Wrapping up summer

Ten days ago, I finished the Chicago Olympic Triathlon in just under 4 hours, and completed a goal that I've been working towards all summer. Finishing the race also serves as signifying the end of summer. Now that the daunting task of completing a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride, and 10km run is behind me, my mind and body is freed up to think about what's next.

So, what is next?

On September 26, I am flying from Chicago to Geneva and then taking a train to a small town called Saint Gervais-les-Bains, which is right next to an even smaller town called Passy, which will be my home from October to May. I’ll be teaching English at a “lycée professionnel” there. A lycée professionnel is loosely the equivalent of a vocational school in the U.S. Most of the kids I teach won’t be going to a university (I refrain from using the word college because “college” in French means “middle school”). I will teach 12 hours a week, on a schedule yet to be determined. Two hours a day, six days a week? Four hours on three days? I don’t know.

I don’t know exactly what the housing situation is yet, although I do know the school has offered me a private room amongst the other boarding rooms the students stay in. This includes a community kitchen and bathroom(s). I have a suspicion I’ll have a low threshold for living in this environment for long (Sharing a bathroom with teenage girls? I’ll politely decline), so I am already exploring my options to live in a rented room in the area, even if it means a small commute.

I don’t know how I’m going to pack everything I want to bring, and where I’m going to put everything I want to keep but not bring (the storage locker I am renting in Chicago is practically full already).

What I do know is that I’m encouraged to bring teaching materials with me. And I’m really excited about that. I’m really excited to push the kids to learn the English language, and to share some great English literature. I'm planning to select some easy-to-read passages from a variety of English-speaking authors – Maya Angelou, JD Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Jamaica Kincade, and Annie Dillard. Yes, I know it's a little ambitious, but setting high expectations for myself and others is nothing new for me. I want them to understand some parts of American history and culture that may get overlooked in texts.

Anyway, all that will come later. For now, my stomach is doing somersaults while I figure out the logistics of moving to another country. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome!