Week One: Done

Today was officially the last day of new hire orientation, which means it's going to be time for this birdie to leave the nest real soon. So far, the school has been supportive beyond all expectations. I seriously cannot imagine a group of people who work harder than the people at AISC to make new teachers feel welcome and appreciated. Tonight, there's one last party, which is supposed to be the wildest of them all. Because I've done a pretty good job of socializing and letting it be known that Ben Knight likes to have a good time, and also because my stomach is still bothering me, I've decided to sit this one out. I'm catching a lot of grief from a few of my new pals, and I'm sure I'll catch even more tomorrow, but I just know myself too well. A party with copious amounts of Kingfisher beer, pizza, and chips and dips is really a terrible idea for me right now. Not to mention, tomorrow is the "kick off" for the entire staff. I'd like to be feeling as close to 100% as my body will allow, and for those reasons, I choose to be a party pooper. And I'm totally OK with it. Besides, I still have a few more episodes of "Breaking Bad" I need to watch...

I wanted to talk a little bit about the professional development we had today, which was amazing. Teacher friends are more likely to find this stuff interesting, but even for non-teachers, I think what they're having us do is really interesting. In a nutshell, everything I know, everything I've ever done in a classroom, is completely out the window. Even the idea of having a deck of cards with kids' names on it (randomization) for responses is out the window. Even crazier, the whole idea of having a conversation with a student while other kids sit and listen in is not supposed to happen in our classrooms. Crazy, huh? Today, we went through a pretty brief overview of how we teach literacy at AISC. The school has adopted a program called, "Readers' and Writers' Workshop." It's taught in two 45-minute periods every day, back-to-back. Basically, the way it works is that all kids come down to the carpet, and I lead a 12-minute mini-lesson (or interactive read aloud) on an objective/skill that the kids need to learn. I demonstrate it, and then the kids are released to go work independently or with a partner for 30 minutes. When they're done, they all come back to the carpet, and we debrief. The whole time they're working, I'm making the rounds and having "conferences" with individual students or the pair. So basically, the kids are actively engaged just about the entire time. Again, no calling on students, no having students share their thoughts, observations, etc. with the class. None of that. If I'd like, I'm welcome to paraphrase kids' comments with the whole class (to acknowledge good discussions I heard), but again, this whole program is absolutely NOTHING like the way I've always taught in the past. I made a comment that I felt like I was in my credentialing classes all over again, and I got some nods from my colleagues. Basically, we're all expected to teach the same way, the AISC way. You might think that someone like me, with 12 years of doing things my way would be bothered by this, but I'm not at all. In fact, I'm actually super excited to learn a whole new way of doing things. So essentially, everyone is on the same page at all times. That doesn't mean we all have to teach the same exact thing at the same exact time, but we're all covering the same standards using the same methods. Not to mention that today, I got my class list. There are 14 kids as of right now, PLUS, remember that I have a co-teacher working with me in the same room! Totally different from thing as I know them, but I welcome the change. It's as our Superintendent said today in a meeting, "Remember, things here look and feel different, but, that's why you came here in the first place." I'm thrilled to embrace the "best practices" that have been tested and refined by teachers who have a wealth of experiences from all around the globe. Truly, every presenter that comes up has some seriously impressive credentials, FAR beyond those of anyone I've ever met during the last decade plus. You've got published teachers, people who have done Peace Corps, teachers with 20-30 years of experience in classrooms from all around the world, etc. These guys know what they're talking about, and I'm all ears!

Even though we haven't talked much about Math and Science yet, I know that these will be very similar. Math is taught completely conceptually, so that means you take away the consumable textbooks (rip-out worksheets), and rely very little on the textbook. Science is taught using kits, with topics such as "The Human Body," "Magnets," and "Forces in Motion." I can only imagine that the science that these kids are going, and the way they're going to learn it, would be the envy of any kid in a public school setting. I'll have to report more on that later as I learn more about it.

