Monday, May 7, 2012

Thing #44: Work in another country

Here I am, in another country, working.  Some people would call it work… and I certainly get paid for it.  It is work.  I don’t think I’ve ever revealed on here what it is I actually do for a living.  Well what I do is this: I teach kindergarten.

Are you surprised?

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are.  All my friends and family didn’t hide it when I announced a sudden career change last year.  I mean, I don’t even like kids, not really, and most of them take an instant dislike to me.

What happened was that one dreary wet day in Ireland I was about to impulse buy an iron when I just stopped cold and thought Is this my life?   The reason I moved was that simple: I realised I wanted change.  I am totally not one of those people who resist change.  Change is gooooooood.  So I listened to the voice in my head (Oprah?), put that iron right back on the shelf where it belonged and made some shit happen.  Change, then, meant moving to the UAE and teaching Kindergarten.

It worked out pretty well for me.  A lot of the time, I like it.  For sure.  You definitely learn a lot when you change stuff in your life.

Allow me to impart some of my newfound knowledge.

Some Things I Learned (about Life) from Teaching:

1. Kids are just people, except smaller.  I told you I didn’t like kids, but that was before I realised this life-changing fact.

2. You can be happy for no reason at all.  I guess the same goes for being sad.

3. Work hard and be nice to people is a good ethic to live your life by.  Some of the most important of life’s lessons come really early on and are then forgotten somewhere along the way.

3. If you want to get someone’s attention, whisper. I know that when I shout, it’s only to relieve my own built-up tension (completely necessary) but serves no purpose in teaching the children.

4.  Good manners are important.  So important.

5. Don’t make a promise that you can’t fulfil.  I’ve learned the hard way.

6. Everything new is scary.  When you are little, every thing is a new thing- and it can be so scary.  We all have to be as brave as the small ones and do it the first time.

7.  You can make a lot of things out of paper plates.

8.  We only get dumber as we get older.  The way I’ve constructed that sentence is surely proof in itself.  But seriously, young kids learn things insanely fast.

9.  There is no such thing as a cool teacher. (Bradley Cooper in the Hangover, you deceived me!) Believe me, I’ve tried but I still end up making statements like When you behave like that, it makes Miss Thelma very sad (and yes, I refer to myself in the third person).

10.  If you want something, just ask.  Children have an ability to demand what they want with all their might, without an inkling of the possibility of not getting it.  We can all learn from that.

€5 has been donated to UNICEF Ireland for the completion of this ‘thing’.  Click here if you too would like to donate online.

17 comments:

The Dainty Dolls House said...

Love it, really great. Kids are great, even if they can be stinkers sometimes, I do enjoy the things I learn from them. And change is most definitely worth it too :)) xx

Melissa Blake said...

I have so much respect for teachers. They all do such good work! xoxo

Emmylou said...

That's really amazing, going to UAE to teach! I don't know if I could have had the courage to do that. And love the things that you learned. #3 is a great tip:P

Crissy @ House of Marlowe said...

Stumbled upon your blog today and happily so.... this is such an inspiring post. You certainly have a lot of courage and it seems to have served you well. Great life lessons. Thanks for sharing.

MARTA said...

Hi Thelma! I didn't know you made such a major change in your life. It's been a long time since i've been having the same feeling about moving abroad. I know i need to do this change, but call it bf or being afraid of the unknown ends up paralyzing me (sorry for my english).

Anyway, i'm glad you're having a great time in such a different country doing something you never though you'd be doing. I guess you've proven you can learn from everything as long as you're passionate enough. Just loved your philosophy. Thanks for sharing :)

Lilli said...

this is such a nice post!:) great words, good luck on everything!!:)

Couture Carrie said...

Good for you, darling!
Love this list!
I was a NYC teacher for 5 years :)

xoxox,
CC

Stephanie said...

It's really amazing what you can learn from kids. I never considered myself much of a kid person but being a nanny was the most satisfying job I've ever had. I can only imagine that gets magnified when you're actually teaching kids as opposed to just making sure they don't hurt themselves on the playground!

Elsa de Diego said...

Wow Thelma! Thanks so much for such a revealing and inspirational post! Good for u girl! I'm impressed! XOXO

Ren- Lady Of The Arts said...

My cousin is in Qatar teaching now- she loves it- this is her second year there-
Good manners are very important.

Ashley said...

This is a really great post. I love the bit about buying an iron in ireland...what a great moment you shared...sort of how epiphanies come out of mundane moments sometimes.

I worked with kids for a couple years and I learned so very much about adults through it :)

Tomma said...

Hehe, great post! I'm becoming a teacher (I wanted to do something else with what I studied, but I didn't find a way out yet) and I don't have a loud voice, so the part about the whispering is good news for me!
Great blog, I like how you mix different topics! Following on bloglovin!

Thelma Frayne said...

Thanks T- and that's cool you're becoming a teacher too! A steely stare is much more important than a loud voice.

Mariana said...

This is all so true.
I love this post!
And I think you're such an amazing person.

p.s. - Love your blog, too.
...your new follower :)

Yeliz Selvi said...

Bradley cooper in the hangover?
Brilliant reference!
This is wonderful, I needed to read this more than you realise
Actually, this blog is wonderful
I'll be moving to istanbul soon for a few months, doing an unpaid video and photographer role for an online living guide, I think I need the reality check (and change) so bless you dear!
And, seriously, well done!!
PS. following on bloglovin, darned I can't find your gf link!!!
Xxx

Thelma Frayne said...

Yeliz- first of all thank you! Istanbul is on my list of places I need to visit, ever since Garance Dore fell in love with the placed and blogged about it. I'm thinking of going close to the end of this year for a week. It's is pretty easy to fly from here I think!

A few people have mentioned that about GF actually- I need to sort my google account out!

Thelma Frayne said...

Yeliz- first of all thank you! Istanbul is on my list of places I need to visit, ever since Garance Dore fell in love with the placed and blogged about it. I'm thinking of going close to the end of this year for a week. It's is pretty easy to fly from here I think!

A few people have mentioned that about GF actually- I need to sort my google account out!