Decisions, Decisions

After spending a long weekend in Paris at the end of March, I returned to school on Monday expecting a normal, run of the mill day.  I was in the Nursery out on the playground when the head teacher came and found me. I thought there was a schedule change for the day, or something like that. I was a little bit off. Here's how our conversation went:

"How long are you planning on being in the UK, Heather?" she asked. 

"I was planning on coming back for the fall, and then going back to Canada at Christmas, and staying there permanently then" I reply. 

"Hm, not sure if that's going to work for me" she replies.

"Why is that?" I ask. 

"Well, I was thinking about offering you Year 4 for next year. But you'd need to be here for the whole year" she explains.

"Oh wow"

After telling my head teacher that I'd need a few days to think about it, I was in definite shock. I had never expected to be offered the opportunity to have my own class here in London. I had made my previous decision about when to head home, based on staying as the PPA teacher at my school. I carried on as usual, because I had to continue teaching for the rest of the day.

It wasn't until I was at home, that the enormity of the decision that I had to make became real. I was perfectly happy with my plan to come back for the fall, because I know that if I was staying home in July, I wouldn't be 'done' with London and traveling around.  I figured it would be a perfect compromise, since I'd still be able to get a bit more of London life and then head back, to reconnect with friends and family, move back to Toronto and the job I had before moving to London.

However, the offer of having my own class in a school that I'm familiar in, really changed all that. Especially knowing that the opportunity to have my own class in Ontario in September is pretty much not possible at this point, as there are very few jobs.

After considering all of my options, I've decided to take the job, and stay in London for another year. I'm apprehensive, because I know it's going to be a very different year than this year, and I know I'm going to learn loads. I'm also really excited to do the things that I've always wanted to do in my own class, and have some ownership over the class.  Plus, it's going to look great on my resume. 

I'm nervous and excited for next year. I think it's the right decision for me right now. It'll be great to fully take advantage of my visa being valid for 2 years. I can't wait to travel around to the places I won't get to this year. It will be a lot more work than this year, but I think it will be worth it in the end.