I am now officially certified to teach English internationally! I am in the process of completing further online hours so that my certification will be stronger. I'm also looking at possibly doing some specialized courses, such as teaching the TOEFL test (the proficiency test that is required by many English speaking companies and universities) or teaching children. I'm really looking forward to the opportunities that lie ahead! Though the days were long, the course was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed teaching, and am looking forward to planning more lessons in the future! It's time to start stocking up at the Dollar Store with fun little teacher's items. Though I'm not planning on looking for a teaching job until January, I might as well start planning some stuff now! Hopefully over the summer I will interview with places and can secure a job somewhere. Brazil is definitely the top choice, but we were told to keep our options open, so I'm trying to do that. We shall see!

     This weekend was the start of my course to teach English internationally. It's been a grueling two days, with 10 hours of class a day. But I am absolutely loving it! We had to do a practice lesson today, and it wasn't as difficult as I thought. I "taught" the class prepositions and used a fun activity to help them learn it. I am really getting excited about the opportunities to teach abroad! I can see it being very difficult to simply stay in one country. I want to explore everywhere, so maybe I'll use this as an opportunity to do so. Brazil is definitely the top choice for teaching right now, but perhaps after a year there I will go to Argentina or Chile. I want to be one of those people who is fluent in multiple languages. A girlfriend of mine is fluent in four languages, and on a recent trip I heard her speak all four. It was absolutely incredible- she was able to communicate with strangers that otherwise she would have missed out on. The Italian boys outside the bar? No problem. Same with the guy from Uruguay who needed his picture taken. She had such an effortless talent of being able to communicate with different people. This is something I aspire to have! Mine German needs a lot more work, but for now it will have to be put on hold. Hopefully after spending a year in Brazil, I will be fluent in Portuguese and will be able to move on to more languages. I am so grateful for this incredible opportunity that I have, and I cannot wait to see where it leads!

Roma Roma Roma

     It's official! I am going to Rome for a month to study art history this summer. This has been something I've been dreaming of since my first art history class. The chance to see incredible Renaissance paintings and architecture in real life... I cannot believe it!
     Will write more later!

the beginning of the end

     As I start to near the end of my college journey, I thought it would be nice to start a blog. I am not sure how good I will be at keeping this updated, but my hopes are to get in the habit of writing here before I begin my international journeys.

     I have traveled extensively with my family, and it is truly a passion of mine. However, I have never lived somewhere abroad for an extended period of time. With my boyfriend being from Brazil, and I hoping to teach English there for a year, I am starting to prepare myself mentally for the distance.

     These next few months will be my "practice sessions," though I doubt anyone is reading them. It's more for my own benefit. Honestly, I feel rather silly writing these things. But I do hope it will be handy, and will be a good way for me to share with my friends and family the adventures I am having.

     In a few months I will leave for Rome to study art history for a month. I cannot wait! It is a dream to study there, and I can't believe it's coming true! That will be the true test for this blog, and will be great practice for the coming year in Brazil. I recently received a new camera for my birthday, and I'm excited to put it to good use there. So, fingers crossed that I figure out all this blog stuff!

~Vanessa

     P.S. Also, I'm really excited about the "translate" feature! My boyfriend and I owe our relationship to translate, for when we started dating he hardly spoke English! I'm excited that he and his family will be able to read this in the future :p