the real answer

[morgue_n]

I might have a job in Colombia soon.

First, I was looking for gigs in Ecuador because I have friends there. However, my friends' school in Quito (Fundacion) still hasn't gotten back to me since the interview, and the other interview I had in Quito (Menor) was kind of combative. 

It was me v four other people. They were 10 minutes late, and they asked me kind of blunt questions. They came off accusatory. 

"Why should we hire you." 

I told them I don't know if they should or not. I don't know what their school culture is like. If they're into balance, and creativity, and critical thinking, then I'm their man. If they're just trying to get high test scores so kids can go to prestigious colleges, then don't hire me. 

"Describe your current teaching context."

I'm not actually teaching right now. I work part time at a library. I was in Shanghai at a really good school for 5 years, but I've had about a year and a half to two years off now.

"Why aren't you teaching." 

"Well... there's the real answer, and then there's the polite, interview answer." 

"Give me the real one."

"One of my 9th grade students committed suicide, and I needed a break. I had to reconnect with family, find my balance again, figure myself out. It took two years, but I'm ready to go again." 

"I'm really sorry to hear that. I can't imagine the grief you must have felt, and it says a lot that you're ready to teach again.... but we only have 5 minutes left before our next interview, so we only have time for one more question. Do you have anything you want to ask us?"

I left that interview feeling completely unlistened to. I felt robbed. I felt like I was wasting my time. Later, in the same day, I interviewed with a school in Monterrey, Mexico. The principal there was an older white man with some magical grandpa energy. The interview went smooth. Towards the middle of it, he asked me,

"So Morgan, you're in your 30s, you just switched out of Asia and you're looking at latin America now... what kind of school are you looking for?"

I told him I was done with the high pressure atmosphere of the confucian test-taking culture, and I wanted something with more balance. I was focusing on happiness. 

"I'll be honest with you, our school is very much that thing you're trying to avoid. Schools like what you're looking for exist though, and I know exactly what you mean. I have worked at them, and I loved working at them. I met my wife at a school like that. Those schools are in Colombia." 

So I started applying to jobs in Colombia. On Friday I had an absolutely amazing interview with a middle school principal in Medellin. If he offers me a job, I'm going to take it in a heartbeat.