And finally, today we had an hour and a half technology training which was AWESOME. The school uses something called "Moodle," which works in tandem with both the school's website and our own individual Google accounts. All kids will have accounts as well, allowing them to do all sorts of amazing things that I couldn't have even dreamed of before coming here. In our training today (and even with a very slow network...only temporarily, as the IT department guys hustled to get it resolved), we learned all about our Moodle accounts, Google Calendars, Google Drive, and a bunch of other cool programs. What's most amazing was the ability to have all of my kids share Google Docs with me (and their classmates if they'd like) and by allowing me to comment on them, I can select text and make notes in the margins without editing the document. But of course, if I DID want to edit it, I could do that as well. So basically, little Hee Sun, Yoobin, Leonardo, or even just Jeremy (from the US, and yes, these are actual names of my new students), can type up a Google Doc, share it with everyone, and then as a class, kids can go through and make comments, which we could all then go look at on the Smartboard. Are you kidding me?! Honestly, in 90 minutes, I learned more about technology than I've ever learned before. Not only that, but any teacher who makes a Google Doc will upload it to their account, which makes it possible for any of us to look through each other's resources and use them if we'd like. And there's still SO much more to learn. This is gonna be a cool process.

Alright, enough bragging about the AISC way. I'm sure by now some of my fellow teachers are starting to hate me, so I'll leave it at that. But there will be more later, please know that. While I should be feeling intimidated and overwhelmed, I'm actually just trying to learn as much as I can, knowing that every little thing I pick up on is something I'll forever have at my disposal. It's just so incredible to have REAL technology, not just three broken down classroom computers. I'm sure that in the coming weeks/months, I'll be blown away by the things that not only the school does, but also the knowledge that these kids will bring to the table. I have a feeling that when it comes to technology, I'll more often be the learner rather than the teacher.

Alright, gotta run (not really, I just wanna go watch "Breaking Bad" now...it's getting intense!)

Ben

The Path to Enlightenment?

First, read this 

Sound like anyone you know? I know exactly who it sounds like. Me. Although we all like to use Facebook and maybe even blogs to talk about all of the good things we do, say, think, etc., rarely do we talk about the negative thoughts that sometimes dwell within our heads. I like to think I keep it fairly real on FB, but honestly, how often do any of us talk about jealousy? How angry we sometimes become? How much we sometimes resent particular people in our lives? The fact is, it's just not socially acceptable. We sometimes lash out, or find temporary relief in complaining about events, frustrations, and people to our closest friends and family, but this relief is, as we all know, very short-term. It does little to eliminate the toxic feelings we all sometimes have in our lives. Then, we find ourselves walking around with these feelings right underneath the surface, and often, all it takes is some minor event and everything erupts to the surface. Sound familiar?

Everything about the job in India, all the way from the first email I received all the way up the present moment, has always felt special. It's always felt like it was "meant to be," as cliche as that sounds. Since  accepting the position, my feelings about this being the right place for me have consistently been reaffirmed. And this morning was no exception. 

You see, recently, I've been reading a lot about meditation. For years, I've heard all about the benefits of it, but have never really known where to turn, or even if I'd be able to do it. Sometimes, I'm so neurotic and have such negative thoughts, that I just don't think it would be possible. So, after accepting the position, I started investigating it a little bit more (what better place to learn it than India, right??). This morning, I ventured out for my second attempt to find the center (that's what I was really trying to do last night). Today, I found it. As I walked up and peered in, this is what I saw (this picture is taken after class had let out). 

This lady is totally photobombing

It didn't look like much, but I knew I needed to investigate it. The universe wanted me to. I was greeted outside with a "namaste," (which is always so cool) by a very nice, younger Indian man, who invited me to come in. I went in and had a seat. I looked over to a bulletin board and decided to investigate it further. I saw a brochure on the wall and took two pictures. The first one was listed at the top of the blog, all about stress and anxiety. Now read the text from the second picture down below:

See where I'm going with this? As I looked it over, it absolutely spoke to me. The guy who I had met, Bala, came over, and I pointed to the top. I said, "This. All of this. It's me. Everything about it is me." He smiled and replied, "It used to be me too." Then he pointed out this flyer:

This has the potential to change my life, and I've never been more ready for it. In fact, after I signed up, another Indian guy named Kunl (probably about my age) came up and started talking to me. I told him the same thing I told Bala. He said he used to be the exact same, and six months later, was a changed man. In fact, he said he no longer even drank and joked that maybe I'd be the one of my friends who would get them all to stop drinking. I laughed out loud! Let's take this one day at a time...

Wish me luck!

Namaste

Ben

The First 48

Prepare yourselves. Get comfortable. This is gonna be a long one. No, really, probably my longest blog ever...

