Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

My life seems to be perpetually changing. I don't care for change, really. Who does? But some of us do a bit better with changes coming our way. Or we choose them when we decide it's time.

Some changes in my life, I chose. Others, I fought off like the pest. Yet others, I simply accepted.

I chose to leave Kenya almost 2 years ago.

I wouldn't have minded not to leave Taiwan this summer, but career-wise, it was the right thing to do. I had gotten a really great job at a really great school in downtown Jakarta.

And so, a month into my new job, just when my 2-year-olds had gotten used to me and I to teaching really little ones, I was presented with a need at our school, which meant changes in my world, again.

Someone from our other campus (in the suburbs) had been asked to come to our campus to fill an interim position as principal. (Our principal had originally only agreed to get the school going and was supposed to have been back in Australia by the summer.) Which left the other person's position vacant. It's a K1 position--what we called KA in Taiwan, or what other schools call pre-Kindergarten. It's what I taught in Taiwan.

So I've been asked to move to our suburban campus (a huge, beautiful campus!) to take on that position. At our city campus, they will combine the three nursery classes into two.

Seeing that I do not wish to spend hours on the road every day along with 3 million other commuters (read: major traffic congestion), I will be moving to a home close to school.

I'll start my new job on Monday, and I'll move as soon as I have curtains and furniture for my new house.

Though I really didn't anticipate having to face changes at this stage, I can honestly say that I am happy to be working with 4-year-olds again, to be able to use the experience I gained in Taiwan and build upon that. For the educators: Ours is an IB school, and we follow the Primary Years Program, which is new to me, but it'll be great to learn and gain PYP experience!

I am sad to leave my young'uns in the city. In the month I've spent with them, they've crept into my heart. I'm sad to leave the entire nursery team, as we've grown into a strong teaching team with a united vision for our kids. But working with 4-year-olds will be a more appropriate challenge for me, so I am also excited about the changes ahead.

What a journey! Never a dull moment, eh?