The journey is not yet over... (alternate titles: 3rd time's a charm, here we go again, we love road trips, *sigh*)

Well, friends, at the risk of seeming wishy-washy... we've moved again.  Here's the story:


We arrived in southern California last month, to begin life anew.  The weather was beautiful (although it later got quite hot).  The people were incredibly friendly, welcoming and helpful.  Alas, the jobs were not plentiful.  Luke searched and applied and searched and applied and just couldn't find a job that fit.  My job, as it turned out, was not a job that could financially support even one of us, because of the small number of students they had for me. So we fretted and worried about how we would make it work.  Then Luke found an open position that seemed like a perfect fit... in Washington, DC.  (You've already guessed the punchline, but bear with me while I finish the story.)  Within a week of applying for the position, he had gone through 2 rounds of interviews and was offered the job.  Cue 2 days of more fretting, and nausea-inducing, sleep-depriving anxiety as we tried to figure out what to do with this new possibility.  You see, we had gone to California with the idea of actually living in California.  Our minds were there, focused on making that a reality.  So, shifting to the very real possibility of going back to DC was not an easy thing.


But, as you've already guessed, we made the mental shift, packed up the car again, and headed back east.  We knew one of us would have a livable, dependable salary, we knew we'd have friends there, we missed the community!  It was a really hard decision, but we felt like it was the right one.  We still do.  We arrived last night, after cross-country road trip #2.  (We're done with road trips for awhile.)  We're staying at a friend's house for a few days, while we find a place of our own to live (finally!).  We're really looking forward to being back in a familiar place, after 7 months of trying to make things work in new and unfamiliar places.


Oh yeah, and I've got a job, too!  I'm going to be able to go back to teaching at my old school in DC - part-time, for now, with the very likely possibility of expanding to full-time once students and space become available.


So, friends, we've come full circle.  Life is funny sometimes.  I'm sure we'll laugh about all this someday.  For now, we're catching up on sleep, reuniting with friends, and searching for a place we can finally call "home".

Road Trip!

So here we are at the beginning of our last week in Florida.  We're leaving for California on Sunday!  We'll be driving (in Luke's dad's car - very generously loaned to us) through 8 states and 4 time zones, mainly along the southern border of the country (Highway 10 most of the way), covering terrain neither of us has seen before!  I think it'll be an exciting trek - lots of interesting places to stop along the way, and plenty of opportunity for pictures and memories.  One part of our plan (admittedly in an attempt to save a bit of money) is to try to stay in people's homes on the way, instead of paying for a motel/hotel room.  And that, friends, is where we need your help.  Here are the places we'll be stopping, where we're still looking for people to stay with:


Pensacola, FL
Lafayette, LA
Midland, TX
Las Cruces, NM
Phoenix, AZ


If you have any friends or family in these places (or within, say, an hour's drive of them) who you think would be willing to have some friendly strangers in their house for a night, please let me know!  We are willing to pay a bit, and can help with food, cooking, etc.


Once we get to California, we'll be staying with with a couple introduced to us by my dad, close to Claremont.  That's when the housing search will really start - actually going out to look at potential places.  For the moment, I've sort of given up on the whole house-sitting option.  Seems like most people in the area going on sabbatical for any length of time want to rent their house out, at prices way above our capabilities.


I'll definitely post some pictures of our trip, once we arrive in CA, along with road trip stories.  Until next time...

The next step...

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog!  Life is, happily, back to the hum-drum, comfortable pace we longed for while we were in Mexico.  We returned to the States at the beginning of June, starting out in Chicago where we spend about a month with my parents (with a couple of short road trips to Ohio and Goshen, to see friends).  Last week we flew to Sarasota, where Luke's parents are now living, and we'll be here for another month.


Shortly after we arrived in Chicago, I got a call from the school I mentioned in my last post - and they offered me the job!  The school is Claremont Community School of Music, in Claremont, California (about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles).  They were looking for someone who could not only teach private piano lessons for them, but could also help them restart their group piano program.  So that's what I'll be doing.  It's a much smaller school than Levine (in D.C.), but it seems to be well-respected in the community.  The staff members I've talked to seem very interested in my opinions, and in doing things based on my ideas and vision.  They seem to respect my background and education, which is a great feeling.


So, in about a month, we'll be moving to southern California!  We're really excited about being in that part of the country - neither of us has ever spent much time in that area, but we've heard really great things about Claremont and the surrounding area.  Plus, we'll be close enough to L.A., Angeles National Forest, the San Gabriel Mountains, and Joshua Tree National Forest that we're unlikely to run out of things to do and see.


