Prep Time

Luckily for me, I have had since January to prepare myself for my year in Neuchâtel. There certainly is a lot to do when you are about to leave the country for a year! I have been getting my act together in many ways.

Upon hearing that I had been hired, my first concern was to plan for my return to the classroom. I have been retired quite a while (although I have done some Long Term Occasional jobs filling in for teachers on leave) so I reached out to some wonderful colleagues at Woburn C.I and York Mills C.I. who shared many resources and strategies with me. I have done all my reading; have purchased some books; and have joined a professional organization for drama educators. Most importantly, I have been in frequent contact with the woman who has developed the English, Writer's Craft and Drama curricula at Neuchâtel. She has been most generous, and has assured me that everything is waiting for me in files in my classroom in Switzerland; to be doubly certain that I received all her materials, in April, she mailed me a USB key full of resources. I feel very ready for "show time" and look forward to teaching new literature and new courses in September.

I read this one for the first time and loved it!

I reread this Nobel prize winning memoir.

It had been several decades since I had read this great Canadian novel.

I also decided to bring more order to my life. This initiative came out of necessity when the Swiss authorities requested copies of my professional documents. They wanted to see my diploma - issued in 1974! "Where the heck is that?" I asked myself at the time. Fortunately, I found it after a few hours of looking. It was inside the dust covered envelope it had been mailed in, sitting on top of a bookshelf in my bedroom. I was not as successful in finding my marriage certificate, but I did locate a copy - good enough for now. After days of frenetic searching, I resolved to be more organized and so began much sorting and culling of papers, clothing and any other things that I have accumulated living in the same house for 34 years.

In order to live as economically as possible while away but keep our house running smoothly, I have called nearly every service provider we use - cable, telephone, Internet, cell phone, car insurance, house insurance, health insurance, our gym, newspapers, magazines - and have haggled about cost, or cancelled or reduced coverage. Bob and I have hired an accountant for the first time and have seen a lawyer. I feel I have become an expert in household management, a skill I hope to use in the future.

I have also visited all my doctors and I have been deemed "good to go" by everyone. Incidentally, I will not lose OHIP coverage because I will not be out of the country longer than 212 consecutive days - good to know. This is one of the many nuggets of knowledge I have picked up in the last six months.

I definitely have done as Margaret Laurence suggested in the title of one of her great short stories: I have "set my house in order". All in all, I feel very well prepared for this exciting phase of my life.