An Interstitial Look at the Exciting Near Future

Hello All,

Well, here's some BIG NEWS from me:

I am moving to Bangalore, India to teach English Literature in an international school to college-prep level high school students from about 20 different countries! "When?", you may ask. I'll be leaving right after New Year's Day. Nothing like changing countries to ring in the new year!

I feel almost weird writing this down. I mean, for the entire time I've been blogging I've been looking forward to and imagining what's next. Now I know what it's going to be, although I will still be in my interstitial season for another few months before I go.

I've had a growing fascination with India for the last few years, especially the fashion, which I think is gorgeous. I also think the people are beautiful and the food is really good, too. I am looking forward to the life and color this culture has to offer.

The school I'll be teaching at gets great reviews, and seems really solid. The benefits are just what I've needed to make this feasible, too. They cover airfare, housing,and insurance. My salary is tax-free for the first two years--Woot!, and the cost of living is quite low. This will be great for me financially, as it will enable me to pay down on my school loans significantly.

I can't say that I'm dying to be an English teacher, but I feel positive about it, and this is a really good opportunity. I think I may find it more fulfilling than I think. And who knows what else may come about from being in India?

I guess this leap of faith I'm planning to take is kind of like sky-diving was for me--there was the moment of hesitation when my hands reflexively clung to the plane before I let go and trusted the guy strapped to my back to fly us to safety and launch the 'chute in time. That whole experience was surreal but oddly familiar, as I'd actually dreamed about doing it before I did it. Then I did it, and it was actually quite peaceful--puzzlingly so.

This is the way I feel about the India position right now--there's still parts of me that are mentally "clinging to the plane", but the thing is, I can totally see myself doing this. So I will. I think when I fulfill a dream it seems surreal in waking simply because it has been in my dream world for so long that it's just so natural to me already, but it's switching worlds from dream to reality. That's the surreality of it.

I still have several months left here during which God will provide and lots of preparations will be made, so I'd appreciate your continued prayers and support for the here-and-now. I'm going to keep this blog going in "interstitial" mode, because that's what I'm still in. When I get to India, then I'll come up with something else.

Jessica,
Signing off from The Meantime