I was really encouraged by a conversation with Jesse and Joy Johnson last night. The main purpose for getting together was for me to learn more about the Discovery School in Bujumbura, Burundi, and I did learn some very useful, exciting information. But even more helpful to me was just the perspective they gave about overseas work.
I asked Joy to share what I should be doing right now to prepare for teaching overseas later. Here are her two/three tips:
1. Take a course in ESL. (Great idea.)
2. Know yourself. Know what drains you and what fills you up, and then get whatever will fill you up to have it on the field. You can't expect to give to others out of an empty bucket.
3. Get what you need to keep yourself charged spiritually, since you may not get it in the normal places due to the language barrier.
My first thought is that my bucket-filler is children's literature. It is so true that hardly anything satisfies me as much as settling into a good children's or young-adults book. Does this mean I should get a Kindle, so I don't have to cart books around with me? I'm not sure. I need to already think about this for my six-week trip to Europe (France and Spain) this summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment