge to resign, b/c I needed a little bit of closure of being with my co-workers, and having them know. I don't know how many times I checked my email, waiting for the "official" word that I indeed have the job. They were waiting on my references to send back the forms, as that was required before they could make an offer. Wednesday morning I got the email I was waiting for, and it was finally official! (See previous post for the email). I knew my decision was the right one, but I'm still a bit sad about KU (but who know if I will even get the job, let alone whether it'll be something that I'd want to do). I am still going to do the KU interview, merely as way of "getting my foot in the door." I'm hoping that this would be a way of remembering me if I were to apply/interview with them ever again.
I am now just waiting on my expired passport (laying on my couch, drinking coffee, trying to relax) that my parent's had to overnight to me, so I can surrender that for when I go apply for my new passport. This experience so far has been both physically and mentally exhausting, and my house probably shows it! LOL
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