I took the month of June off from the blog, in case you hadn't noticed. It wasn't for a great vacation or conference, though; instead it was to organize, pack, donate, shred, toss, paint, clean, and other tasks - more than I care to remember.
This was at my house, not at the library.
In just over one month, my husband and I will embark on a new adventure that entails selling our current house (which we feel is too big anyway now that all the children have moved forward in their lives and come home only a few times each year) and packing our lives into a moving pod, a room in my mother's basement, and eight seemingly large (but actually tiny) suitcases.
Here's why:
January 23 ( a Wednesday if you don't remember 😉): I woke up at my normal 4:45am, got ready for school, fed the dog, and opened Facebook while the dog was eating. The first thing on my news feed was from an international librarian who was posting a job opportunity overseas. I looked at it, texted my sister (the international teacher) to see if she had heard of the school, and received the response, "That is one of the best schools in the world. Apply!" I was hesitant because we had discussed moving forward in 3 years, not seven months. However, when I arrived at school, I looked at the website, watched videos, and started to really, really like what I was seeing. I texted my husband the link. His response? "Apply."
After school, before my second job, I worked on the application. The next day, I finished the application, read over it several dozen times, and hit submit. WHEW!
January 29: Now, I didn't know how long the process might take, or if I was even the type of candidate for which they were looking, but I received a response on this Tuesday. My interview was set for the evening of the 31st through Skype. Oh, my! One week after the application was sent! I did my best to prepare for the interview, tested my laptop's Skype application multiple times, ensured my desktop had the webcam working (just in case), and then took a few deep breaths.
January 31: The interview lasted just over an hour, and I felt fairly good about it. My biggest worries? I felt I was too bubbly, too excited in my answers. To my surprise, I received an email from the Head of School a few hours after the interview, letting me know there would be a second interview invitation. WOW! I didn't sleep soundly that night due to the excitement.
February 1: By the next morning, I had a time and date for the interview. It meant taking a half-day from school with my personal leave, and I needed to prepare a presentation on the value of research in education. Well, the interview was on Tuesday and it was a Friday...but research is something I have done at every level so I got to work on a Prezi. My fabulous office partner, and the incredible Tech Facilitator (a.k.a. Captain Chromebook) at my school, helped me learn how to share a presentation in Skype. By Sunday, the Prezi was finished, and I was practicing with Skype sessions to my sister in Turkey.
February 5: What a great interview! Even if the school chose a different candidate, I knew I had done my absolute best (except for forgetting to switch from the presentation back to camera...). The school was everything I had hoped it would be! However, I knew that I had no international teaching experience so...
February 7: I had been told this was the earliest I might hear about the final decision. As I started my car, I was telling myself not to worry if I didn't get the job, it was a great experience. Suddenly the radio came on with the words, "Never give up hope, don't give in to fear." (To be honest, I changed the channels. That was just too close to what I was thinking. A side note: I have never heard a song with those lines before or since that day.) I kept my email open at the circulation desk, taught research skills to two classes, helped a class with their Junior Papers, and then went to my office thinking about the time difference. I decided I would not hear about it that day. I went back to the circulation desk and saw a new email...from the school...and I debated if I should be disappointed then or wait until after school. Curiosity immediately won that argument. After reading the letter twice, I called my tech facilitator from his desk to read it to confirm I wasn't seeing things! Three classes in the library wondered about the happy dance we both did a moment later!
Now that you know the rather short time frame (two weeks from the submission of the application), you might be wondering: What school? Where? What is the job?
Starting in August, I will be living and working in Bangkok, Thailand as the Director of Librarian Services at Shrewsbury International School - Riverside Campus!
The library is undergoing a renovation this summer, but I have been able to see the plans and give feedback. I also was able to interview some fabulous candidates for the position of my student intern. (The final decision, naturally, was done by the head of school.) Setting up interviews across the world with multiple time zones is, I have to say, a unique and challenging experience!
Now to pack the final things at the house, give it a thorough cleaning before the sale is final, and condense my belongings into 4 suitcases (although my husband says he might have 1/2 a suitcase available to me). That last bit is more challenging than going through 17 years of accumulated "stuff!"
Next post will be from Thailand! Stay tuned!