My first two days in Chennai have been a whirlwind. From the hours spent on various planes, all the way up to tonight, where all of us new teachers met at Andrew's (Head of School/the guy who interviewed me in Iowa) castle for a dinner & drinks party, my time here thus far has been one delight after another. Never, EVER in my life have I been treated so kindly, with such care and hospitality. Seriously. Even in Mexico, where I spent days snoozing in cabanas being brought beer and ceviche with no more than a nod in the waiters' direction, I was not treated this well. And that's really saying something. The administrative staff here (and by that, I don't just mean principals, I mean all of the support staff, personnel/HR people) has joined forces with one goal in mind: to make us comfortable and happy. They have certainly succeeded in their mission, and with flying colors. I know the whole "all good things must come to an end" saying, but I've talked to a lot of people who have been here for a long time, and they all concur that the majority of people feel that it just gets better and better. Certainly there are frustrations here: heavy traffic, what I'm told is "difficulty" with transportation, maid drama, and likely some overzealous "helicopter parents,"but those things aside, it seems clear to me that I'm about to embark upon some wonderful days spent with knowledgeable and dynamic co-workers, bright, hard-working, and motivated students (did I mention that I'm going to have about 16 kids?!), DELICIOUS food (today they served Thai for lunch, and it was amazing), and perhaps the best aspect of all...a maid to do all of my dirty work (who I just hired today...and who claims she cooks Indian, Thai, and French food). I think the most comforting aspect of all of this is the ever-present question that runs through your mind when you make a move like this: Did I make the right decision? And from the looks of it so far, I can say completely and unwaveringly, YES. Yes I did (I think). :)

So, let's get into specifics. I'd like to break down my 'First 48" into a few subtopics: the trip here, the apartment, the colleagues, what I'll call "the happenings," and finally, a description of Chennai based on what I've seen in my very limited time here. Ready? Let's go!

The Trip Here

Perhaps my biggest anxiety in moving here, sadly, was the epic amount of flying it takes to travel 8,500 miles. Initially, I believed (through some very misinformed research) that I was going to have three flights. Five hours, eight hours, and then 13 hours. In fact, if I talked to you prior to the trip about the flight times, I totally lied to you about the third flight. While I was sitting in the United Club (thanks again Kevin and Myra for giving me one of your passes!), I was involved in one of my favorite pastimes: chatting with my sister, Kelly, on Gmail. It was during this conversation that I learned my third flight was ONLY going to be about nine hours. Now, nine hours is certainly a long time to sit in any one place, much less a tiny economy class seat on a crowded plane, but in my mind, this four hour time difference meant EVERYTHING. Suddenly, I wasn't concerned about the flying at all. Strange how the seemingly small four-hour difference would make such a.....difference, but it did. And this tiny detail will make all the....difference later in this story.

As you probably already knew through my incessant FB posts, I got an upgrade from SFO to Newark. And that was awesome. But when I got into the United Club, I wandered over to the concierge desk (post gin and tonics....I do my best thinking buzzed) to inquire about upgrading my ticket. The lady told me I could bump up to business for an additional $500, and I've gotta be honest here, I didn't bat an eyelash. I did, after all, live rent free for the last year, so in my head, it's easy to justify pretty much ANY purchase. But, keeping in mind that my mom and sister would give me hell if I had, and also because I would like like a giant douchebag to my new co-workers if they all had to walk by me (all sprawled out drinking a screwdriver) back to the lavatory-seating, that'd really send a message that I don't think would have been appreciated by anyone. So, I asked the lady if there was anything in economy plus. She said that there was for $120. Done. I asked if there was an exit row. There was! Done again. So, for that leg of the flight, I sat in luxury, with TONS of legroom and nobody seated next to me. I'm sure there were some glances from the back, perhaps some "How in the HELL did he get a better seat than the rest of us?!" going through people's minds, but I paid no attention. I was set and that's all that mattered.

When we landed in Frankfurt, I scurried off of the plane straight to a Lufthansa service desk to see if I could hustle my way to a better seat for the last leg to Chennai. When I finally got to speak to the lady, she told me it would be 3,000 Euros to upgrade. 3,000 Euros??!!! Are you out of your mind?! So, I asked about bulkhead, and scored myself a seat. From there to the gate, I walked proudly, thinking what a brilliant traveler I was, how I'd be the envy (enemy) of everyone again, and most importantly, how comfortable (or at least less uncomfortable) I'd be the whole way. When I finally met up with everyone, they all wanted to know where I had been. I proudly displayed my "fancy ticket" and within seconds, they had all jumped into line to see if they could do the same.

