The cat and the conference

First off I had to put my cat down earlier today. It really really sucked. She had started to exhibit signs of sickness on Sunday but we thought she'd shake it off. Cats barf. Hairballs and stuff like that. But she deteriorated rather quickly. Hoku was the best cat I've ever known and had. A peaceful and loving pacifier. She used to cry and get between us when mbh and I would argue. It always had the effect of calming us down. She loved to knead on your lap before she sat on it. She used to lick my hair to groom me. She would drink water from her bowl by dipping her paw into it and licking the water off of her paw. She didn't meow that often it was mainly chirps. I had trained her to come to me which she did 90% of the time (she was still a cat), and one cat trick is equal to 5 dog tricks. She wasn't very demanding except to sit in your lap with you. A whole lot of personality for one little animal. I miss her right now. 


In an effort to not have to obsess about my sick cat at night, I made a spreadsheet about various schools. Mbh and I also talked about what schools we would choose to interview with first and would immediately say yes to. When offered a position you pretty much have to decide either that day or by the end of the conference. If we can get a gig in a Western European country with good health care and hospitals then we would immediately say yes to that. If not, I am really crossing my fingers for Santiago, Chile. The international school in Santiago seems to have the best benefits of the Latin American schools that have openings for us.


However, I've also broadened my horizons to include some other places too. I knew nothing about it until today, but Curitiba, Brazil seems to be a really cool fucking place. Real eco-friendly city that is supposed to be some good urban planning dream. Ho Chi Minh city also seems pretty cool.


When we get to the conference, we are also going to drop off resumes and attempt to interview with some schools that don't have openings listed. At the end of the day, these private schools are looking for good teachers. They are private schools, we don't need to be credentialed in a subject to teach it. So they'll want mbh and they will get me too.


Also, it's good to hear from other teachers that they have friends that went the international school route and they got great postings with far less experience. Mbh has a decade worth of teaching experience and I'm entering year 6. I'm pretty sure we'll get a position though I won't rest on it.