A Little Background

Oh goodness, where to begin? I have been teaching in Baltimore City for the last two years at a really fantastic school called Doris M. Johnson High School at Lake Clifton. I followed my students from 9th to 10th grade there and, while I love them all very much, found that it was time to leave them.

Baltimore was beginning to feel very small. Between my teaching duties, my involvement over the last 8 years with fluid movement, and my part-time job as an event manager at the Creative Alliance I have met many wonderful people from the Baltimore community: teachers, writers, performers, artists, shop keepers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, food critics; and made many wonderful friends - but I have spent all but 6 years of my life here in "smalltimore" and there is so much more world to see!

I applied in November to teach internationally. I didn't even have a specific place in mind (though South America and Italy were particularly high on my list in the beginning), I just knew that it was so important to get out and experience the greater world. Before applying I had visited 12% of the world (according to my "World Traveler" map on facebook); Italy, Britain, Ireland and Canada being among my favorite spots. As the interview dates approached I began to get interview requests from places I had not even thought of: Thailand, China, and Egypt included, and I realized that the world was an ever bigger and more exciting place than I had ever dreamed.

In February I trekked up to New York City for a week of interviews. By the end of the first day (and 12 interviews) I would have 2 concrete job offers: one in Mexico and one in Egypt. I also had potential job opportunities in Ecuador and Singapore. In the end, the decision was nerve wracking and quick. I had been to Mexico and was not ready to live a 24 hour plane flight away. I have always wanted to see the pyramids and was obsessed with Egyptian history, art, and mythology as a child - even working it in to some of my English classes when I could. The school representatives were exceptionally kind and had a table of gummy worms, peanuts, and other snacks sitting on a reception table in the hallway for potential employees waiting their turn, which was like a sign from Isis that this was the job for me! (I am a complete sucker for gummy worms!)

After accepting the job offer early on the second day of interviews and signing a mountain of paperwork, I took a cab from 42nd Street to Union Square and walked right into the Barnes and Nobel travel section - which had only one book on Cairo: "The Practical Guide to Cairo", which has become my bible and is already highlighted to the hilt. I also treated myself to a very special dinner that night at Perilla in the East Village, which was opened by Harold Dieterle, the winner of the first season of Top Chef (I am a HUGE top chef fan, I also treated myself to lunch that day at Craftwich, Tom Colliccio's sandwich shop). My dinner was perfect - possibly sweetened by my success!

And so here I am 4 months later getting very excited for the adventure of a lifetime! While my departure is not for another 9 weeks, my journey has already very much begun!