Beyond Mali

My past 18 months have been beyond the imagination of your average Malian. The things I have done, places I have been, and ways in which I have gotten to those places are quite extra-ordinary. After packing of my inordinate amount of stuff into my friend Dave’s truck, I headed to Bamako.  This is where the tangible begins to fade. I arrived in what would be seen as a palace - tile floors, blue cooking fire coming out of a table, running water, refrigeration, air conditioning, Internet, and even a whole pool of water meant just for swimming in?! Crazy.

Dave's Truck Loaded with My Stuff

Now the Malian imagination begins to break down. I stepped into a series of ‘flying canoes,’ one of which would take me across an ocean (what does that look like?) in about the same amount of time as a normal bus trip. I would arrive at my parents house where there was still a bit of late-spring snow hanging around (snow = Death). After sorting out health insurance (huh?), buying a used car (I must be pretty rich), and building a desk for my dad, I started my teaching masters at the University of Michigan (classes started on time?! The professors showed up??).

I found an amazing place to live - a beautiful house made of wood (the termites will surely eat it in a few years) with enough space for several families. I worked hard and learned a lot about teaching. Much more from the practical experience of being in the same physics classroom all year than anything else. I gradually took over the class. Kind of a bummer to pay lots of money to do someone else’s job for them...but I guess that is how the system works. It was nice to get the degree and the experience out of the way in 12 months.

Home for a Year

As one might imagine, there are lots of stories that could have made their way onto this blog over the past 18 months. I will briefly hit on the high points, and should you want to hear more, just let me know. I had a break in August where I was able to visit Naomi by way of NYC (a Malian’s dream) and another one of those concrete canoes. The drive out to the east coast was rough as my airconn died, but it was worth it to visit an old friend.

Rockefeller Center

Naomi and I met in the gardens of Westminster Abbey. After a brief tour around London and a night spent in the airport, we flew to the Netherlands. She came to the States for Christmas and for a fortnight in April with a 90 day South African teaching internship sandwiched in between. A matter of hours after she returned in April, I took her down to the river for a walk, and proposed. The ring came from Mali, taken care of by Dave - the same guy who picked me up in his truck, not to mention introducing us.

Westminster Abbey

Searching for a teaching job was quite the undertaking. I applied to what seemed like hundreds of schools (it was probably closer to 50) over the course of four or five months. The schools were all over the place, from Hawaii to Florida and all over the Netherlands. Even a several other countries like the Dominican Republic and Mali heard from me. After a few promising leads that lead to crushing disappointments, I had started losing hope in finding a position that would be ideal.

Naomi was searching for a job as well and made some connections with the people associated with her teaching program. Word trickled down to the director of a startup school near Rotterdam that had been open for two years. They were experimenting with all sorts of things along with focusing on project-based learning. They thought it might be a good idea to experiment with teaching some classes purely in English - even though the students can barely use it. After a strange Skype interview that I had almost no warning for and a bad connection where they could see me but I was in the dark trying to understand their accents, I was offered the job. About 3 minutes after this concluded, another Skype interview with a principal in Florida commenced and I was offered a second job. I chose to accept the offer from Rotterdam as it sounded a bit more interesting and dynamic...and Naomi wasn’t about to land a job in the States.

She went to my new school to check it out and take a few pictures for me. While she was talking to the Head of School she asked if he knew anyone that might be looking for a Social Studies teacher. As it were, they happened to be, and after a teaching trial, they offered her a position as well. On top of that, they offered some amazing housing as a part of their generous contract. Naomi will be teaching three days a week. So this whole thing played out better than I could have imagined - and way beyond the imagination of any Malian.

Bavaria Street Races in Downtown Rotterdam.

I have been in the Netherlands for three weeks now and am starting to settle in. Moving so much is a huge pain, but we have a great place to live, excellent colleagues, and what seems like a really good school to work in. Downtown Rotterdam is only a 15 minute bike ride away, and today they are racing F1 cars through the city streets, so I think we will go check it out. Not sure how much we will be able to see - but it will make a nice break from unpacking. On that note, it is lunchtime. Hopefully I will get a chance to write more soon.