Where Will I Be Next Year?

My blog is about to get a lot less exciting.

I'm moving back to the United States.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. I accepted a job in a school district outside of Cleveland. I love Russia. I met amazing people, and I had many great experiences. I knew I would not stay in Russia forever but part of me hoped I would.

A few months back I had an interview with Innopolis. I got the job, but I was waiting for my paperwork to go through migration. It took a long time. I kept thinking, "What if the FSB doesn't like something I wrote on my blog, and, now, they aren't allowing me to stay?" My paranoia led me to e-mail one of my teacher friends to ask if she knew of any ESL positions. Within a short period of time I was applying to two different positions in the Cleveland area.

I found out  my paperwork had gone through Russian migration, but I was still waiting on their offer. Again, it took a long time. I had already interviewed with the two districts in Ohio. The first was telling me they wanted to hire me, but they couldn't formally give me an offer yet. The second said I should wait for a second interview.

So, here I was last week Skyping with one district who didn't want me to go to the other Ohio school district and waiting on my offer from Innopolis. Finally, the Innopolis offer arrived. It was much better than I expected. I liked the woman who was hiring and I liked the university. I decided I was probably going to go with Innopolis, but I would just wait until I got the official offer from Ohio. But I had to sign a three-year contract with Innopolis? Was I ready to establish my life in Ohio and give up my dream job in the USA?

Wednesday night, the eve of my 28th birthday, I Skyped with the Ohio district one last time. They gave me their official offer. It, too, was better than I expected. They gave me the night to think about it. I was a wreck.

I decided I would chose the school in Ohio.

The decision was not easy. I literally did not know where I would be right up until Thursday when I sent my acceptance e-mail to my future employer. I got less than 3 hours of sleep that night and woke up anxious the next morning.

Long term, though, the job in the USA is where I need to be, and it's the career I always wanted. Having the financial burden of student loans also played a major part in the decision.

I'll definitely return to Russia. This job will provide me the financial stability I need to continue traveling. I already have plans to visit Spain again during my winter break.

So what now? I plan on returning back to Ohio at the end of June where I will get readjusted to American culture and meet with friends and family I haven't seen in two years. I accepted a job as the ESL teacher in a school district which means I have about a month until I have to start working.

In the mean time, I have so much I still want to see and do in Russia, so May will give me more time to do that. I will miss Russia, but I do not regret my decision. This will be my love ballad to you, Russia.