Just like any woman, I can and will change my mind. I wanted to give a quick update on my teaching plans for China. I have backed out of the deal. It just wasn’t feeling right for me. I could not relate to the material. Heck I never remember in school having to remember the structure of a sentence. Of course I remember the biggies……….verbs, nouns, pronouns, prepositions, and adjectives. But I just don’t recall learning what an article, a determiner and a quantifier means in a sentence.
I was informed that I would be teaching 5-classes each day and the students would range in age from 4-14 years old. Not so bad, but one class might be 4-6 year old, then next 7-8, and then the next 12-14 year olds, and so on; all requiring different material. I didn’t feel doing an on-line course would give me the confidence to do this job well. And I don’t do anything unless I can excel at it.
I love my life here in Antigua! I feel I will return next year and possibly set-up a spa/massage business.
Now I am looking at a 3-week in person training TEFL Class in India, then immediately follows a 3-month internship. I want to do a short internship program so see if I do really like teaching. This way I don’t have to find work on my own and expect to get a one year contract, when I don’t even know if I will like being an English teacher. So this makes perfect sense to me. I feel the in-person training will make a world of difference verses just on–line training. I have planned to go to India anyway, so this might be the class for me. I’m looking at returning to Houston in late July for about 3-weeks. I’ll get my visa all sorted out then take off to India by the last week in August. I plan to stay in India for 6-months. From there, I may go to see an old friend in Brisbane, Australia.
Showing posts with label Antigua blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antigua blog. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Look out Rachel and Julia
Oops….....Julia Child is dead already! Tom, my best friend and I started cooking class at a new restaurant called Chef Pierre’s Bistro and Bread. We have committed to 4-lessons for the next month.
The cost amounts to approximately $18.50 per class or a total of 600 Q for the month. It's a deal! The restaurant is closed on Mondays’ so we had it all to ourselves, the two of us plus Chef Pierre. I brought a lovely bottle of Malbec for the night. I drank most of it myself being the lush I am, but the chef did have one glass.
Pierre has this new restaurant. Tom and I were one of his first customers. Chef is from Montreal, and was professionally trained in Toronto. He was here on vacation and was discovered by an affluent family while traveling. They loved his cooking and set him up in business in Antigua. I have to admit, he does some pretty creative dishes. When was the last time you had an iguana burger?
The evening lasted over 3-hours. For our first lesson, we learned French Classic Cuisine. We started with learning to make a basic chicken stock. Then a pesto sauce, a virgin tomato sauce, balsamic oil and vinegar dressing, Eggplant Napoleon, and the finale was a vegetable soup. I had so much fun and the dinner was delicious. We even got our own apron’s to take home. Several comments were made about my abilities with a knife. I I complain becuase there are no left-handed knives! hehe I've always been afraid of knives because I got cut a few times when I was a child. I have the scars to prove it. I also was not so artisitc with my garnishing. I'm good with colors and creativity, but once again, if I have to use a knife, I tend to butcher things. For others garnishing techniques, we poured cream and pesto sauce from a plastic like ketchup bottle, but for me the opening was too large and I made a mess.
One of our additional lessons will be traditional Guatemalan Cooking. I’m excited about my new hobby.
My life here is pretty full and rewarding. I am blessed.
The cost amounts to approximately $18.50 per class or a total of 600 Q for the month. It's a deal! The restaurant is closed on Mondays’ so we had it all to ourselves, the two of us plus Chef Pierre. I brought a lovely bottle of Malbec for the night. I drank most of it myself being the lush I am, but the chef did have one glass.
Pierre has this new restaurant. Tom and I were one of his first customers. Chef is from Montreal, and was professionally trained in Toronto. He was here on vacation and was discovered by an affluent family while traveling. They loved his cooking and set him up in business in Antigua. I have to admit, he does some pretty creative dishes. When was the last time you had an iguana burger?
The evening lasted over 3-hours. For our first lesson, we learned French Classic Cuisine. We started with learning to make a basic chicken stock. Then a pesto sauce, a virgin tomato sauce, balsamic oil and vinegar dressing, Eggplant Napoleon, and the finale was a vegetable soup. I had so much fun and the dinner was delicious. We even got our own apron’s to take home. Several comments were made about my abilities with a knife. I I complain becuase there are no left-handed knives! hehe I've always been afraid of knives because I got cut a few times when I was a child. I have the scars to prove it. I also was not so artisitc with my garnishing. I'm good with colors and creativity, but once again, if I have to use a knife, I tend to butcher things. For others garnishing techniques, we poured cream and pesto sauce from a plastic like ketchup bottle, but for me the opening was too large and I made a mess.
