The Wandering Violet: Finally here and settled...How bad do you want it?

After months of waiting on paperwork and stressing out over the process of getting an entry and a work visa I am finally here and settling into my new home in Kuwait. This post will be comprised of my feelings and why and how I got here.
After working in the US all of my life and developing a hunger to travel outside of the states as well as a passion for teaching today's youth one day I asked myself how I could do both. I began to search the internet for teaching abroad and that is when I found the website TeachAway.com I read their reviews and researched various countries. I was quite impressed with what others had to say and thought "hey, why not". At the end of January I submitted my resume for Abu Dhabi and the journey began. I quickly gathered all of the necessary documents required for potential employers to see and was called the next week for a phone interview. The excitement was real! I was going to be interviewed for an English teaching position for Abu Dhabi in 1 week (Feb.4th). I had to drive to Charlotte, NC and stay overnight. As I gathered my interview suit and other essentials for my trip, I studied interviewing techniques (something I have never done) and informed my family about my quest and my very real intentions of landing this job. I have always been a "go getter" and therefore had no doubt that I would slam dunk the interview. Once I got to Charlotte it became even more clear how badly I wanted this. I studied and studied. Finally I got to sleep and the next morning woke up refreshed and ready. Just as I was about to walk out the door and head off to the venue my stomach started churning, my head began aching and my palms and the rest of my body became flushed. I was literally sick from anticipation. I didn't want anything to go wrong. I needed this opportunity. I needed to get away from a job where the admin did not recognize my unique talents and ability to connect with my students. I needed to get away from a place where people were secretly trying to leave and find other places of employment because they were unhappy for various reasons. I was in a place where the bad moods of others was weighing on me like a heavy load and the faces of all encompassed in the building was sullen or had pasted forced congenial fake smiles as they walked by every morning. That was not how I wanted to spend a significant part of my life day by day. I got on the phone at the last minute and called my bff; Denise. She prayed for me. She asked the Lord to calm me down and if it be his will give me the desires of my heart. With those words I cut off all of the lights and stretched out across the bed into complete darkness and silence for what seemed like 30 or 40 minutes and then I hopped up with renewed strength, calmness, determination and faith. I went to the interview and did what I felt was an awesome job. I had all of my paperwork in order, I was dressed in a conservative black suit with low dress heels and my hair was neatly combed on my head with not one strand out of place. The interviews were conducted through SKYPE by a panel of 3 people. There were several rooms interviewing at once. Of course I got the room no one wanted. People came out of that one saying how tough it was and therefore none of us wanted to be interviewed by room number 3. But I went in with confidence and I answered their questions without hesitation and gave complete and passionate answers. I rejoined the other interviewees with my confidence in tact along with pride on how well I had done. While waiting for others to finish I created a groupme.com group called Abu Dhabi Hopefuls 2015. I thought it would be a great way for all of us to keep in touch while we waited for the next step. Well, guess what....I returned to Raleigh and anxiously awaited word on when I would be starting. After impatiently waiting for 4 days the answer came across my desktop...It read: Dear Ms. Ellison, ADEC would like to thank you for interviewing however.....My heart sank and I leaped up from my chair and ran to a hidden corner of my room and I cried. I actually cried! I felt stuck, trapped and hopeless. I went on feeling this way for about a week and then it was like the real me returned to my body one day and I got on the computer and applied for more positions overseas. A day or so later I was asked to interview for Kuwait. After playing phone tag we finally connected and set up a time that was convenient for both parties. I was on Spring Break in Myrtle Beach, SC when the Skype call came in from the Assistant Principal of my prospective new school. It was another really good interview. She was at home babysitting and I was on the beach with my grandson Elijah. In spite of the kids running around, afterwards I felt great. A week later I received an offer letter in my email! That entire process took about a month and a half. Now it was time to get the required authenticated documents needed for the work permit. Who knew it would take 7 months! My patience has never been something I could brag about so you know this just slayed me. My mother kept telling me not to tell people just in case something went wrong but I couldn't help it. Before I knew it I had told most of my students, my bff, my biological children, my ex boyfriend, my closest coworkers and finally my admin of my intentions. Now I had to find a renter for my house, put all of my belongings in storage and figure out where to store my vehicles. These were not easy tasks. After all, I would be gone for a year. I had to find the right person to live in my house and be neighbors to my very loving friends (Ms. Bette, Tod (across the street), Stephanie & Curtis). I had to find someone that would take care of my home and pay the rent on time. I finally found her! Finding storage was a hoot. It had to be large enough to contain a 3 bedroom house full of furniture, climate controlled due to my electronics, close and secured. I finally found it and payed for the entire year. Now I had to find someone to help me move it all....thank heavens for my ex; Arthur. He got 3 of his friends to help. My bff and I were there to help and supervise. It took us 3 days in July to get all the big stuff moved. While these two tasks were being tackled I also had to have medical tests done and documents authenticated. I was also working as a full time teacher preparing for final exams and end of the year activities. Needless to say I was under a lot of stress. There came a point when I could move no further in the process until I received the NOC (no objection certificate) from Kuwait. This is the part that took the longest. I had moved out of my house and was now living with my parents for the first time in over 25 years! I love them to pieces but oh the STRESSSS! My daughter and my new grandson always needed me for something and she knows that in the end I will ALWAYS come to her rescue (if I am close). That means transporting, loaning money, babysitting, feeding and buying whatever catches my eye that I think he needs or wants. Yes, they are both spoiled. Oh the STRESSSSS! I had to deal with a sulking dad and an ex boyfriend that did not want me to leave (he began wanting to prove himself to me) and oh yea I had to decide who would get the dog. Yes I had a dog (Toy Poodle) need I say more. She is family so who ever got her had to treat her as such. With all of this done now I had to pack my suitcases and hope I wouldn't go over the luggage cap and have to pay more money to get my clothes, shoes and other essentials over to Kuwait. With the help of my loving and patient Aunt Deborah I packed and repacked and unpacked and repacked and then weighed at least 4 times. By the way, I have 2 other grandsons that live with their mother and father in Florida. I received a phone call from my oldest grandson; Trenton that said "Mimi please don't leave the country without coming to see me" if you have ever seen my Trenton then you know his big beautiful eyes will melt your heart and have you eating out of his tiny hands. On the airplane I went at the end of August to see my other babies. It was the most rest and peace I had received in months. My son Tyler cooked me breakfast and my daughter n law Christina cooked dinner. They allowed me to do ABSOLUTELY nothing but rest. I guess they could see from my face that I needed it. My job was to love on my boys Trenton and Titus and simply relax with great conversation, great movies, food and drink. Paradise in Florida could not last forever and I left 3 days later to return to the chaos that had become my life. Soon after my return the day finally came when I opened the door and a courier was standing there with a package from Kuwait (NOC). I immediately got on the phone with the HR person from my new school and informed her it had arrived. A day later I had an e-ticket to Kuwait for September 10th. With my over sized suitcases in hand I arrived at the airport early Thursday morning with my mother and bestfriend to see me off. Teary eyed we said our "see ya laters" and my dreams became my reality. I arrived in Kuwait 24.5 hours later....and went to work the next day! Did I mention that during the month of July added to my stress was the death of a student while I was on vacation in Jamaica (a trip I'd paid for last year that was non refundable without fees), a student was in a horrible accident and is still in the hospital, and another dear student of mine was hospitalized for depression! I really needed to get away. I wanted this experience really badly. This is my time to shine, explore and discover more of what this huge world has to offer. Stay tuned for more updates on what I've done so far since arriving to this beautiful country.