It’s been several months since I’ve been in a classroom. I miss the anxiety, expecting the unexpected, the witty exchange of jokes and hirits, and most of all, I miss the children. I miss the laughter and the youthful exuberance that comes from them.

Don’t get me wrong. I love mateo and we do share our moments of laughter and fun, but he’s a son to me before anything else. I do teach him sometimes but it still feels different. He listens to me and obeys me as a father and sometimes as a friend, but not as a teacher.

I miss being a teacher!

I just got an update on my status and the things i have to prepare for with regard to my application to a school in Brunei. Apparently my papers have to go through several agencies for approval and it might take 2 to 3 months for everything to get settled. By October though, I should have my contract and work visa already. However, because the school has exceeded the maximum number of Filipinos they could hire directly, I am now to go through an agency of their choice.

Everything still seems alright except for the fact that I needed to go through an employment agency. That’s gonna cost me some additional dough, which at the moment we’re running quite low on. But I don’t mind. I can’t afford to mind. With everything we’ve given up to get to this point, we have no other option but to go forward. Never mind the wrinkles, the sleepless nights, and everything else.

The wrinkle creams and the sleep can wait. The future of my family goes first.

Creatures of routine. That’s what we basically are. We find comfort and a sense of control in putting order in the things that we follow everyday, so much so in fact that getting severed from the routine that we’re used to disrupts our whole system. Continue reading »

The last few days I spent in my old school I actually used for watching and conducting demo teaching. It was a good refresher and I got a lot of very good ideas from my colleagues and friends. Kinda makes me wonder how rigorous and interesting the employment screening in Brunei is going to be.

Regardless, I want to continue brushing up on my teaching skills so I vowed to continue making plans and practicing at home so I don’t lose the edge. It would have been nice though to continue teaching till December before I leave for work abroad but certain considerations make arrangements a bit difficult.

I’m certainly going to miss my old school and everyone else I used to teach and work with.

What gift can you give to people you don’t really want to leave behind? Coffee mugs? Macanudo cigars? Smiles? Promises?

It is surprisingly hard to think of the perfect parting gift for them. First, the thought of leaving does not really seem so real to me yet. Don’t exactly know if this is denial or if my EQ is just lagging significantly behind. Second, I want to go back so I don’t want to leave anything behind to provide a sense of finality to my departure.

I want to give them something but at the same time, I don’t know what! I never imagined parting gifts are this hard to think of.

It is not so difficult to tell teachers apart from other people. They have peculiar concerns and a twisted kind of priority. Take a look at us for example.

In our conversations about which things to bring and which things to sell, andrea and I would find it easier to sell a washing machine than to sell textbooks. In fact, in our short list of things to bring to Brunei, books occupy one of the closest spots to the top (next to clothes and followed by kitchenwares).

Teachers prefer red ballpoint pens over any other colored pen, because they check more than what they write. While other people shy away from attention, teachers take the limelight everyday, standing in front of a class at least twenty hours a week. They like light colored tops because they don’t make too much contrast with chalk and are a lot cooler to wear.

In other words, they’re practical, to the point that they sometimes stand out. I, for one, am proud to be a teacher!

You never know how effective teaching is in burning fat until you’ve stopped. You see, since April (my first summer vacation), I haven’t had any formal teaching, nor prepared any lessons, nor climbed up and down the library for books and reservations. I haven’t had basketball breaks either. Now, I’m 3-5 pounds heavier.

And with the kind of work that andrea and I are now doing, transcription and article writing, I doubt I’ll be getting any slimmer, which makes me kinda worried about the next few months. Because as far as I can see it, it’s either I find some major exercise routine in between writing or I start taking Lipovox before flying to Brunei.

After all, it’s not so easy starting in another country with a major fat issue on your shoulders.

Ever since we’ve decided to try our luck somewhere else, andrea and I have been looking for many ways to fill the financial gap I made from quitting work. We’ve taken on a lot of online work and have been forced to stay up really late for the past month.

Since Anika is due this July or August, we can not stop earning now. We have to find means to earn back everything I’ve lost because of our decision. That’s why we’re taking on transcription work and article writing on top of blogging. We’ve been working for many nights staying up sometime till 4 or 5 in the morning to finish tasks.Never mind if we have to deal with the best acne treatment ever to address the acne we get from the lack of sleep. Waiting for my January departure without work is not an option.

We still need to save enough for Anika’s delivery and some pocket money for January. I just hope we don’t get sick from all the late night work.

I’ve been putting off blogging for a while because I have no idea how to put into words what’s been going on for the past month. Yup, past month, no longer than that and no shorter either.

To put it flamboyantly, we’re about the undergo change – a drastic turn from the life we knew and lived for the past 7 years – SEVEN LONG YEARS. It doesn’t seem too long for some, I know. However, if you think about it, I’ve never stuck to anything, any routine, for such a long time. Grade school lasted for only 6 years. High school took 4. College had 4 as well. And teaching in Hedcen had already been my life since a few since a months after graduation.

All that’s about to change now. I’m taking a leave from work for a while. For the sake of my family and my family’s future, I’m braving another place. I just hope everything works out well for everybody.

With May looming ahead, I can’t help but feel anxious and stressed about starting work again. In fact, my stomach has been acting up and I’ve been feeling really acidic lately. I’ve got to stop worrying or I’ll be needing a wrinkle cream and a bag of antacids soon.

But honestly, I don’t want to start work yet because I’ve really enjoyed this vacation… so much so in fact, that I’ve gotten used to our late routine – 3 or 4 AM sleep, and 9 or 10 AM wakeup. My body has adjusted quite well to the change and I’m afraid it’s going to have a difficult time readjusting to early routine again.

Oh, I really hope summer vacation would last longer!