Jumping/Falling Into It

Doing a CELTA and diving into the world of ESL/EFL teaching abroad (or at home) is quite an adventure. It's impossible to know just what's in store until it arrives - and that's a great part of the appeal. Very few other professions offer such a soulful, surprising mix of groundedness and 'seriousness' along with serendipity, humor, and freedom. I'm uploading this pic from a visit to a lovely state park south of Boston yesterday because I see it as a visual metaphor for this stuff...Am I falling or flying? Does it matter? Perhaps it's both. Just as so many aspects of teaching and learning are 'both': accuracy or fluency? Both! Vocabulary or grammar? Both! Study or fun? Both! And when it comes to taking that 'jump' into this amazing field, especially abroad, out there in the changing and transforming world beyond the familiar, we ask ourselves (and are asked by friends and family, of course!): Are we coming or going? Are we committing or exploring? Are we teaching or learning? And the answer, as we float/fall/fly through these beautiful, near miraculous spaces, with a smile on our face, is...BOTH! :)