Thursday, September 6, 2018

Not Back to School

Well, with the beginning of the school year again I have been sitting and sifting through various Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts. These posts are filled with joy, excitement and anxiety too. I wanted to be part of the action too. So I posted.
Our First Day Not Back to School 


Apart from the two years I had at home with our children every September I usually go back to school. But, this year is a bit different than most. This year my husband and I decided that we would not go back to school. We did not make this decision flippantly. It was not spur of the moment. We decided after many conversations about what makes us happy and what we want to do in our lives together. One thing we both wanted to do was travel. We wanted to go past just a vacation and spent time exploring somewhere else in the world together, with our girls as a family. So five years ago I applied for a deferred salary leave with my employer. Basically, my awesome job allowed for an arrangement where a portion of my salary was withheld to be paid back to me at a later date. Today is that day. So as many of my friends and colleagues went back to school this week, I did not.  Instead, I watched them on social media as I simultaneously watched the whales in the pacific ocean from the balcony of 'mi casa'. You see, I am currently living in Santa Marianita, Ecuador. After many years of talking about travel we settled on a quiet beach known in Ecuador for it's tranquility, seafood and kite surfing.

Kite Surfing


Why did we decide to live abroad and travel rather than just take a holiday? Well, before my husband and I were married we both spent time living outside of Canada. He lived in Australia and travelled through parts of South East Asia. I had lived in Egypt and travelled to some other countries as well. We both agreed that in our hearts and soul we wanted to experience that again and we wanted to do it together with our girls. We also recognized that this was our dream and not that of our children so we try to be extra patient with them as we all adjust to our new experiences.
Nuestra Casa
View from the beach of our home for now



Now landing on a quiet beach in Ecuador was not just a random close your eyes and pick a spot on the map game type decision. We spent many hours over the years discussing possibilities like Senegal, Thailand, Italy, Portugal, and Malaysia. We wanted to be near the water, I wanted to learn a new language and we wanted to feel safe. We also needed to be able to afford living abroad on one salary with expenses back home in Canada still. But mostly we came here because we had a good friend who had been living here already and he gave us rave reviews. Oddly enough, once we decided for sure that Ecuador would be our home for a short while many of our friends and other people we talked to had stories about the wonders they had experienced here as well. So that was it. While Canada went back to school. We went to Ecuador.
HolĂ 


You should also know that I love education. Like, I really love school. Teaching kids, being alongside the learning, working with other teachers, planning, building culture and even the fire drills. I love it all. I was excited to be away but I wanted to be in school at the same time. So as I watched the flurry of posts I felt a pang of nostalgia. I went for a run on the beach wishing I was there, going back to school but yet so genuinely happy I am here.

I live to be inspired and it does not matter where in the world I am. I did not just start living an inspired life when I got on a plane. I life it daily. Looking at the world and the people around me with an open curiousity and a seeking to understand more. I am inspired daily at work with students and colleagues. I am inspired by my family and our conversations, commitment to each other and even our conflicts. I am inspired by books I read, songs I listen to and things I see. I try to live with a purposeful passion to just be inspired by all things, even the smallest stuff.

So this week I will not go back to school in the familiar formal setting that I usually long for and crave in September, but I will be going back to learning. Learning daily from the people and the world around me. Oh and yes, my Spanish tutor comes today so learning a new language will keep me on my toes for now too.
Learning Spanish 




1 comment:

  1. Awesome post, Amy! If I'd read this first, I wouldn't have hounded you with questions on FB. LOL

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