When Drums Traveled Oceans

When you feel like you are in your native land, but you hear Spanish and quickly realize that you are in a country, at the tip of Central America, in the mouth of south America’s Colombia.

When you are grateful to see the same tropical colors reminiscent of your ancestral home

When you are pleased to see people whose cheek bones, lips, noses, body structures resemble yours

When you can play with a little girl’s hair…a girl who could have been you when you were her age

When you can smile and nod at each person in a way that only people who are proud of their blackness recognize

When you taste that rice made over a wooden stove with a chicken combination similar to what your mommy makes

When you can look around and say “Hey, we do that too!”

When you can see how your ancestors once moved their waists and feet to the same Congo drums

When you can pinpoint things that originated from Africa and were carried across oceans into a foreign land now meshing into the land of the foreign

When you can appreciate another culture, because it looks like what you know

When you can look at another person, in a land foreign to you, and see yourself. See your brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins. Then you see just how connected we once were.

Happy Black History Month family!

Pictures from La Feria de Diablos y Congos in Portobelo, Panama. The tradition hails from Afro-Antillean interpretation of tactics used by slaves to rebel against their masters. The devil represents the slave master and the people taunting it represent that African slaves. Women in colorful dresses sing songs of freedom while sway their hips melodically to the beats of the drums. It is said to be a cultural and colorful display of the struggle of good versus evil. The event is held only every two years on the old fort ruins of Portobelo, a town located in the Caribbean province of Colón. I had the pleasure of spending several days there and fell in love with the town for it's slow paced caribbean vibe, freshly cooked food, and abundance of pretty tropical plants. I am a sucker for the vibrant colors of the tropics.

La Feria de Diablos y Congos

nothing like roast meat at an outdoor gathering

djege man...y'all know the type.

diablos from Bocas Del Toro

end the night with a display of fireworks

doesn't this look like Sierra Leone? or Barbados? Or Guyana? Or you name it.

Bee's 3 Step Guide to Going Abroad: Ready, Set, G.O.! (Get Out!)

STEP 2: The Step with a Whole Lotta Steps.

If you are just joining the ride, please take off your seatbelt and read Step 1. It’s one of the few times, I will ask you to take off your seatbelt! But I need you to get this part from the beginning. 

Ready?

So last post, I detailed the portion of Getting Back to Y.O.U.---Your Own Unfilled promises. That’s right, we all have them. Pull out your list now. We’ll wait.

Mine of course was always wanting to just teach abroad, even if only for a few months or a year.  I put things in place and started taking the TEFL course.

During the course, I started my research. I completed my practicum as it was a requirement for the course. I tutored students at the Literacy Council of Prince George’s County. I would spend some days tutoring a guy in a reading class and other days observing the English as a Second Language class. I enjoyed both experiences. Tutoring one student in a reading class really tested my patience; I had to think about new ways to get him to learn. That experience in itself was a blessing because READING is something we take for granted. If you are following this blog, you are blessed. Education = Freedom, indeed. It was then that I truly learned the depth and importance of that phrase. Whew, Jesus, Lord. Thank you. I was also able to take notes and pick up things that I would want to use in my classroom when I went abroad. 

Note: The guy I was tutoring had started a few months ago at the literacy council. He was in his 60s and could not read the alphabet when he first started. When I first started working with him he still had a way to go, but he was writing at least one paragraph a day in a journal. He liked to write about why people did the things they did in the world. His determination to learn killed any excuse I ever gave myself.

SACRIFICE is a key word. I would get off work from my night job. Then rest a bit before going to practicum, then go to my afternoon job after. Sometimes I was late, but I had explained to my boss what I was doing. I was missing money, but it was for a greater cause---my freedom!

*Greatest Lesson in Step 2*: Do not be afraid to make sacrifices. They might sting, but if the outcome of your sacrifice is greater and for longevity, don’t be afraid to make it. Do it!

Before Departure.  These are the steps that I took; you will tweak these to fit your needs and destination :) But I think these steps are applicable to many Latin American destinations and other countries.

1. Complete course including practicum. Tie up all loose ends when it comes to acquiring your certification. I was nervous that somebody would call and say “Ummmm, ONE more thing.” Lol, kinda like graduation. You get it.

