My Adventures and Travels

I think the hardest thing about this move is that I'm trying to do 3 really hard things at the same time. 1. Adjust to a whole new country, including the language. 2. Find a place to live, furnish said place, and move in, and 3. Change jobs and get a new classroom all set up for the school year. All in the span of about 2 weeks. It's all really exciting but very stressful too. For starters, even when I moved into my first apartment, I had SOME stuff. Here I am buying absolutely everything you need to furnish a place, which unfortunately here also includes a stove and fridge. So because of that I'm still staying in the hotel, but should be moved out in the next day or two. Also the hotel does my laundry, and I kind of hate doing laundry, so why leave? Last week I spent *very* little time in my classroom because I was so busy looking for a place. This week I'm pretty busy getting settled in my class...I mean it's Wednesday night and school starts Monday, yikes! ...

When I first got here, there were some initial things that had to be figured out as far as housing. The teachers already here were already established in their places (or had done "dibs" on a place of someone leaving!) so we new teachers had to figure things out. Who would live alone? Who would have roommates? Who would the roommates be? Anyway I was kind of undecided on whether I'd rather live alone or with others, but it worked out better to get my own place. And I couldn't be happier with it! It is within walking distance of the school, but there's also a bus line a couple blocks away that stops RIGHT in front of the school (for those rainy or extra hot days). Here are some pictures and explanations! Also, so it's not just a repeat of what I post on Facebook, here's the story of getting my keys and meeting my landlord. Yesterday, when I closed on the place, I signed a contract and handed over a bunch of money and got the address to get keys from...tha...

I know many of you think I'm here for an extended, 2-year vacation. The truth of the matter is, I am also here to teach! I found out awhile ago that I don't make enough money to just travel all the time, but I can see a lot of the world by working. So I'll dedicate this post to writing about the school. The disclaimer first: I've only been here a week, the other teachers have not returned, let alone the students. Maybe it's just the honeymoon period. However, I've been nothing but impressed by how the school has treated us and really helped us get adjusted to life here. Things that can be intimidating, and take days even if you *do* speak the language well, have been pretty easy. They've helped with stuff like setting up bank accounts, applying for a work visa, and getting a functional cell phone. The focus of this first week is to find housing, and they find places online, contact realtors, and set up appointments. Everything has been extremely organized....

Well, it's been a whirlwind week but I feel I'm adjusting well and moving toward getting settled. Getting here took a long time...27 hours, but no delays and crying babies were at a minimum. It would've been much faster to fly direct from Miami, but then we couldn't have brought all the bags we did. You'll notice I'm going to write a lot of this post in the plural form, because since I got to Sao Paulo, or even Miami, I've been part of a group! I don't think anyone wants to read about this flight and that layover, so I'll skip ahead to my arrival here! Almost the whole group arrived in Asuncion together, and the teacher liaison and elementary principal met us at the airport. I got my visa ahead of time in the US so getting through customs was a breeze! All my bags arrived, yay, and we headed over to the hotel. My first impression was of all the green and trees, even from the air. Winter here looks very different from Colorado! Another thing I not...