I suppose a little background is called for... as some of you know, I finished my MAT at Simmons College last year and became certified to teach History to grades 5-12. I spent the summer looking for a teaching job in New England. But it was not to be, so I started working on my thesis to finish up my Liberal Arts Masters in History. However, the thought of another stressful summer of job searching got me thinking about looking at schools abroad instead.
A few weeks ago I went to an Overseas Teaching Recruitment Fair in Iowa (not the greatest place to visit in the middle of winter, if you were wondering). Schools from all over the world attend looking for teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies in all subject areas and grade levels. After the round robin session on Friday morning I had interviews set up with 5 different schools and had left my resume with some other schools I was interested in. By Saturday evening I was signing a contract and having a drink with the other new American School of Kosova teachers!
Kosovo? Kosova? I learned at the information session for my new school that "Kosovo" is the Serbian way of referring to what Albanians call "Kosova". Five years ago, in 2008, the Republic of Kosova declared itself an independent state, though not all countries recognize it as such, including Serbia. 92% of Kosovars are ethnically Albanians and the official languages are Albanian and Serbian. The capital and the place I will be living for the next two years (at least...) is Pristina (also Prishtina), a city of about 198,000 people. Though they are not part of the European Union, Kosova uses the € Euro.
I'm really excited about this new adventure. I'm looking forward to living a little closer to some friends in Europe. I'm also looking forward to my American friends and family visiting me in Kosova or meeting me anywhere in Europe.
So start planning your European adventures now!