School's Out for the Summer

The name of this post is a bit premature as I am not officially finished with classes yet. But at the end of today I will officially be on "summer vacation" until September 7th. I am leaving tonight for five days in Bali, will head back to Hanoi for 2 days and then off to the US for a whirlwind 5 weeks jumping between NYC, San Fran, and Florida. I worked it out that between now and July 29th I'll be in seven different cities. It'll be hectic, however it's the first time in my life that I think that I'll be able to properly appreciate a summer vacation.

Summer vacations are wasted on little children, who don't appreciate how good they have it. In fact, they don't even need summer vacations. Back before I started teaching, i thought teachers had it easy, that they had the good life filled with all of these breaks. It wasn't until I became one that I realized how the breaks are necessary in preventing the teacher from losing their mind. It is now apparent that these summer breaks are actually designed with the teacher in mind rather than the students.

I wish growing up, that I had appreciated the long breaks that I had. That I had recognized that it's not actually normal to spend 3 months a year in Europe, and that my ability to do so was a privilege. That one day it would end. That day came when I got my first job at a PR firm in NYC. The contract had the glaring "10 days vacation" jumping off the page at me and it wasn't until then that I realized that my days of lazing about all summer were over. That I'd have to manage my time better. That I'd have to make every day off count.

The idea made me miserable and it didn't take long for me to concoct professions that would allow me to indulge in the life I had before working, one with the greatest luxury of all: time. I've toyed with the idea of becoming a movie star, writing a best selling novel and starting my own business. These are all still active works in progress. I fell onto the idea of teaching quite early on, it seemed like the obvious choice. Great hours and long breaks. It seemed like an easy choice and it didn't even bother me that I don't like kids. As I said before, once I actually started teaching I realized two things: 1. I don't dislike kids as much as I thought (in fact I think they're ok) and 2. Teaching is hard work. Very hard work. Very draining and teachers are more than deserving of the break.

I am not sure of what my blogging will be like while I am away, but I can assure you one thing...my offline life will be fully enjoyed.