Madrid, Spain

I got the news yesterday that I have been accepted to the EBC TEFL/TESOL training program in Madrid, Spain! Now I don't know if being accepted is that big of a deal because I am not sure how picky they are, but it is a big deal for me! Anyone who knows me knows of my ambitions to travel and live abroad for a while, so this gives me a great opportunity to do just that.

For those of you who don't know, TEFL means Teaching English as a Foreign Language. The EBC program last 4-weeks and at the completion I am certified to teach English as a foreign/second language. That means I am eligible/capable/certified to teach English in any language school pretty much worldwide! I would like to stay in Europe...maybe somewhere like Barcelona, Sevilla, Porto, or even Amsterdam! I won't be that picky. I mean if I get a job, I get a job. If I don't stay in Europe, then who knows.


Substitute teaching has really enhanced my need to travel. I see all of these kids that can only see what is in front of their face. They don't know there is a whole world out there to see. They think life in Traverse City is how life is everywhere else in the world. I don't want to live like that.

Wrestling is almost over. I'm sure I'll miss it once it is over, but I am just so exhausted. It has been a great experience though - watching the kids grow and improve and forming relationships with the kids has been my favorite part. They are all great. Sometimes I feel more like a friend than coach, but I think that is okay because we have other coaches who are strictly coaches.

Wandering

I am a wander. Or, at least I want to be. When I returned from my Pacific trip I was ballooned with such a passion and determination to continue traveling and learning about myself, people and places.

That balloon has become deflated. My debt, and thus, a necessity to work has pin-holed it. I have also seemed to fall back in the routine of my life pre-Micronesia - the routine I hoped to escape when I returned.

Thank goodness for Adam traveling and working in India. He is blogging about his experience there and each email seems to inflate said passions about traveling.

The biggest problem is my complacency. I work and coach all day. After coaching, Harvey from Celebrity Fit Club (aka Josh) pushes me to go the gym. When I get home I just eat and play video games instead of doing things that need to be done in order for me to travel.

I don't think I am completely set on the Peace Corps. It's not that I am any less passionate about it, I just want to explore all of my opportunities to be abroad. Apparently there are tons of opportunities for college graduates to work abroad, I just need to discover them.

I am a little torn. The Peace Corps offers me the chance to really immerse myself within a different culture while affording me the opportunity to contribute socially. It is much more of a true and giving experience than, say, getting a job in Anywhere, Europe. At the same time, there are places in the world I really want to see and events I really want to experience, and the Peace Corps may not necessarily offer this opportunity (for example, an EPL game, Carnival, or Christ the Redeemer).

I think my best bet will be to just apply for anything, be open minded, and start to pinpoint what I want to do.