Ascending the Water Slide

Six months ago this seemed like an excellent idea. Freshly graduated, I was wrapped up in the excitement of the University of Northern Iowa Overseas Recruiting Fair, presented with an array of countries (including some I had never even heard of), surrounded by teacher candidates who, like me, wanted to travel, explore, and take on a challenge. I couldn't wait to hop on a plane to teach Middle School English in Puerto Rico. But it didn't seem real then. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to live in Puerto Rico and begin my first teaching job, but adventures seem to get a little more complicated once reality sets in.

Months ago, before I even attended the UNI fair, I encountered this quotation on the internet:

At the time, I just thought it was a cool quote about how people will regret not going on adventures. When I read this quote now, a mere ten days before using my one-way plane ticket, my thoughts sound more like this:

  You're doing what?  Where?  For TWO years?  You're leaving your friends?  You're leaving your family?  You're leaving everything you know?  For a place you've never been?  For a job you've never done [without guidance]? For people you've never met? For the Unknown?

And, in a way, it does hurt. Bidding farewell to La Crosse, WI which was "my" city for my college years, saying goodbyes to friends and family, and casting off the security blanket of what's known and comfortable. But the pre-leaving days are not like ripping off a Band-aid; they're like putting one foot in front of the other on the wet steps leading up to the top of a very tall water slide. And despite the fact you've just witnessed a group of six year olds shriek happily down the slide and arrive safely at the bottom, you can't help feeling the impending doom of that first drop. 

Lately my brain has been pondering what would happen if I took a more "normal" route. What if I took a job in Wisconsin to be closer to friends and family? What if I only ever had to speak English? What if I could maintain the activities I enjoy on a regular basis? What's wrong with a little monotony after all? What if the water slide isn't all it's cracked up to be?

But it's the feeling after the water slide that matters. The moment where you stand up (and probably adjust your swim suit), try and swallow your heart back into your chest, peel your wet hair off your face, and look up at the top of the water slide. You're still shaking, but you have a smile on your face because you didn't die and it was FUN. 

I know that even though it hurts now, it will be worth it for the post-water slide moment where I can look up to the top at a place I'd never been, a job I'd never done [without guidance], people I'd never met, and the prospect of what I could find and what I could learn in the Unknown.

Hola

       My name is Erika ( "Riko" --hence the pun--to some of my college friends) and I am embarking on my first year of teaching. I am trading my home of Wisconsin for the adventures of Puerto Rico and attempting to successfully survive, teach, and learn. Come share in my adventures in my Middle School English classroom and my new "country".