Photos: author So many things to miss about Mexico.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have just signed my first lease in the United States in six years.
Six years.
That includes seven months trekking across South America, eating empanadas from baskets on buses and contemplating – alone and ecstatic – those wild Patagonian ranges; a stint teaching on Reunion Island in times of chikungunya, walking past the banyan trees everyday and following up morning runs with plunges into the Indian Ocean; the School of International Training teaching course in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the subsequent encounter with my future husband (a chance meeting in café Nuevo Mundo, a weekend in the mountains, and here we are four years later); a long year in Beijing trying to teach Chinese students to argue (“your own point of view! Unique! Controversial! Different from the rest!”), biking the clogged, polluted, endlessly mystifying streets and stopping for tall 5 yuan Yanjings; and the last two years, writing, back in Oaxaca with occasional ventures into the Sierra Norte or even all the way out to London.
But now, it’s back to the no-longer-so-familiar United States, and I’m terrified and thrilled. I’ll be starting the MFA Program in creative nonfiction at The University of Pittsburgh in the fall.
So this is one major development from your (sometimes) humble editor; the other is that I’m now the editor in chief of Glimpse.org, where I’m working with the Spring 2010 Glimpse Correspondents and getting the Fall 2010 Glimpse Correspondents Program going. If you haven’t applied yet, you should! You’ll get paid to work with a team of editors to develop a body of professional, published work.
Here at Abroad, meanwhile, we want your submissions! Heather Carreiro (Matador Abroad’s superstar intern) and I would love to see more stories about teaching abroad, international education programs and degrees, language learning, study and work abroad, and expat life.
In particular, we have calls for submissions out for:
Learning Experiences Around The World
Tales From The Frontier Of Expat Life
and…
We also, however, welcome submissions related to any of the areas mentioned above. Please send queries or completed stories to sarah@matadornetwork.com.
In the meantime, safe travels, and a sincere thanks to all of you for being part of the community here at Matador.
About the Author
More By This Author
- The Perils And Possibilities Of Revolutionary Tourism: A Visit With The Zapatistas (2 comments)
- Ask A Pilot Round 2: Your Questions Answered! (5 comments)
- Formula Travel (2 comments)
Related Posts
10 Comments... join the discussion!
-
-
Hey Maryanne – you can definitely still write for Glimpse! And you actually are eligible for the Correspondents Program – the cutoff is now 36. Go for it!
Good luck with the persuasive essays! I spent about three weeks on the concept of a thesis alone…
↵ -
Cool, thanks- I’ll look into that. How much is the entry fee, by the way? I couldn’t see it on their info pages/FAQ.
↵ -
Huge woot on the grad school, Sarah.
↵ -
Wow! Oaxaca, Bejing then back to Oaxaca. Both such really cool cities.
I think you might just be my hero!
↵ -
Congratulations on the MFA program! Sounds like the past six years have been unbelievably rich. I’m sure the next six will be too.
↵ -
Hi, great magazine! Do you pay for submissions and photos? Just asking!
↵ -
Hey Roger,
Matador pays $25 per published piece, whether it is an article or a photo essay. You can read our contributor guidelines here.
↵ -
‘a long year in Beijing trying to teach Chinese students to argue (“your own point of view! Unique! Controversial! Different from the rest!”)’
Ha! This is precisely my current experience here in Taiwan with a private student. We are currently working on the beauty of debates, hot topics and the acceptableness of expressing ones own opinions. We’ve just recently had a breakthrough moments, where the awkward silence was somewhat filled with a slight shade of personal viewpoint in regards to the current Chinese trade agreement on the table. I see a glimmer of hope.
I’ll try my best to see if I can come with anything Matador worthy. Otherwise, I look forward to reading other people experiences.
↵ -
I’m researching online certification to teach English abroad, specifically in Eastern Europe. Could you direct me to the best place to find opinions on various programs – would love to talk to someone who has completed the course. Specifically, any good or bad takes on TEFLcorp.com (http://www.teflcorp.com/tefl_certificate.htm)? Seems affordable, and I’m looking to complete in a month or so, with job placement.
Thanks for any direction / advice!
Rebecca
↵
