Bonjour, mes amis! Je regrette for the long wait between blog posts. Life seems to go faster and faster every day and the time just slips away so quickly. Fortunately, the update is very promising this time because it seems as though all of our prayers have been answered and everything is going in an upward direction for us.
When I moved here, I read many articles in the newspapers about high unemployment rates. I also spoke to other immigrants who told me that in order to be a teacher, I would have to go through another year of schooling to 'upgrade,' in a sense, my Ashland University teaching degree to a British teaching degree. With this news, I pursued nanny positions, but to no avail. Before leaving the States, I had a full-time nanny position in place, but I found out when I phoned the parents in September when I arrived that they had given the job to someone else without informing me. With these setbacks, Lee and I were just hoping that I would find something within the first six months of moving here--not only to contribute financially to the household, but also for my mental health. After all of the house chores were done, I taught myself how to crochet. I found myself turning into somewhat of a recluse crocheting scarf and hat sets and watching PBS for hours on end. In the middle of October, I discovered a possible career venue of being a teaching assistant. This job would entail helping students, preparing supplies for a classroom teacher, and sometimes leading the class if the teacher is otherwise occupied. Lee and I both thought that this would be a good pursuit for the time being, so I began sending out applications to schools hiring teaching assistants within a five mile radius of our house. After the sixth application was sent, I just waited and hoped that one of them would be successful in securing an interview.
On Friday, November 11, the phone rang at about nine o'clock in the morning and it was someone asking for Mrs. McRae. Then, a girl said, "This is Rachel from St. Mary and St. Benedict's School. I'm calling to let you know you've been shortlisted for the TA2 position." I couldn't believe it! I said, "Oh my gosh! That's great!" Then I eagerly wrote down my interview time and date which was for November 25 at half eight in the morning. For the following two weeks, I prepared for the interview as much as I could, but also kept it quiet so that if the interview didn't go well, I wouldn't have to be embarrassed.
That same day, the 11th, an e-mail was sent to all of the employees at Kukri (the company where Lee works) telling them who was selected to attend the Hong Kong Sevens. This is a huge rugby tournament in Hong Kong and Kukri designs the kits (uniforms, in America) for many of the teams. The company also takes employees who would be an asset to the marketing and development of their brand while in Hong Kong. Lee put his name in the mix of those who would like to go on this company-paid trip since he creates the advertisements that are played on the big screens in the stadium. I'm happy to report that Lee's role as "Video King" will be utilised in Hong Kong this March! He is really excited to go and to film scenes to use in future videos. Needless to say, he's also eager to see his hard work for the advertisement in all its glory on the big screen live from Hong Kong.
Well, Lady Luck was on our side again because the teaching assistant interview went swimmingly and when the principal (head teacher) rang six hours after I interviewed and said she was "very impressed" by me and would like to offer me the job, I was ecstatic! Since the phone call, I've visited and trained at the school and am very happy to be working in a school where the children are taught--and expected to have--good manners along with a very creative curriculum. This school is full of great teachers who all get along and are welcoming to their new staff. I was also lucky that they weren't afraid to hire someone who is from another country--which was one of my fears initially.
The same day as this fantastic news, Lee received word at work that his video (uploaded on the last blog post) received 10,000 views. His employers said that in order for him to receive his next big pay rise, one of his weekly videos would have to be viewed at least 10,000 times before the new year. The video didn't stop at the minimum though because currently, it has been viewed 31,266 times! Lee earned a substantial pay rise which will go into effect on January 1.
From Kukri, we were also privileged to two VIP tickets for an International Netball Tournament at the Echo Arena in Liverpool for Saturday, the 26th. Netball is similar to basketball, but it is only played by women and some players are restricted by where they can move on the court. There is also no backboard on the net, so the shooters are much more skilled than basketball players, in my opinion. The tickets were a huge surprise and a great way to celebrate all of the blessings that had been falling into our laps.
The last piece of our lucky streak is that we won the lottery--£6 on a scratch ticket! It might be a bit of a stretch, but as you may have figured out from the other posts, it doesn't take much to get me excited.
Lee and I are really happy that much of our worries have gone away, which makes life a lot more fun. We are able to relax about any financial issues because we will be able to save now for the future--mainly for a house of our own and our British drivers licenses. I know many of you in the States have been praying for us and it seems that with all of this good news, God is definitely watching out for us. In the past month, our lives have changed immensely. Lee and I are in a town where we have no connections aside from our co-workers. I'm sure this will change as we become more involved in the community, but for now, we feel most lucky to have each other. No matter what luck comes our way, we can always depend on one another.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and that you find yourselves surrounded by love, family, and friends during this next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comments!