you never know...

I was in the fourth ring of hell (Wal-Mart) to do a little grocery shopping after school today, and I stopped at the deli counter to get some turkey. Now, I never buy meat from the deli. I never buy meat, but especially not from the deli. However, today I decided I needed some cold cuts, so I pondered the fifty varieties of turkey, and finally asked the older gentleman behind the counter for a half pound of the roasted turkey. I had failed to notice the three different kinds of roast turkey...but I digress. I mentioned something to the gentleman about there being so many choices, and he said that he had lived in South America and there were not so many choices there. This then turned into a discussion of South America and Ecuador, and it was very crazy to be standing in Wal-Mart in a small town in Indiana speaking with someone who has lived on the same different continent that I will be inhabiting soon. At the end of the conversation, I told him how much I had enjoyed speaking with him, and he said something to me in Spanish. It was a little noisy behind the deli counter and so I think he said something about God being with me on my journey, but I'm not exactly sure. This scares me a bit, because if I cannot understand an American speaking Spanish in Wal-Mart, how am I going to survive in an entire country of Spanish-speakers??? I really need to get my nose to the grindstone on this brush-up Spanish program...

On another note, I received an email from the head of school in Quito saying that I will be teaching choir for grades 5-9 next year instead of the general music classes for which I was originally hired. I have to say that I am excited and a little relieved that I will be teaching something familiar instead of brand new classes and brand new grade levels. I have a feeling that with all the other changes that I will be experiencing, something not quite so foreign (no pun intended) will be much appreciated.

Startup

Well this is it--the blog I am going to use to keep connected with everyone and document my upcoming adventures teaching and living in Ecuador. Even though I'm not going until August, I thought I would get this at least somewhat up-and-running, and post about the process of paring my life down to 100 lbs, getting a visa, and finding out the best way to travel with one certain grey cat on an airplane without either one of us losing our minds!

To explain a little more fully, I have recently taken a position teaching at a private school in Quito, Ecuador. I currently teach at a small public school in Indiana, so needless to say, I am moving to another world. I am going on my own, with just my cat (who is grey, hence the blog title) and whatever else I can get on the plane. ( 2 checked bags at 50 lbs or less=100 lbs of belongings. I probably own that in shoes alone!) I am excited and scared all at the same time, but I know that this is the right step for me at this point in my life. So, feel free to follow me on this journey as I relocate my life to a different city, country, continent, and hemisphere!