First Steps
Hello !!!!
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Who am I and why a blog?
Well I'm not one of those people who keeps a diary. I've started many times but have never managed to make it last. However, I'm at the beginning of the ADVENTURE of a lifetime and I thought it would be nice to chronicle it, for those who know me, for those who might be going through the same thing (and here I'm addressing women) and then for me, who when I'm old and no longer able to have such adventures, will be able to relive this story.
So I'm warning you right now that this first post is going to be a long one, because I need to set the scene. So I'm Nathalie, delighted to meet you. Born in Paris, of Martinican parents but raised in New York. How come New York? We'll get back to that someday, but not today. However I've often traveled between these two countries and shared my life there. I'm a mom. My beauties are my soul: Victoria and Alexane came into my life in that order.
So to cut a long story short (I promise I will go back in time) I returned to Martinique in December 2009 with my youngest daughter, the eldest having stayed in NYC. Professional setback! I couldn't find a job. I had a few odd jobs, but nothing that could sustain me and my daughter. So I decided to enter the French education system through the back door: I became a contract teacher in 2014. I wanted to teach English, but as I had a degree in biology and chemistry (Bachelor's Degree obtained in NYC), I was refused this subject. So I teach SVT (biology). I discover a job that I like. So I say to myself: well, I've come this far, I had gone back to school at the age of 45, so what the heck, I'll take the CAPES (French teaching qualification) in the subject English, and I succeed on the first try. However, to become a tenured teacher, I need a Master II. So back to the classroom. I write my first and only dissertation, which I have to defend at the age of 52. At last, I've got my title: I've got tenure with the French Ministry of Education!
I'm sure you're thinking: this is your big adventure! No, not at all, but don't forget, I'm setting the scene. So here I am stationed in Martinique, yeah I was lucky, I didn't have to leave.
Remember, I told you I was raised in NYC and went to the Lycée Français of New York. So I'm thinking there must be a way to teach in these French schools abroad... hummmm.... Starts my research. Aha!!! AEFE !!!! What the heck? The Agency for French Education Abroad. So I visit the site, learning all I can about the possibilities of teaching abroad.
And then life happens, I meet someone and this desire fades but doesn't disappear. Life happens again and I'm single again and childless! My youngest took off to meet her big sister in NYC.
I finally meet the requirements (because you need a minimum of three years' active service to apply). So in January 2023, I applied for 2 positions in Vietnam, 1 in Kuala Lumpur and 1 in Manila. Do you see a pattern emerging? Yes, I only want to go to Southeast Asia. I love everything Asian. And then there's a much deeper reason. I became a mom when I was 24. I raised my children alone, without financial support from anyone. This isn't a pity party, that's a fact, and as a result, I've never been able to travel or take vacations abroad. Travelling is my dream. Anyway, I digress. I wait... and in March 2023 I receive an e-mail telling me that I was in 1st position for Manilla (therefore eligible) but the colleague in post has re-signed, so tough luck...
January 2024 comes around and I look at the list of positions, and there's only one destination that interests me, so I apply. On March 12, I receive an email telling me that I'm 5th on the list. Okay, well, I'll give it a try next year. But in the email it says: reply if you're no longer interested in the job. I say to myself: what's the point, I'm 5th on the list, it won't make any difference, so I do not respond.
On March 19, 2024, I receive another email telling me that I'm in 1st position! The job is mine if I want it, and I say yes !!!!!
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