When I got seated, I was pretty stoked. In the 2-3-2 cabin arrangement, I had the aisle in the middle section. As two of my new co-workers walked by (Laura: late 40-something smart ass, hilarious woman from Maine with two grown daughters and Holly: 30-year old hippie/Burning Man type, super cool, teaching HS PE), they suddenly doubled back realizing that we were all seat mates. We were stoked! So there we are, feeling all proud of ourselves, when suddenly the unthinkable. Duh duh duh...INDIAN FAMILY WITH THREE DAUGHTERS UNDER TWO YEARS OLD SITTING ON THEIR LAPS FOR THE ENTIRE NINE HOUR FLIGHT. I couldn't believe it. I seriously could not. It was like the universe was playing some sort of sick practical joke. Within two minutes, the baby had started screaming, my seat had been kicked by her moron dad about a hundred times, and the best part? The two-year old girl started reaching over the seat and pulling Laura's hair! Then she ripped her glasses off!! In the end, they screamed, yelled, and climbed over seats the ENTIRE flight. I couldn't believe what was happening to us. We promptly downed a couple of gin and tonics, Laura fell asleep with her face in the food tray, and Holly and I sat there in complete disbelief. I would turn around periodically and give death stares, but the parents really couldn't have cared less. AND, because they had failed to bring ANYTHING along with them to entertain or even FEED the kids, they were powerless. At one point, I yelled out, "REALLY?!" knowing full well that it would do no good. It did give Holly and I a big fat laugh though. In the end, I prescribed one Xanax to each of us, I turned my music up full blast, and amazingly, fell asleep for a few hours. I got up with about two hours left, and just dealt with the madness knowing that in the end, I would likely have FAR more frustrating experiences ahead, and that maybe, this was just a taste of what's to come.

The Apartment

After getting picked up from the airport, one of the operations guys took me to my new digs. When we got in, I was unimpressed, but knew that at least I had some amenities awaiting me (again, more on that later). Instead of doing the intelligent thing (which was to go to sleep), I began unpacking. Thankfully, last minute, I decided to shove some hangers into my bags, thus enabling me to at least hang up some of my slacks and dress shirts so I didn't look like a complete slob the next day. After about a half hour, I finally went to sleep.

Yesterday, after school, I went home with a bunch of the girls before our dinner at the Westin. Because I was one of the only fools to actually dress according to the code, I didn't need to return home to change. Also, the girls all live out by the beach, so it was a good opportunity to check out the famous Bay of Bengal. Upon doing so, we went to one girl's places (Suzannah) only to find out that she lives one block from the beach, AND she has a balcony with two lounge chairs that look right out onto the water. And as if that weren't enough, her apartment was kick-ass and had beds that actually fit her (by the way, I complained that my bed was too short and they apologized and told me to give them 7-10 days while they build me a custom bed....yeah, that's how they roll here). So anyway, every one of us had major apartment-envy, and I went home last night thinking that I didn't like my place very much and "How come Suzannah gets the fancy apartment?! (in my best whiny in-my-head voice). So this morning (after being woken up by the evil crows that perch and squawk outside my windows ONLY between the hours of 5:00-5:30), I got up, tried calling my mom (who didn't answer..WTF?) and then talked to Kelly for a while to basically tell her everything that I'm typing now. After that, I did the daring move of venturing outside of my apartment in search of the elusive "amenities." I walked around for a while and before long, I found it. There's a pretty big pool, with what I'll call a "dog leg left" shape to it, with an attached spa. There are also two indoor badminton courts, a roof-top tennis court, a pretty sad weight room (but better than nothing) and two pool tables. Pretty sweet. Take that, Suzannah!

