Tales of a Travelin' Teacher: Learning to R.A.F.T.

SO I thought that since I had FAILED at posting once a week, I owed at least 2 posts. :)

This past Friday I finished Pre-Field Orientation (PFO). A whirlwind of information was learned, friendships bonded, and started processing of an array of emotions. The whole process of transferring your life to a new place (especially internationally) for an extended period of time takes quite a bit out of you.

Information Learned
Topics at PFO ranged from Third Culture Kids (very interesting), dealing with your marital status (or lack thereof :) ), safety, and personality assessments. I was affirmed in the fact I am people person. My personality test proves that much - in case such an assessment was needed for those in disbelief. It was a good tool to guide discussion with our school team on our individual strengths and weaknesses. During the safety seminar, a simulation of a bus riot occurred. (This was after they showed a clip of the movie "Taken".) Obviously it was staged, but still a wave of fear did come over me. I wouldn't think of what would I do if I was living in the States. It is difficult to sum up what a TCK is...basically children that are living in another country outside of their passport culture during their development years. We talked about how and why these kids feel displaced and what we can do to help - the RAFT process. More on that in a minute...

Friendships Bonded
I met some simply amazing people. Not to my surprise there were more females than males in attendance. But the quality of these individuals was/is stellar. They have a heart to serve Christ all over the world. One new bestie, Rebecca, and I met in our small group the first night. She is going to be the kindergarten teacher at our school in Ghana. She is a walking pintrest junkie. I am requiring her to make me things before we leave! Her demeanor radiates joy and I have never met someone so helpful with other's needs. I am her "mentor" because she is merely 21 years old, but acts at least 10 years older. I know she will bless her team and kids with her amazing self. A fellow Oklahoman, Lauren, is heading to Kabul, Afghanistan, to teach health and be the school nurse. This lady bring so much joy to my life. She always smothered me with her love and bear hugs. Her humor is infectious and I am confident she will bring so much joy to her students and team. I only WISH I could be a fly on the wall of her classroom. :) Another kindred spirit is Missy. She is heading to Lima, Peru, to educated special needs students. We bonded pretty much immediately. One thing I love about her is that she is not exactly what you expect. She will do an amazing job, but she may starve because she eats nothing with color - like fruits and veggies. Pray for her nutrition for the next two years! My roommates at PFO were pretty amazing. We all are going to schools all over - Singapore, Kabul, Caracas, Rio de Janiero, and Suriname. We spent time encouraging and laughing at each other. I hope to meet up with some day. I told them my intent was to become bff so that I would have a place to stay when I wanted to travel to their country. ;)

R.A.F.T.
R - Reconcile hardships
A - Affirm those close to you
F - Say Farewells
T - Think and Talk

The training process with the transition was beneficial for me because I felt normal with all of my emotions. It also showed me how to walk the process when it is time for my students to transition to another country. I have better expectations of my students and my own situation. It also help me understand how others around me feel about my leaving. So since the good-bye tour has officially started, be prepared for the following steps: reconciliation, affirmation, farewell, and talking about it. I may need a hug in there somewhere.

The BEST THING about PFO ending was a call from the consulate of Miami informing my visa has been approved! God is good! Time to buy a plane ticket, people! :)

Raft building,
Megan :)

Here are some pictures of PFO and my new friends!