Working to Live..not Living to Work.
Io sono una insegnante di inglese e una studente della
lingua italiana.
I had one main goal when leaving the states: travel and
explore the world. In order to achieve this, I created a plan based on
what I already know and am capable of - teaching. Therefore, my dream of living abroad manifested itself by means of being an English teacher.Prior to my departure, I did my research and found that most
schools only hire ESL teachers with a Visa and proper documentation. Since it is close to impossible to get a work
Visa in Italy, I chose the second option which was obtaining a student visa. This was a
win-win solution; I get to legally teach English as well as learn Italian.
The first two weeks of my arrival in Florence was a haze of
beginner Italian courses and countless visits to Language schools. A routine
quickly developed where I would spend my mornings learning Italian at Parola
Scuola and later use my afternoons job searching. Clearly at this point
mornings were my favorite part of the day. I embraced this new beautiful
language. Thankful for my previous knowledge of Spanish, Italian came fairly
easily. I loved every minute of grammar and conversation lessons. I wanted to
take what I was learning, nurture it, and have it blossom into fluency. Alas, I
needed a job to pay the bills and allow me to stay in this cultural haven.
Before I left Croatia I e-mailed my CV and cover letter to
every English language school in Florence letting them know I was headed their
way. During the first week in Florence I visited each language school and
hand-delivered my CV and cover letter. Then I waited. By the second week panic began
to fester and my future in Italy did not appear as solid as I thought it to be.
I refused to resort to waiting tables – I have done that for far too long in my
life. However, with grace on my side, the emails and calls poured in and all of
a sudden I had 8 interviews lined up. Once again, another test to prove that
worrying gets you nowhere and everything works out the way it is supposed to.
Nevertheless, by the end of my third week in Italy I landed
a job at a highly credited language school and was no longer a beginner in
Italian. I was getting an income and able to fluently give people directions to
Santo Spirito. Eight weeks later, I have continued to fulfill my roles as a
student and teacher. I have graduated to the “green books” at Parola and am
spending my mornings attending classes when I can and enjoying the easy
pleasure of being a student. Scattered
throughout the days and week, I teach English to Italians where we share common
ground on the frustration of not being fluent in a language we are so eager to
know. I am a teacher and a student;
balancing responsibility and pleasure.
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