The Colleagues

Because I'd consider myself a "people person," the colleagues are perhaps the most exciting/interesting aspect of my experiences so far. The crowd at AISC is definitely older. In fact, I'd say the median age would be in the mid-30's, so I think I fit right in there, maybe even a little on the younger side. Many of them have come from international schools all around the world (Singapore, Dubai, Poland, Brazil, Thailand, just to name a few) and bring with them a wealth of experiences and travel stories. They are ALL really outgoing, funny, knowledgeable, and just generally fun people to be around. And again, it's been a blast sort of "reinventing" myself with a group of strangers who are quickly becoming close friends. And not only that, the administrators are all super informed, have a wealth of experience and knowledge in their fields, and actually speak from experience. I don't want to bag on LUSD's admin too much (because certainly, we have some great administrators as well), but I can honestly say, I've had more engaging discussions in the last two days than I ever had in all 11 of my previous years back in Stockton. Discussions with them are exciting, invigorating, and honestly, just super engaging. Our IT department is absolutely top-notch (c'mon, we're in India!!) and what they're doing here is totally cutting edge. It blows anything I've ever seen completely out of the water. Seriously, if you are a teacher, it'd blow your mind. And when it comes to instruction, they're using best practices from all around the world. Everyone who passes through here improves what was there before, and I'm just totally blown away at how they do things here. It wouldn't be fair to compare public schools in CA with what we've got at our disposal here, but honestly, they just put to shame everything I've ever done before. For a teacher who was very near burnout, these last two days have completely re-lit the flame. Do I feel a little inadequate? Yes. But I have motivation and dedication I've never felt before. I can't wait to improve as an educator and take my "game" to the next level. I've never been this excited about teaching and learning, and I can't wait to meet the kids. It's truly an exciting time.

The Happenings

I feel like I've already said enough that I don't really need to have this section, but this is going to kind of be my random-thought catch-all. So hmmmm, what do I want to talk about? I guess I'd want to say that most of our days revolve around what's for breakfast/lunch/dinner. That's an exciting part. We've got these guys all dressed in white standing behind chafing dishes, serving us food and DAMN is it good. They're all so polite and accommodating that I almost feel bad taking the food. It's like I want to tell them, "No, it's ok. You can go sit down. You made all this delicious food. Why don't you go sit down and I can serve YOU? And then when we're done, I'LL wash the dishes. It's only fair." But no, we happily take our food, and they thank us when we walk the 10 feet to the kitchen where they take the plates from our hands to be washed. The whole thing is kinda ridiculous. Oh, and speaking of lunches and lunch rooms, my TCK peeps will appreciate that I regaled an entire table and had tears coming out of their eyes when I told them all about TCK's lunchroom "procedure" and how the evil yard duties "shush" the kids into the microphone and make them "go to silence" for absolutely no reason. They died. I told them about one evil lunch lady in particular who asked the foolish question, "Aren't I respectful to all of you?!" and the kids instinctively did the "no" hand signal. The table laughed so hard, that everyone in the lunchroom turned around to see what was going on. It was awesome. Speaking of which, I again made myself the complete class clown in today's trivia game that the IT department was putting on. I had wanted to "lay low" for a while, but I think I've officially established myself as the town fool, but I've also balanced it with lots of intelligent questions (and yes, I talk and ask more questions than probably any one of the 30 or so of us), so they know I'm not 100% stupid. Maybe just like 10% or 15% stupid. We all know that once you kill brain cells, they don't regenerate, so by default, I start off at a disadvantage...

Chennai

So yeah, I thought I had seen crazy chaotic crap in Latin America, but HOLY SHIT. L.A. has NOTHING on the crazy that goes on here. Extreme poverty, cars careening towards each other on the roads, fearless drivers (doesn't matter if you're on a moped or a bus, you drive like a bat out of hell), people nearly getting clipped on their motos and tuk tuks, incessant honking (seriously, I'm in heaven when I'm in the car...it's a crazy ass adventure and I LOVE the angry honking). It's just insane, all of it. And the best part is that I've seen basically nothing in the grand scheme. I asked people on my bus this morning how many people they think we're going to see get hit and/or killed. Obviously, I have zero desire for anything like this, but it's bound to happen. And remember, they drive on the other side of the road, so that just adds to the excitement. I'm left wondering if the thrill of the car ride will ever get old, but then I remember that I haven't even begun taking tuk tuks to school yet. Adventures await. But other than that, Chennai itself seems to be exactly what was described to me: dirty, hot (it's actually been super mild lately...not even sweating through my shirt) and basically like the most humungous trash dump you've ever seen. Again, I don't know if/when the novelty of this will all wear off, so only time will tell. Oh yeah, and yes, cows do roam the street. It's true and can now say I've seen it firsthand.

