Hawaii Teacher is Go
I have accepted a teaching job on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
I am excited,
and terrified.
Moving off the mainland and away from my family and friends was not an easy decision. In college I assumed I would get my teaching degree and move back home to my small town in Michigan. Why wouldn’t I? My family has lived here for years. Down the street from where I currently sit is the house my grandmother was born in. Keep going, cross the intersection, and travel a quarter mile on the road you’ll find the local cemetery. I have a plot there-have since I was a kid. I used to lay there. It’s nice. Peaceful. There is a yellow farm house across the street that I dreamed of living in. It has a white covered porch, perfect for sipping lemonade upon.
“But Haylie,” you may be asking, “if you had all of this planned, then why leave?”
When I think about it my list for leaving is just as long as my reasons to stay:
-I want to make a difference. The county I grew up in is one of the richest in Michigan. The schools have new books, smart-boards, computers, you name it. Could I impact students here? Of course, but I could do more somewhere else.
-Adventure (and maybe a bit of fear.) Yes, I have plans and dreams here but setting something in concrete, settling down now, is terrifying. I grew up reading adventure stories, the classics, modern tales, I could not get enough. In recent years I have become an addict of Doctor Who and have dreamed of travel because of it. I have plenty of time to settle down, but now is my time to create my stories. This is an opportunity that cannot be passed up.
The last few months have been spent preparing for the move. I have to fit my entire life into two checked and one carry on bag, plus get my service dog in training ready to go, which as not been easy. After a fifteen hour flight I will have two days to find a place to live (YIKES!), furniture to sleep on, and transportation to rent before I start teaching.
I have run circles around the inter-webs trying to prepare and found a surprising lack of information.
Places to rent are snatched up within days or even hours. Places with a yard (a must for my pup) run around $2,000 a month. Do I need a car or can I get by with a moped because it is SOOO much cheaper? Where do I buy food? Are teacher discounts offered anywhere? So many questions!
After struggling to find information I am going to try filling this niche so other teachers will have some jumping off point for their own Hawaiian relocations.
I will be boarding my plane January seventh, the time is drawing near. Luckily I will not be embarking on this journey alone. My good friends, and awesome people, Cassie and Rob are along for the ride. Cassie is a special education teacher who has just returned from working in Thailand for three months. (I highly recommend checking out her blog) and will be working on the same island. Rob just graduated with a degree in theatre... things. I’ll be honest I’m not sure of the exact wording but he knows, loves, and is good at what he does.
The four of us (yes I’m counting Rowan too) will be living and figuring this thing out together.
Now if you’ll excuse me I must get back to packing.