I am moving. To Germany. In 4 days to be exact :-D
I was offered a job there last weekend doing nannying/a bit of English tutoring at the same time, and I accepted it. Sooooo I am off!!
It was an incredibly hard choice. On the one hand, I enjoy Prague. It's a fun city. The biggest difficulty in making my decision came down to the business I have built up totally on my own. Within just three weeks time (after having completed my TEFL course), I have 10 private lesson clients (with more requests pending me scheduling them)! That is more than anyone else I know. That took a lot of hard work, online advertising and time to build up myself. I was fairly proud of this accomplishment and liked where it seemed to be heading.
However, I have high hopes that if I did that once, I can do it again in Germany.
Another deter was the friends I am beginning to make here in Prague. Granted, I barely know them at all and I am just scratching the friendship surface with them at this point, so it is not a huge loss. But still, there were people I was really coming to like and feel comfortable with. I could feel the potential beginnings of good friendships with a few people. And now, having to start that all over again from scratch is also a slight bummer.
However, on the positive side (and there are many):
- I have a job beginning over there. And I will be making decent money for the actual work I am doing and the hours I am working
- I am resourceful and VERY motivated. I am really, really hoping I can make the same things happen over in Germany that I did here in Prague with the private English lessons!
- I like the feeling and visual look of Germany WAY better than Prague, which actually surprised me since I have never been super interested in Germany before. But the two times I have been there, I have felt as though I am driving along the New England countryside. Rolling hills, countryside like a patchwork quilt, now there are exploding fall foliage colors, etc. It feels much more...homey, romantic and comfortable to me, as opposed to Prague.
- Salaries are higher in Germany. Especially for something like teaching
A smattering of the quotes that inspired me when making this choice:
"Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller
"It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult."
"Nothing would ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome." -- Samuel Johnson
"The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety."
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
"Leap and the net will appear."
"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
So there you have it! I am here in Europe now, my heart has been telling me yes when I have given this choice thought more then once (in no sense do I feel it is a bad choice, aside from the slight bummers of giving up what I built up for business, starting over socially, and visas are harder to obtain in Germany which worries me slightly, but those are normal fears for a choice like this), so I am going to jump and do it. Why not?
Here is where I will be living:
No, I will not be living with these Oxen ;-) I will be living in the town behind them called Reinheim. |
The town of Reinheim is behind this little shack/group of trees (where I will live). |
Reinheim, Germany. |
Views around Reinheim...(yes, that is a castle on the far right, way up on the top of that hill in the distance). |
And then after dinner, we walked to a nearby pastry shop and split a slice of CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE!!! Heaven.
Otherwise, my days have been VERY busy leading up to my impending departure this weekend (so fast!). And even before I was planning to leave I have just been incredibly busy in general. A sample day...my schedule tomorrow:
8:10am: Wake up
9:30am-11:00am: Private English lesson
11:00am-12:00pm: Private English lesson
12:30pm-1:30pm: Private English lesson
2:00pm-3:00pm: Private English lesson
3:00pm-6:00pm: Break. I will likely go home, eat, apply for more jobs in Germany (as I am also looking for a teaching job in addition to the babysitting job I have landed).
6:30pm-?: Babysitting for one of the families whom I also tutor English
This day is slightly busier than usual, but its a fairly typical day at least 3 days of the week.
At night, I often want to read and relax, but I end up applying for jobs, editing my teaching websites, lesson planning and returning emails much of the evening. I always promise myself I will be in bed by 12am...and then 1am...but usually 1:30am or 2am rolls around before I am asleep. I have so much to do, and time just slips away. So as a result, I have been quite tired lately.
I am hoping once I get more established in Germany, maybe things will slow down a little bit :-) but likely not for a few weeks yet, as I still have to hustle big time when I first get there to: applying for more jobs, apply for a visa (that's a BIG thing), figure out the public transportation, start trying to learn German, etc. LOTS is coming up for me. Very, very thrilling for sure.
Alrighty then, I am heading off to bed for now. I will post again VERY soon, I promise ;-)
Ciao for now!