Bone Tired

I had eight interviews yesterday:

Atlanta (ssh, don't tell my parents)
San Francisco
Hanoi
Antwerp
Amsterdam
Budapest
Buenos Aires
El Salvador

I received 2 firm offers (Buda and Hanoi) and 4 schools asking me not to sign any contracts before talking to them. El Salvador won't be hiring until at least Wednesday and Atlanta is really looking for someone who will teach both middle school and high school, my only real rejection.

It's hard to have your game face on from 9 - 6. But in the end I am myself. I was honest with the schools about what I'm looking for and I feel like they were honest with me.

Today I have 3 more follow-up interviews plus the presentations from the other schools. My mother is, of course, desperate for me to go to SF or Amsterdam. My father wants me to be happy and said that he is happy to visit Argentina. I would love to eat Vietnamese food every day, but don't think I want to live in Asia.

Off I go to the SF presentation!

15 minutes until Cattle Call

15 minutes until sign-ups for interviews begin. When I arrived yesterday for sign-ins my folder over-flowith with invitations. Of those, I rejected 70%. The ones I kept:

Luxembourg
Hanoi (knew about)
Budapest (knew about)
Madrid
Argentina
El Salvador

Considered but Rejected:
Tokyo
Manilla

Rejected:
Egypt (2 schools)
Turkey (2 schools)
China
Bahrain

Before I go to the ones I kept, first I'll be heading to Zug (Switzerland) and Amsterdam to try and get an interview.

I actually interviewed with both Budapest and Hanoi yesterday. Both went great. I'm still not sure I want to live in Asia, but everyone I've spoken to talks about how great the city is, how easy it is to get into the country. And Mickey, there's LOADS of hiking/trekking in Vietnam, lots of mountains!

It's starting to happen!

First off, still no word on Diane. She continues to be mixed into my thoughts, daily. Very tragic situation for hundreds of thousands of people.

However, in the midst of those thoughts are my own preparations for Friday when I leave for the job fair. Honestly, I had assumed that at this point I would have already had a job. However, I've only had one interview with a school in Cape Cod. Part of leaving Moscow is in search of a better quality of life, one that I think Cape Cod could provide. At the same time though, I wonder if I'm really ready to move back to America. Probably not...

And then this morning, I check my email and have 2 (TWO!) invitations to interview before the fair, one with the UN school in Hanoi, Vietnam and another with Budapest. So it is finally starting to happen, just later than I thought it would...

At this point Switzerland is my number one, but I'm open to possibilities. Any votes?

Diane Berry

I went to college with Diane. We played frisbee together for at least 2 years. We haven't been in contact since that time, but I have memories of her standing in the sun, always with a smile. She had a quiet, peaceful way about her.

She worked for the CDC out of Atlanta and was in Haiti working on an AIDS relief project.

It's still unclear whether she survived the earth quake or not.

And her family, their pain, her pain are on my mind.

Mixed in with a bunch of other stuff.

Olympics Video Available to International Viewers

I tried watching a preview of US Figure Skating (yes, I like figure skating, it all dates back to my first viewing of the Cutting Edge. No wait, maybe I like the Cutting Edge because I like figure skating) tonight. However, the video isn't available to international viewers. These are a few suggestions of videos that are available:

* Davis and White: Mid-Western Values

* Steve Holcomb on his Park City Roots

* Chad Hedrick: Why I love Texas

This is for their international viewers. Is the mid-west recruiting?

NYE with Amanda

NYE with Amanda
Originally uploaded by Traveling Em

I had a really lovely 3 week vacation and am now back in Moscow. School picks up again tomorrow. I've beat the jet lag (I hope) and am ready to see my student - and to get back into an exercise routine!