2. Google anything and everything about your intended destination. Before bed. While you wait at the doctor’s office. At work. Lol. And create a folder in your email called “_______________ Resources” I know y’all thought I was crazy just uppin’ and movin,’ but Lord knows I researched the hell outta Panama. Anything that said Panama, I read it---AND ANYTIME OF THE DAY. I developed a folder in my email box called Panama resources. I found travel blogs, people blogs, reviews, anything and everything on what and how to do stuff in Panama. If I was going to do this, I was going to know HOW to do it and that I COULD do it. I had so many resources that by the time an advisor emailed me with what she thought would be good resources for me, I had already seen all of them and ruled some out. Gotta do your own work.

3. Since I wanted to teach, I needed to know where I could do this. Thus, I began looking up schools. You know what that meant. Google search “English schools in Panama” and every other possible combination of those words to see what the wonderful Google Gods would yield for results, lol. Unfortunately for me, Panama’s TEFL market/experience wa basically non-existent on file. Not many people set out to come teach English in Panama, unlike more popular teaching destinations like Thailand, Costa Rica, South Korea, China, etc. so it was a bit difficult and even frustrating at times. But, I stuck with it. I tried a second technique, which was finding different words for school and not typing English language schools specifically. I tried ‘schools in panama’ and let it give me as many as schools as possible. Anything I yielded that seemed a bit legit, I added it to a list. Eventually I took all of my results and compiled a list of schools, phone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers, and location when available. I would leave this list alone and then come back after a new creative Google word search got me a new school or something. Tricks---are not just for kids :) Also, you want to know the peak hiring seasons for the work you are trying to do.

4. Now, you are like great, I have a list I can send out my resumes/cover letters to ear employers. No, relax. Not just yet. My institute advised me to create a packet that most language schools like to see when hiring teachers from overseas. I would recommend, based on how I was recommended, a beautifully written cover letter, a solid resume with related teaching/training experience, a copy of your TEFL certificate and two recommendations from employers that love you J I have my picture on my resume which they say is recommended for international teaching positions, but I think its to see your race…just saying. Just get these things together. Don’t send just yet.

5. Then, you want to develop an email addressing potential schools. I created one in Spanish since I was applying to schools in a Spanish-speaking country. But, if you are applying for a job in Thailand, maybe you don’t know how to write Thai. In that case, English would suffice, lol. Once you have a nice formal email introducing yourself, attach your resume and cover letter to the email and send it out. I did a blind copy to many schools, about once every 1.5 weeks. Do not send all of the information mentioned in step 4, unless they request it.

6. Wait for responses. Only got 1. But that was normal. A lot of schools in Latin America won’t hire you before arrival. This step means, even with all of the other steps, don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back. You just gotta make the move.

7. Tell all your friends and family that you are making a move and that you have done research. Tell them about other people that have done this same thing (like me). Show them this blog. Show them other blogs. Tell them that dream chasin’ and travelling the world is in style and that they too should get with it! Lol.

8. Purchase your plane ticket for the time you think that will be best to make your move based on peak hiring seasons for your intended job and personal matters.

9. Do Step 7 again. Cuz some people won’t believe you.

10. Tie up loose ends. Figure out how you will pay your bills while away. Designate a person to be responsible for different things. Defer your loans, if you can. Handle any medical stuff. Tell your doctor that you are going abroad and want to make sure that you can connect with them for questions. Lord knows, I abuse the hell out of my doctor’s office with questions. And my cousin that is a PA of course gets bombarded with questions. Check with your insurance provider to see what they cover. Cancel stuff. Stop this. Stop that. Prepare.

11.  Create a packing list of things you will need that you cannot find abroad. In my experience, I will always leave the States with a planner. I will not even begin to tell you my finding a cute planner in August in Panama ordeal. The teachers at my school knew my struggle, lol. Luckily, this year, I found a wonderful Paulo Coelho planner. Yes, I am a believer.

12. Purchase International travel insurance.

13. Register with the U.S. Embassy if you are an American Citizen.

14. Request certain stuff from your closest friends and family members and tell them to come to your house because you are leaving. People will pretty much get you anything. Lol. I got cards, money, food, a magic jack, body sprays, you name it, I was claiming it. The greatest gift though, was the support of my mother and father. Have a cute little potluck in your mom’s backyard with your closest friends and just laugh and enjoy them. By the time you get back, some will be married, moms, dads, CPAs, grad students, diplomats, etc. basically, prepare yourself for a journey and have them prepare for your growth on this journey.

15. Believe in yourself. This is what will take you where you are supposed to be. This is how people will believe in you as well. They will look at you and say, “Wow, she did it!”