CELTA update - we accepted the offers of the place on the class - to begin later this year. We will have some preparation to do, especially in making sure we are up to date with our understandings of grammar. We are excited about the opportunity, but also a bit daunted - it is quite a commitment to study and work, and it will fall so soon after Evan has finished his anthropology degree. But it is the next step forward, and we are very excited about all the opportunities.
In other news, we are starting our plans for more travel this year, including a trip back to the UK in the summer for Andy's mum and dad's wedding anniversary. Evan continues to work towards completing his degree, a goal getting closer by the day. With spring seemingly here, we are celebrating the fact that we no longer have a garden to keep up - a recent trip to the home improvement store was a happy event as we could breeze past the lawnmower belts and pesticides and the lumber to look at garden chairs and wall hangings!!! Wonderful. No we are not missing the house.
We are working hard to save more money for our education and travel plans. Evan's private clinic is doing remarkably well these days, and we are both busy at our jobs, but still finding time to travel to Seattle and Vancouver and the casino as much as possible. Visited the Japanese garden, Frye art gallery and various coffee shops and restaurants on our trip to Seattle this week. (Quick stop at a casino on the way home - $50 richer!!)
Hopefully by next post we will have more definite travel plans developed. People are asking us when the next trip will be - so we have obviously been too quiet for too long.
Just finished reading "Travel as a political act" by Rick Steves - highly recommend this book.
That's all for now!
......
"Follow your bliss" Joseph Campbell
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Accepted
Well, Andy had his CELTA interview about a week ago, and Evan's was yesterday. We're happy to say that we both received offers to the program! If we accept, and learn to teach English on the program, we will be working with refugees and recent immigrants who cannot afford to take classes to learn English in their new country - so that is a cool bonus to working in this program.
With that said, we have a lot of thinking to do before we accept. The tutors were both discouraging of commuting from Bellingham because of the intensive nature of the course, so this would mean making arrangements for Colorado as well the added cost of staying in Vancouver during the week. We need to weigh out if that added cost is worth it, or whether we should reconsider doing the course abroad (in a less expensive country), or ignore the advice and commute anyway (if we followed all the advice we've received over the years, we would not be where we are; one has to pick and choose advice carefully); or simply not do the course since some employment is available with just a degree and no additional qualifications. We'll work on this decision tonight and then accept the course placements or not.
Ev has completed winter term and is now focused solely on his capstone project for the next couple of weeks- until spring term begins. This gives time for a bit of a breather. Timing is good since there is a lot to think about at the moment regarding plans for the future.
Andy continues to work hard and is back volunteering with the dogs at the humane society today after a needed break to move into the condo and settle in.
Life continues to tick right along- it is really stressful to be making plans of the scale ours are with all the other factors of everyday living, but the alternative seems pretty boring, so we are happy with our choices.
" Our souls look back in wondrous surprise at how far we have made it, so far from where we started." - Maya Angelou
With that said, we have a lot of thinking to do before we accept. The tutors were both discouraging of commuting from Bellingham because of the intensive nature of the course, so this would mean making arrangements for Colorado as well the added cost of staying in Vancouver during the week. We need to weigh out if that added cost is worth it, or whether we should reconsider doing the course abroad (in a less expensive country), or ignore the advice and commute anyway (if we followed all the advice we've received over the years, we would not be where we are; one has to pick and choose advice carefully); or simply not do the course since some employment is available with just a degree and no additional qualifications. We'll work on this decision tonight and then accept the course placements or not.
Ev has completed winter term and is now focused solely on his capstone project for the next couple of weeks- until spring term begins. This gives time for a bit of a breather. Timing is good since there is a lot to think about at the moment regarding plans for the future.
Andy continues to work hard and is back volunteering with the dogs at the humane society today after a needed break to move into the condo and settle in.
Life continues to tick right along- it is really stressful to be making plans of the scale ours are with all the other factors of everyday living, but the alternative seems pretty boring, so we are happy with our choices.
" Our souls look back in wondrous surprise at how far we have made it, so far from where we started." - Maya Angelou
Monday, March 7, 2011
California update
Quick update to upload our photos from our recent trip to sunny California visiting family and friends and old haunts ... oh the memories!!! Good times were had.
Monterey and Heart Castle with Mom and Nick.
Lauren and Walt in Berkley.
Gina in San Francisco Bay Area - including 2 of Andy's favorite places : Pier 7 and Cha Cha Cha's in Haight Ashbury.
and Cozy the French bulldog.....
Monterey and Heart Castle with Mom and Nick.
Lauren and Walt in Berkley.
Gina in San Francisco Bay Area - including 2 of Andy's favorite places : Pier 7 and Cha Cha Cha's in Haight Ashbury.
and Cozy the French bulldog.....
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