We are (I am) in housing-search mode right now.  We're thinking of short-term/temporary housing options, like house-sitting or something similar, while we look for permanent housing.  (If anyone has any leads or ideas, please let me know!)  Luke is also looking for jobs in the area, so if you have any ideas for him...


Lots will be happening in the next few months!  We feel good about what's coming up next for us, and we agree that our time in Mexico was valuable in ways we never expected.  We both came back to the States with a clearer idea of what we want to do next.  For me, I became totally convinced that I do, in fact, want to teach piano!  Luke, meanwhile, solidified his interest in attending graduate school next Fall, likely in a Ph.D. program rather than just a Master's as he originally thought.  Along those lines, he's been doing some serious studying for the GRE which he'll take next Wednesday (here in Sarasota).  Then, the application process will begin!


I'd like to try to keep this blog updated (although I may need to change the name of it!), so stay tuned!

Changes

Well, after 3 months in Mexico City we're preparing to leave.  We've had a flight back to the States booked since before we arrived in Mexico, so we could be at a friend's wedding.  Now, though, it looks like we may not be coming back to Mexico.  Here's a little of what's been happening over the last few weeks:


Luke's teaching job got more frustrating - mostly in the form of students cancelling for days at a time, which means he doesn't get paid.  And he's already not getting paid very well.


I've gone through the next couple of steps of the interview process at the Eton School, which has helped clarify for me what I really want to do.  While I'm sure there are parts of it I would enjoy, and this particular job would likely be enough to support both Luke and me in Mexico, I'm not convinced that being a general music teacher would bring me as much satisfaction as being a piano teacher does.


But, whether or not I get an official job offer from Eton, our finances have dwindled enough that we can no longer afford to stay here with virtually no income.  So we're heading back, at least for the summer.


At this point, we're both pretty anxious to go home.  It's been an intense 3 months, and we're both excited to be able to be with family and friends, and enjoy some of the "luxuries" we've missed since we've been in Mexico.  Truthfully, we're just plain tired.  And, I think, because of that, we're not feeling especially optimistic about the possibility of returning to Mexico at the end of the summer.  We've decided, however, not to make any final decisions until we've had some time to rest and reflect at home.


In the meantime, we (I) have also been exploring job options in the States to get an idea about the options we might have there.  I've come across a couple of piano teaching positions - one of which is very tempting to both of us (but I don't want say more about it yet, because I'm still waiting to hear back from them about the position).


So, this summer will be a busy one!  No matter what we decide to do and where we decide to go, I think we both feel like we've done our best these past 3 months.  We've explored every avenue we could find in our job searches; we've done everything we feel we could have done to make things work.  Maybe we'll come back, maybe we won't.  Either way, our time in Mexico has been valuable and we don't have any big regrets.


I'll post more news as it comes...

2 months already!

We're about to start our 3rd month in Mexico City, which is kind of crazy.  Most days we feel like we've been here FOREVER.  I guess all the adjusting and settling in makes time seem to move slower.  Sometimes, though, I have to remind myself that we've only been here for 2 months.  In the scheme of things, that's not very long - especially when you consider that we're trying to form a whole new life for ourselves out of (basically) nothing!  As we're learning, that's not something that happens quickly or easily.


Last I wrote, we were both set up to start teaching English.  Long story short, I ended up not taking the job.  It didn't feel right, and I don't think I would have been able to give English-teaching the energy and enthusiasm it deserves.  Luke, however, is now in his third week of teaching and seems to be enjoying it.  We both have the impression that he's probably the best teacher his students have ever had, which is a nice feeling.  His students, of course, love him :-)


So, my days continue to be filled with job searching.  I'm spending lots of time in front of this computer.  Searching, emailing, sending resumes... it's all been relatively unsuccessful.  I'm still waiting to hear from the Eton School (mentioned in the last post) about a position for the Fall - that's definitely my most exciting prospect.  It looks like I'll have a very part-time, low-paying job this summer, translating tourist guides for a Mexican travel agency.  It won't be enough, but it's a start.  It'll help me feel somewhat useful :-)


Daily life has been rolling along, without too much excitement.  A couple of weeks ago, we had a huge rain/hail storm, the likes of which neither Luke nor I had ever seen.  (And we're both from the Midwest - we've seen hail!)  Pea-sized hail fell nonstop for a good hour, combined with heavy rain.  Afterward, it looked  like it had snowed, which was a baffling thing to think about.  It also got quite cold!  Well, not "cold" by most American standards, but definitely cold for Mexico.  We went out walking after the storm was over and passed a woman decked out in a full-length puffy coat, hood lined in fur.  It was maybe 50 degrees.  Maybe. Anyway, here's a short video of the storm, as experienced from our apartment window.  (The sudden shake at the end is me getting freaked out by an unexpectedly loud crack of thunder.)