One of our additional lessons will be traditional Guatemalan Cooking. I’m excited about my new hobby.
My life here is pretty full and rewarding. I am blessed.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Here's a clip from a recent thread on The Lonely Planet (Gap Year & Around the World Teavel) Forum I responded to:
Seeking thoughts, advice and wisdom for long term travel
Hello everyone,
I'm 39 year old and still haven't shaken the travel bug. I've backpacked across Europe and South East Asia at separate points in my life but I still feel I'm not done exploring. I'm considering packing it all in and taking off until the money runs dry (possibly 18 months if I'm lucky). My concerns are the following and would appreciate any advice you can offer:
1. Family- I don't have any kids and only a collection of ex-girlfreinds but I am exremely close to my immediate family. My parents are getting up there in age and if something were to happen to them I don't if I could forgive myself for not being there.
2. Returning to work after a long break. I am a little concerned of the perception employers may have of a 40 year old man with an extended gap from the last job. I am curious as to what type of reception you received from prospective employers especially from older travelers like myself getting back in to the workforce. I have a MBA and tons of experience in my field but it still leaves me a bit uneasy due to the uncertainty.
************************************************************************************
AND MY RESPONSE:
I think once you’ve gotten the travel bug, it is a permanent inflicted ailment for which there is no recovery.
Companies should acknowledge world travel as an invaluable life experience. I would add it to your resume. You learn skills at becoming a self reliant, confident and an independent thinking individual.
My first trip abroad was when I was 16. I spent a summer in Singapore. Backpacked across Europe alone at 18, and have since taken 2 solo trips around the world with numerous one month jaunts in between. I made a mistake and got married and was miserable with the whole normal life. I had bouts of being satisfied with my travel and being home, but the bug has always come back.
At 52, I’m back at it. I’ve sold everything I own, and of course I too worry about what will happen when the funds run out. Luckily, I have a skill set where I can easily find work. In the past, I worked in retirement communities and I saw couples scrimp and save their entire lives so they could travel when they retired. Invariably one would die, or the other would be inflicted with a disease so they never got to travel. Sure they had the funds to live in this beautiful retirement community but they never got to see the world.
My father died at 50 of a massive heart attack. These two things made a big impression on me and how I live my life today. I may be a bag lady in my 70’s, but boy will I have the memories and some wild stories to share! Do it now, life is truly too short! One you have a good career, you’ll buy a house, get in debt, have children, and then in becomes increasing difficult to fulfill those travel desires.
My only regret is I have never had someone to share my travel lifestyle with!
Seeking thoughts, advice and wisdom for long term travel
Hello everyone,
I'm 39 year old and still haven't shaken the travel bug. I've backpacked across Europe and South East Asia at separate points in my life but I still feel I'm not done exploring. I'm considering packing it all in and taking off until the money runs dry (possibly 18 months if I'm lucky). My concerns are the following and would appreciate any advice you can offer:
1. Family- I don't have any kids and only a collection of ex-girlfreinds but I am exremely close to my immediate family. My parents are getting up there in age and if something were to happen to them I don't if I could forgive myself for not being there.
2. Returning to work after a long break. I am a little concerned of the perception employers may have of a 40 year old man with an extended gap from the last job. I am curious as to what type of reception you received from prospective employers especially from older travelers like myself getting back in to the workforce. I have a MBA and tons of experience in my field but it still leaves me a bit uneasy due to the uncertainty.
************************************************************************************
AND MY RESPONSE:
I think once you’ve gotten the travel bug, it is a permanent inflicted ailment for which there is no recovery.
Companies should acknowledge world travel as an invaluable life experience. I would add it to your resume. You learn skills at becoming a self reliant, confident and an independent thinking individual.
My first trip abroad was when I was 16. I spent a summer in Singapore. Backpacked across Europe alone at 18, and have since taken 2 solo trips around the world with numerous one month jaunts in between. I made a mistake and got married and was miserable with the whole normal life. I had bouts of being satisfied with my travel and being home, but the bug has always come back.
