I've lived in Portland for almost five months now. And, I'm already feeling a little stuck.
It sounds pretentious and a little... insincere, but I'm just bored.
I like my job. It's a good company. But, I still see it as a transitional position. My supervisor tells me I have a future there. That's awesome because who doesn't want the security of a place in a big, successful company? I'm not sure that I do. We came home to put down roots. Do I want roots? I have my family. Aren't they my roots?
I want to write. Really, I want to travel. Life is expensive and we're having a hard time putting money aside to go somewhere. We want to go to Turkey next. We were thinking fall. But we haven't even started planning. We actually haven't talked about it recently. I don't even know if it'll be a viable destination by fall.
Coffee, mosques, bazaars and ruins
My mom belongs to Servas (an international hosting cooperative). I want to join, too. She sent me an email recently about a program within Servas called SYLE (Servas Youth Language Experience). The pitch goes like this:
"Are you between 18 and 30-something? Would you like to improve your foreign language skills outside of a classroom? Would you like to have a meaningful cultural exchange? Do you have a month or more to commit to the unique learning experience that can only be found in travel?"
Yes.
Well, at least, I would be willing to commit to a month or more. But, I would have to give up my job, as I'm sure they're keen on the idea of giving me a leave of 30 days or more. There's even a $500 scholarship available.
The over-thinking needs to stop. I'm going to apply to Servas and the SYLE program and see what happens. Wish me luck.
Love your way of thinking. And as far as writing, you need to get your last blog in book form. I'm just saying!
ReplyDeleteLUCK! This is the time of our lives to do stuff like this. If Dominic didn't have grad school this fall I would totally be looking into something like this myself.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I hear you on the transitional job. I don't want to work for a big company unless it is doing something I really love, being creative. I will not waste my whole life in a cubicle somewhere. I might need to for a couple years, but that is to get to someplace better, not stick around.
Uh, sorry to be a nervous nellie, but I wouldn't be too keen on going to any muslim country in the near future.
ReplyDeleteAs for travelling, hey go for it. I don't know what to tell you about generating a money supply, though. English teaching probably works, but I think you determined it's not your cup of tea. There's also the old standby of the Peace Corps, but it's a 2 year commitment, I think, and the places they want you to go may not be where you wanna go.
You obviously should have chosen richer parents.