We met an American couple who live very close to us - they're Ph.D. students at the University of Arizona and are here doing research.  We've really enjoyed hanging out with them - our first friends!  They had us over (along with a couple of other friends) for Easter dinner on Sunday, which was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We also celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary this past weekend!  On Saturday evening, we got dressed up and treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a French restaurant in Polanco, one of the nicest (wealthiest) neighborhoods in Mexico City.  It was quite wonderful :-)


And that's that!  More later...

Things are looking up

Alright, I'll just cut the suspense.  We're employed!!  Now, here's the story...


On Thursday, both Luke and I interviews/meetings scheduled - Luke with someone wanting to hire him for an English-teaching job, me at a private school looking to hire a new music teacher.  In Luke's case, we already knew that a job offer was almost guaranteed.  The man he met with was scrambling to find English teachers who could start immediately.  Sure enough he was offered the job, asked to start on Monday, and given the materials for the classes he'll be teaching.


As for my meeting, it was at the Eton School - a prestigious British school with 3 campuses in 2 different neighborhoods of Mexico City.  I had called them the day before to speak with their music teacher, hoping to get some help spreading the word about the new piano teacher in town.  Instead, I was told that they are "always interested in hiring new teachers", and would I like to come fill out a job application?  I figured I would go there, fill out a short application, drop off my resume and never hear from them again.  I was very mistaken.  I got to the school and was shown into a small meeting room, where I met with 2 school principals and filled out an extensive job application.  It was truly a job interview.  Well, phase one of a job interview, anyway.  They want me to come back and observe a couple of classes, and then do some teaching myself so they can observe me.  It was all very unexpected and kind of surreal.  The big downfall, though, is that if they end up hiring me I wouldn't start until August.  So, to get to the point... I will also be teaching English (same job as Luke's), at least until August.


And that's the story.  We're relieved to finally have jobs and some form of income, however small.  I'm a little unsure about my English-teaching abilities - I'll probably be relearning some grammar rules I was supposed to have learned in elementary school!  At the same time, I'm excited about this change.  It will be interesting to see how employment affects our perspectives on life in Mexico.

What the world looks like from down here...

Pictures!  I finally pulled out the camera and snapped a few this afternoon.  And now, I present them to you:

The view of our building from the outside.  Ours is the little white door to the right of the garage, and our apartment is on the 3rd floor (window open, no balcony).

Dining room

Living room

Looking into the kitchen.

And... the kitchen!  (Remember those little mini-fridges we used to have in our dorm rooms?  Yeah, we're reliving those days.)

And a view of the whole place.  Don't blink, you might miss it.

Door to the bedroom (where Luke is taking a nap, so no pictures in there today), and the bathroom to the right, featuring...

... a bidet!  Neither Luke nor I had ever seen one of these things before, and originally thought it was some sort of urinal.  One day, Luke was fiddling with the knobs and discovered, "Hey!  It's got a fountain!"

And that, friends, is our apartment.  It's small - pretty sure I've said that before.  But it does the job.  I also snapped a couple other neighborhood pictures - nothing special, just a little taste...

Kinda hard to get a feel for it, but these are 2 pictures of the Parque Espana just a couple of blocks from our place.  It's Mexico City's version of "green space".  A jungle of trees, various green plants, mulch and concrete.

An "Eco-Bici" station outside the Parque.  We've got one of these right across from our apartment, too.  It's a widely-used bike-share system in a few neighborhoods of the city - mainly the north-south strip of the city that runs through Condesa and Roma.  We've each got a membership (about $30 for a year) - Luke has used it, but I haven't tried it yet.  Apparently, the mayor of Mexico City takes a ride on one of these once a month, to help promote the use of environmentally-friendly modes of transportation.

So that's that!  There'll be more pictures soon - I promise.  In the meantime, start getting excited about the next post (coming later tonight or tomorrow because I'm tired of staring at this computer screen).  Our situation has finally changed... for the better!  I know, you're excited to read all about it, but you're going to have to wait just a little while longer...