J A N U A R Y 2014

Baby Jesus made it to Dublin's City Centre. Christmas 2013 is complete. Photo By: M.

Bye Bye beautiful Christmas lights in Dublin. You've been most festive & lovely. Photo By: M.

I celebrated New Years with D, J & M in Powerscourt. We went hiking to the Powerscourt Waterfall and started 2014 with a healthy adventure. I hadn't ever been to that spot before and it was gorgeous. It honestly looked like a scene out of Lord of the Rings or something. I was in good company with great scenery. 

[Me & D on New Years Day 1.1.2014; Photo By: J.]

[Me, D, J, &M from New Years Day 1.1.2014; Photo By: M.]

[Wicklow Mountains on New Years Day 1.1.2014; Photo By: M.]

[Me & J on New Years Day 1.1.2014 at Powerscourt// Selfie By: M.]

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January also included a fun girly date in town to see the musical Wicked. 

[Wicked in Dublin 1/2014. Photo By: M.]

I'd yet to see a musical over here yet and I was quite EXCITED. The Grand Canal Docks are gorgeous at night and The Bord Gais was beautiful on the inside. It's a modern theatre house and reminds me of a mix of Phillips Arena with a Fox Theatre layout from Atlanta. 

[View of the bridge that looks like a harp by Grand Canal Docks; 1/2014. Photo By: M.]

The highlight of the evening for me (besides getting dressed up, eating dinner at The Marker Hotel, bit of girl talk and amusement from the story) was hearing Defying Gravity LIVE! 

[Wicked in Dublin on The Grand Canal Docks; 1/2014. Photo By: Passerby.]

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This was my January Jam
& it spent many late hours into the night 
helping me study English grammar, write lesson plans
and stay FOCUSED. ;)

Study and Celebrations on finishing our first assignment and getting my official stamp! Photo By: Fabio

CELTA came and went. It was 4 consecutive weeks of 9-5 days in town. 

The view from our tea/coffee/study lab. Photo By: M.

It was intense, but we expected as much (1. We were paying for the education and push; 2. There's a lot to cover in a short period of time, 3. Cambridge has high standards for a reason, 4. Teaching adults was surprisingly difficult at first because it's a completely different comfort zone, set of skills and dynamic from what I'm classically trained to do as a special education teacher; 5. I made friends with the students we taught from all over [Brazil, Spain, Italy, Iran...etc] and enjoyed getting to know them and helping them learn English, 6. By the end of it I could feel the Cambridge stamp to on my back and started feeling more natural at what we'd just really been thrown into. I am officially a certified CELTA teacher and can teach English anywhere in the world! :-D

#teacherdoodles; Photo By: M.

[ie.CELTA input sessions galore; 1/2014. Photo By: M.]

CELTA was a cool experience though. I liked having the structure back and routine. It felt good to wake up at the crack of dawn and watch the sun rise come up over the city.

[Sun Rise on Henry Street; 1/2014. Photo By: M.]

From early morning bus routes; walks through the city with the daily commuters; sunny days and rainy/windy/a dose of all weather; tea/coffee breaks; the "I can eat this sausage roll b/c I just taught/studied really hard/woke up really early/am awesome" conversation; happy hours on Friday with the "CELTA family"; meeting new friends; learning about other cultures; gaining new teaching skills; and setting out on a challenge to come out victorious....... CELTA, the end.

England, Italy, Ireland & USA on our last Friday of CELTA:  Buddy Pic. Photo By: D.

I may look to teach English on the side or part of summer when I'm not teaching swim lessons. Right now I'm so thrilled to be teaching special needs again, as that's my first passion in my career. I love having the option for both though and it's good to have a new style of training in my continued professional learning interests.

Little did I know I would go from studying to be an English teacher and teaching English to adults full-time over January, only to dive head first back in to special education! Hey, I'm at peace with that.

[An early valentine from Fi to celebrate my job offer after the course. So sweet; 1/2014. Photo By: M.]

Now it's time for a little defying gravity of my own..... ((Sorry I'm not sorry, I couldn't resist!))


Hooray!!!!!!
Hooray for the upgrade from holiday visa to work permit visa and a job!!!! Happy Happy Joy Joyy!!!!!!

Sometimes when you believe in something, work really hard, don't take no for an answer, walk in faith, learn from lessons, take different paths along the way, humble yourself, pour your heart and soul in to a cause and a goal, seek out help from strangers, serve others, accept support and criticism with grace and a smile..... you don't get what you want, but sometimes you do. And this time, I do. It's not the way I imagined it, but it's exactly the way it is meant to be and I am so grateful! 

Cheers,

M