Adventures of Living Abroad

So although I absolutely love teaching internationally because of all the opportunities it gives me I can't help but feel that something is missing. I often feel selfish for focusing on myself and using my money to go on vacations when there are so many people in the world that need help. I love the kids that I've taught internationally in both Brazil and here in Bali, but I truly miss my students in Philadelphia. Teaching in inner city is not for the faint of heart. It took me a full year to settle in and get my classroom management under control. It was absolutely the most exhausting yet rewarding teaching I have ever done. It made me feel like I was actually doing something positive to help others...yes I know, I am a teacher and as I teacher I touch lives every day and help to touch the future, but I feel like just being a teacher is not enough.  One of my other goals for living in Bali was to give back to the community and volunteer outside of school. I feel like I am f...

Back at the end of September I met some friends over in Lembongan for the weekend. Lembongan is an island that is about a 30 minute boat ride from Bali. It is much smaller and much quieter. I absolutely loved it there.  I arrived off the boat Saturday morning, met my friends and we immediately set off to go snorkeling. I was super excited because I had never been snorkeling before. The boat to Lembongan Hello Lembongan! The 4 of us piled into a small boat chartered by a friend of a friend and off we went. The boat stopped and everyone started gathering their gear. I suddenly felt nervous and clued them in on the fact that I've never been snorkeling before! After some laughter about it being my first time (shocked I've never snorkeled before) I put on my flippers and mask and jumped in.  Absolutely beautiful...I wish I had an underwater camera to capture the beauty. The bright and vibrant colors of the coral and fish were breathtaking.  We cruised arou...

So back in September I decided to go up with a few friends to Ubud to visit a cat rescue place called Villa Kitty. We played with the kittens and helped feed and clean out their areas. I left my two cats in the US with my parents and was really missing having pets around when I lived in Brazil so I decided I was definitely going to get a pet here. There are so many stray cats and dogs here - it's sad to see them all. I decided to take in a mother and her baby kitten that were found on the side of the road. After a month or so of having all their shots, I nervously let them out of my enclosed bedroom for free roam of the house and also outside my villa. They loved it! Then in December a co-worker of mine found two 3 week old kittens on the side of the road so I took them both in and tried to nurse them back to health. One died a few days later but the other one, Corky, is growing up strong! She was getting along well with the other kitten I got back in September! ...

After a 5 month hiatus, I am finally getting myself back into blogging. The last few months have been busy and there are so many new things to add! I've been so wrapped up in settling into life here, trying to get a handle on teaching Kindergarten, and having hip surgery that this blog has been neglected. It's time to get back on track! A few reflections before I hit the rewind button: If you look at my life through the tiny lens of pictures I post on Facebook and Instagram one would imagine my life to be a constant vacation where I am sipping on a cool beer with my feet in the sand watching the sunset go down every day....now this does happen, not as often as I would like (I'm working on this) but there are many daily life events and ups and downs that don't get posted. Yes, people - I do still work...7:30 to at least 4 every day and then some more work in the evenings and sometimes weekends. Aside from work, life in general as an expat also brings its own set of...