Getting Out: Your guide to Leaving America - Mark Ehrman
Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire - Rafe Esquith
Ganbatte Means Go For It!: or How to Become an English Teacher in Japan - Celeste Heiter
Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women who are Changing the World - Holly Morris
The book about teaching in Japan is a little too Japan specific, but it does bring up some things I'll need to think about... and there were surprisingly few books about teaching abroad, but maybe I wasn't looking in the right area. Getting Out has really good information about the paperwork involved in moving abroad, and overviews of the most popular countries for ex-pats. There are a lot of personal accounts from people who are living abroad. If nothing else, these should keep me inspired until the next opportunity to get certified comes up.
Ok... but to the title of the post. I took three days off work getting my head together (as much as possible) and mostly taking a breather from work. I spent a lot of yesterday working on the trash to treasure quilt. I decided to use this as an opportunity to practice meander quilting, and things were going really well...for the first few rows. It got more challenging towards the middle of the quilt (yes I know I'm supposed to start from the outside in - sue me!). Anyway It went well for the first spool of thread, but when I ran out & refilled the bobbin & spool - it went all wonky in the back. Of course it looked fine on the top, so I didn't notice until I ran out of thread from the second spool and went to change the bobbin again.
I wasted an ENTIRE spool making this mess. Obviously I can buy more thread - but it took me a good hour or more to pick out all the stitches. Dang.
So with the quilt misbehaving, I decided to go back to work. ;)
7 comments:
Oh my god. Peggy's doing things the Beast has been known to do!!!
I am glad to know that you are getting your problems sorted out. A little bit at least. Too bad you don't have a regular teaching certification. Members of my extended family had terrific careers teaching at American Schools abroad.
I hate machine quilting so very much. I prefer using the walking foot and going in long straight lines.
I always have to remind myself to look at the back after I change bobbins. I don't have problems too often but it sure is more fun to catch it at the beginning.
I would suggest as a remedy for the quliting problems to look into 'bobbin tension' in your sewing machine booklet. It looks like either you forgot to thread it through its tensioner, (if the machine has one.) Or the bobbin's tension screw got screwed. The guy you bought it from can help if you don't get a resolution.
I feel for ya on your involuntary regroup/change of plans. I've been there couple of times in life. You'll get on the right path.
When I first saw how you say of a book subtitled "How to Become an English Teacher in Japan" that it is "a little too Japan specific," it seemed incredibly funny. I totally busted up.
Then I thought, "I bet she wasn't actually trying to be funny."
Then I thought some more, and thought "And in fact, it isn't funny anyway. I wonder why I thought it was?"
Do you ever do that?
Well it is funny. I mean, I *knew* it was going to be about teaching in Japan, but I thought she would talk a little more about what it's like to teach in a foreign country generally. Like what parts she liked, how she dealt with culture shock, etc. But no, it was *very* specific like how to get a visa, conversion rates, cultural mores, specific types of food, specific expressions. Not much in the way of transferable information.
The thing is (and maybe you can help me with this) I'm looking for travel memoirs of people who have taught abroad, but I haven't really been able to find any. In the travel section it's all either very factual "How to" books, or "I got paid to travel and here are my spiritual epiphanies"
I bet some people teaching abroad have blogs about their experience -- have you tried a blog search? Might put you in touch with people that you can ask questions of. Good luck!
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