So, to sum it up, I'm having a blast. Again, it won't be perfect for long. This is definitely the "honeymoon phase" of the trip, but there's still a lot more honeymooning to be had. Tomorrow, we have some morning trainings, followed by our first shopping trip. Sunday, we have a progressive dinner with the elementary school and high school principals' houses (the HS principal's name is John McCandless...not from Stockton though). Then, our trainings continue through Tuesday. On Wednesday, the other teachers come back and we have a few collaboration days (by the way, we get 90 minutes a day of prep time, most of it with our grade level), and then a week from Tuesday, school starts. I'm pumped!

Thanks again to all of you for your undying support. It means a ton to me!

Bay of Bengal: It's no Caribbean

My classroom: conveniently left COMPLETELY set up for me

Yeah, that's a dope-ass classroom library, all set up and labeled by genre (sorry, nerdy teacher stuff)

Yeah, that's a "Smartboard" for a smart (ass) teacher and his even smarter kids. Don't ask me how to use it though.

Weddings & Funerals

You often hear that only weddings and funerals have the capacity to bring everyone together, but I've gotta add to that. You know what else brings people together? Moving to India.

As I type this, I'm sitting at the bar (weird, huh?) in the Marriott in Burlingame, eating oysters and having a few beers before my last dinner in the states for 10 months with some really special people in my life: Kevin and Myra Meis, Laura Mason, and of course, my mom.

This last month has been incredible, everything from ending the year (a teacher's delight) to my awesome Bon Voyage party, and then Mexico. And as if that weren't enough, I was able to spend even more time following the return from Mexico with my nearest and dearest friends all over the Bay Area, back into Stockton (and even Lodi...that's for you, Burrells!) and then the culmination: an epic boy's weekend in Chicago. All I can say about that trip is: WOW

I've truly enjoyed all of the various events and shenanigans with everyone, and I'd like to formally thank them once again for being such great friends. I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing network of people to provide the laughs, love, and support that they have. It has truly made a huge difference in this transition of epic proportions.

Today, as I was loading my baggage: two 50-pound duffels, my trusty travel backpack, and my front-facing pack (which basically houses a mini Best Buy's worth of electronics), I was commenting to my mom that this whole thing is so surreal. Although it hasn't fully hit me yet that I'm moving (save for last night's mini anxiety-attack, which was quickly relieved by a timely dosage of Xanax), packing my bags all morning and then loading them into the back of her car is an in-your-face reminder that this is, indeed, a real event.

I told her how crazy it felt to have spent the last 167 days counting down. At times, it's felt so far away, that I honestly felt like it'd never really happen. I spent each day watching my "Big Day" app, so that at any given moment, when a friend or colleague asked the inevitable, "So, how many days until you leave?" I'd always be at-the-ready with specifics. Well, ask me today, and I'm down to hours: 12 hours from now, I'll be boarding the plane, and it just blows my mind.

So, no real news to report other than I'm excited, anxious, relieved, and a little bit terrified that this time is upon me. However, I leave knowing how much support is behind me, and that gives me a boost of confidence that is invaluable. Thanks again, my friends, and see you on the flip side (like, literally).

Ben

Q & A Session

One week from now, I'll be arriving in SF to stay the night in preparation for my early morning flight. It's crazy that my countdown has now gone from 160-something days to basically seven. It's been an interesting phenomenon to experience the various perceived speeds of time. Up until now, it seems as if time has crawled by, and now it's a runaway train. I have to say, however, that I'm really excited to go and maybe even more than that, I'm ready to be done counting down days.

So, for my first blog entry (of my fifth blog series), what I'd like to do is have a little Q&A session done entirely by me. My closest friends and family may not have as much interest in reading this as these are questions we've mostly already covered, but for those of you that I don't have much contact with who are still interested in the rationale behind this move (or just like to live vicariously every once in a while), I'm going to address some of the most commonly asked questions. And of course, the truth is that this blog is just as much for me as it is for my readers. It's cathartic and helps me kind of gather my thoughts. It's kind of like a journal or diary, but MUCH more manly. Right??

Here we go:

Q: So, why India?

