Thursday, February 13, 2014

All journey's start with a single step forward




Hello my name is Herbie and although I don't view myself as a hero,i am someone who looks for new roads and challenges.The journey can lead to unexpected places and sometimes that more fun than the destination.


My journey and challenges have been diverse and constant for the past 9 years. I moved to Paris France in 2003 to get married .With the intentions of making Paris home for a while, I quickly recognized upon arriving at the airport in Paris, life was going to be different.  For one thing I was going to have to learn a new language and since French people are not all that friendly and gregarious with strangers. The weather poses some challenges as well. Since I have grown up in southern California and Paris France is overcast and cold most of the time, it is easy to become despondent.  My biggest challenge was going to be finding adequate employment. My occupation in the US prevents me from pursuing the same career due to the language barrier, so I was at a loss as to where to look. While discussing some possibilities with friends and family we came to the conclusion that teaching English held out the best hope. So we searched on the internet but soon many friends began to recommend me to professional and vocational schools throughout the city .I accepted one job at a small school and soon after many were calling me to come teach .This was mainly due to my background and what I did for a living while in the US .So this precipitated my teaching both in a school as well as privately. So having this opportunity to teach privately helped to subsidize my income and afford us a comfortable life.

We couldn’t afford to be impetuous but we used our money wisely and that allowed us to see and enjoy many things while living in Europe. So I have learned a new language come to understand a new culture while coming to appreciate people and what makes them so interesting. As a result of this journey I have learned many things but more than that I have met some very interesting people who I now call friends.

4 comments:

  1. change is always tough at first. we have to go through changes in order to grow. and that's exactly what you did. i might say you are very brave! good luck! : )

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  2. I would have to say, your very brave to have done such things.
    I hope you enjoyed your time out there. Learning and experiencing something new is just marvelous!

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  3. It is fantastic how you teach at a school. The students are inspred by their teacher to do their absolute best in everything and to never give up. I inspire my younger cousins and nephews to do the same as well.

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  4. I admire your courage and bravery living on a foreign land that has a completely different lifestyle,language and especially foreign people. I know how hard it is to live in a different country and it's just you versus the many but you will learn a lot from it. Meeting new people and encountering new cultures and also the experiences are many of the things you will learn!

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