Patience and perseverance and karma and luck and right time and place and possibly being especially qualified has landed us the job of a life time!!!!!!!!
To back up a little – December was a tough month. Being away from the family when we weren’t doing anything here was hard, but since not working we couldn’t justify the expensive plane ticket back to California, and DeYette and Neill already had plans to go to Washington. We also didn’t quite realize how long the down time between Christmas and the first Monday after New Years would be. Everything combined for a low period. Somewhere during that time, Alan and I realized we better get serious about an exit plan – both short term and long term. Unfortunately, these two would often conflict. Ultimately, we decided to put our efforts into teaching overseas. After a little research, we decided to attend the University of Iowa’s overseas job fair. We updated our teaching resumes, wrote essays about our teaching philosophies, and asked for letters of recommendation. We also called relatives to borrow sweaters, boots, and coats to survive this weekend. UNI suggested we contact schools we were interested in before the fair. (Thank goodness for email. And to the best of our knowledge, we did attach what we said we would.) So we pony up the $340 for the fair that is to take place the last weekend of January. Then the phone starts to ring, literally the same. First, we get a call from Ann, a boat broker, whom Alan knew because he had been crew on her boat 25 years ago in the Virgin Islands. She is in the process of helping a family find a boat to sail around the world. They need captain and crew. Would we be interested in meeting them? Then, I get offered a fifth grade job at a private school here that is losing a teacher midterm. I had applied as a substitute. Alan gets a call from the merchant marine union hall for a 120 day job. Unfortunately, nothing is happening in a linear fashion. We meet with the couple on a prospective boat, but they have several other boats in the Med to look at. The meeting went very well, but they’re still looking around. On a leap of faith, I turn down the teaching job. Alan has to turn down the shipping job because he wouldn’t be around for the job fair. We get a nice note from the family stating that they would like us to meet the boys, but they are busy with the inauguration and will get back to us. Time moves along, and we start hearing back from schools. OK, we needed this boost. UNI stated not to expect much. Schools from Kuwait, Shanghai, Casa Blanca, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and Belgrade all ask us to please contact them before the fair because we are just what they need. (And to add a little color, a school in Thailand said we do not meet their mission of having integrity and social values and do not expect them to contact us. ??? Through the computer we could see that they filled their math position.) We actually end up having an interview/sales pitch from a school in Kuwait and get offered a contract. Now it’s truly decision time. We defer and agree to meet him at the fair first thing. So, now it’s crunch time. We need to make plane reservations, etc. for Iowa, but we really want the sailing job.
To try to make this a little shorter – Alan emails the family and explains our situation. An hour later the phone rings. Yes, you need to come up and meet the boys but I do need to discuss this with my wife. Two minutes later, next phone call, and then we were on the plane the next day.
We have just arrived home from a four day visit with the family. There are three boys ages 5, 9 and 11. The boys are rambunctious and bright and happy. We seem to fit well with the couple. After several business talks, we were offered and accepted a job. One slight hitch, they don’t own a boat yet. Actually, they are in the process of negotiating for a great boat and have a second and third back up. So, this is a go!
The big plan. Sometime around June we will head down and transit the Panama Canal, visit the Galapagos, put kids and Mom on a plane, cross the Pacific to the Marquesas (South Pacific), get mom and kids back, and eventually land in Sydney or New Zealand around New Years. Then, we need to stay around there until March to let the Western Pacific hurricane season pass. From there, we can head up to Micronesia or Papua New Guinea and/or Thailand. Nothing is set for now except they will be sailing someplace, and we will be there crew. (AND we get paid for this)
We are off to buy champagne! We’ll be toasting to all of you and your encouragement and for keeping some of your thoughts to yourselves.
Love Carol and Alan
(Names have been left out just for the time being due to boat purchasing negotiations. Believe me, you’ll get pictures when they are available.)