At 52, I’m back at it. I’ve sold everything I own, and of course I too worry about what will happen when the funds run out. Luckily, I have a skill set where I can easily find work. In the past, I worked in retirement communities and I saw couples scrimp and save their entire lives so they could travel when they retired. Invariably one would die, or the other would be inflicted with a disease so they never got to travel. Sure they had the funds to live in this beautiful retirement community but they never got to see the world.
My father died at 50 of a massive heart attack. These two things made a big impression on me and how I live my life today. I may be a bag lady in my 70’s, but boy will I have the memories and some wild stories to share! Do it now, life is truly too short! One you have a good career, you’ll buy a house, get in debt, have children, and then in becomes increasing difficult to fulfill those travel desires.
My only regret is I have never had someone to share my travel lifestyle with!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Back in Antigua
I’ve been home several days now and getting all settled in again. I was pretty rattled the first few days back, and every time a motorcycle would drive by, I would jump. Those feelings have since past, but I still feel insecure here. I use to love walking around at night. I have to think I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s been nice this week to not have Spanish Classes. I think I will wait until have Samana Santa, Holy Week, before starting again. First time since I have been here, but I actually had one day where I had nothing going on. I slept late, wrote in my blog, and spent a lot of time at the puppy shelter. As usual I have a pretty social and busy life. I went to yoga twice this week and started working out again. My cute little legs are going to be sore.
I also had to see a dermatologist due to my skin irritation form the trip. I had a slight case of dermatitis and he also discovered a couple of pre-cancer spots that needed to be cut out. I’m glad I got it taken care of. I didn’t expect this to happen, but in the long run, I am sure it is cheaper to have it done here rather than back in the USA. Being in the sun has always been such a big part of my life. I am a true beach bum at heart. Now I need to visit and stay in more moderate climates and stay out of the mid-day sun. I’m still blessed with good skin, but I will have to be more careful now.
Ocelot had their 1-Year Anniversary Party this week and were giving away free drinks. I went with a lady friend of mine, Barb, who I met through yoga. We had a good time and it was nice to see such a mixture of people from 21-80! My........there are a lot of “old fart” ex-pats here in Antigua! I spent a good deal of the day with Barb, and we had dinner at Hector’s. This turned out to be a huge and expensive disappointment for me. I ordered grilled shrimp. It was the whole damn shrimp, head and all and in an awful Creole sauce. No rice or salad, and they charged $20 USD! Today I splurged and had a burger at Epicure with Chris my neighbor and Scott, a Spanish student.
My friend returned form the states today and brought me back new clothes. Some fit and some did not. I had ordered on-line and had them shipped to his address. He had 3-suitcases full of stuff he brought back to make life here a tad more comfortable.
It’s been nice this week to not have Spanish Classes. I think I will wait until have Samana Santa, Holy Week, before starting again. First time since I have been here, but I actually had one day where I had nothing going on. I slept late, wrote in my blog, and spent a lot of time at the puppy shelter. As usual I have a pretty social and busy life. I went to yoga twice this week and started working out again. My cute little legs are going to be sore.
I also had to see a dermatologist due to my skin irritation form the trip. I had a slight case of dermatitis and he also discovered a couple of pre-cancer spots that needed to be cut out. I’m glad I got it taken care of. I didn’t expect this to happen, but in the long run, I am sure it is cheaper to have it done here rather than back in the USA. Being in the sun has always been such a big part of my life. I am a true beach bum at heart. Now I need to visit and stay in more moderate climates and stay out of the mid-day sun. I’m still blessed with good skin, but I will have to be more careful now.
Ocelot had their 1-Year Anniversary Party this week and were giving away free drinks. I went with a lady friend of mine, Barb, who I met through yoga. We had a good time and it was nice to see such a mixture of people from 21-80! My........there are a lot of “old fart” ex-pats here in Antigua! I spent a good deal of the day with Barb, and we had dinner at Hector’s. This turned out to be a huge and expensive disappointment for me. I ordered grilled shrimp. It was the whole damn shrimp, head and all and in an awful Creole sauce. No rice or salad, and they charged $20 USD! Today I splurged and had a burger at Epicure with Chris my neighbor and Scott, a Spanish student.
My friend returned form the states today and brought me back new clothes. Some fit and some did not. I had ordered on-line and had them shipped to his address. He had 3-suitcases full of stuff he brought back to make life here a tad more comfortable.
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