A: As most of you know, I've traveled a fair bit, and even taught for 3/4 of a year in Colombia. I've also had some short stints in about a half dozen other countries, so living abroad is not quite as daring an adventure as it may seem. However, I'd have to agree that moving to India makes me seem a little insane. However, this decision was not made lightly. Moving back overseas has been something I've wanted to do for several years, but up until recently, it just wasn't possible.

This past year has been a tough one for me, with the passing of our family's beloved dog, Molly, followed by my Uncle John, who fought a long and brave battle with cancer. Then, on top of everything else, I faced a series of challenges with my position at TCK, which made for a very tough year for me. I decided in September to go "all in" in my search for a new position in international education, and spent the next five months working feverishly to research schools, document my skills and experiences, and to market myself to schools all around the world.

In the beginning, I focused on schools in Latin America, but on January 26th, I received a fateful email from Kevin Hall, the principal of American International School Chennai. He told me I looked like a good match and asked me if I had ever considered moving to India. Initially, I told him that I had not (which was the truth), but after thinking about it for a while, I became interested for a number of reasons. First, the school looks amazing. It's seriously an oasis of education in what otherwise looks like a tough place to live. Next, the salary and benefits package were very generous (much more so than public schools in CA!). And finally, the location is ideal with regard to travel within what looks/sounds like an exciting country with great proximity to locations like Dubai, SE Asia, and Nepal. When I got to Iowa, this was the first school I interviewed with, and also the first school to offer me a position. So, when offered, I did not hesitate to sign that contract! My second choice school, in Guadalajara, made  an offer about two hours after I had signed with Chennai. Although I was bummed that I was turning down an offer I worked so hard to get, I did get a soft offer should I want to live in Mexico for a while post-India. You never know...

Q: What if you hate it?

A: I expect there to be some VERY challenging times for me, everything from "Delhi Belly" to intense homesickness to the challenges of working with all new co-workers in a school that delivers education in a drastically different way than what I'm used to. But, this is all a part of the experience. The opposite side of all of these things, respectively, are to lose weight (that's me being funny, just in case it wasn't obvious), becoming stronger mentally and more worldly person, and learning a whole new skill set when it comes to educating kids. And on that note, I have to say that historically, I consider myself someone who enjoys challenges and change. One of the fears I had in my continued employment at TCK was that I was just becoming too complacent. I had a system that worked well enough, but wasn't challenging me personally and professionally. There will be a steep learning curve at this new school, and at times, I'm sure I'll feel like the weakest link. But, I know that I also bring my own skills and experiences (separate from what they all possess) and that working together, we will all learn from each other. They might not learn as much from me as I from them, but I think it's important for my own professional development to get out there and learn some new teaching strategies and methodologies. And, if all else fails, I can always rely on heavy usage of Skype and FaceTime for when I'm feeling particularly lonely.

Q: Do you think you'll come home after, or move somewhere else?

A: In my mind, I see myself doing this for the next 4-6 years, ideally in 2-3 countries. My bigger concern is that when I do return, it could be difficult to transition into back into public education. Maybe that's when I'll put my overpriced UOP Master's/Administrative degree into use. With the state's shift to "common core," I may find myself a little ahead of the game in this respect. We'll see.

Q: Are you really going to have a maid?

A: Absolutely. But, this is normal, and from what I hear, expected. The school has actually told me that they will be hosting a "job fair" for us to hire the maids of our choosing. Having a little bit of experience in this area, I have three requirements for my new maid (I had one in Medellin as well): 1. Don't put bleach on my nice, colored slacks 2. Be a kick-ass cook and 3. Please don't hide my crap or steal from me. I think that's reasonable.

Q: Are you really going to "commute" via a rickshaw?

A: Yes, but nobody will have to pull me behind them. Fortunately for them (and probably me as well), the rickshaw will have a motor.

Q: Do you like Indian food?

A: Up until I began planning this adventure, I had only eaten it twice. Since then, I've eaten it twice more and LOVED it. However, I'm limiting my intake these days because really, why would I do that when I should be spending my time loading up on things I won't eat there, like cheeseburgers, filet mignons, and Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ?

Alright, that'll do it. Are you still with me? If so, congratulations on making it through! You should know, if you don't already, that rarely are my blogs short. And, they're best enjoyed when you have nothing better to do. ;)

Ben