When I was in college, we had to do a project during senior year where we talked about where we wanted to be in 5 years, 10 years, and 25 years. I was one of the first to present, as I've always liked to get things like that out of the way quickly. I was really glad that I went toward the beginning. It turns out that I was the only person in the class who spoke almost exclusively about career goals and did not mention anything about marriage or kids. I started to think that maybe I did the assignment wrong, but it turns out that I am just wired differently than some people. (Shocking, I know...)
As I look back at 21-year-old-Stefanie's life goals, I checked many of them off the list. At the five year mark, I wanted to be teaching music "in a big city somewhere," working on my masters degree, and run at least one 5k in my life. Check, check, and check! As for the ten year mark, my goal was to complete a masters degree and be in the process of applying for doctoral programs. I did complete my masters program (and yes, it is totally okay with me if you feel the urge to call me Master Stefanie). As for the doctorate, well, I am nowhere near ready to leave the classroom. Heck, there are some days where I feel like I am just getting started!
One of my happiest moments of this year... my students are lovebugs 💗
In this Year of the Rollercoaster, I was fortunate enough to have a few new experiences. Considering I've been in the game for a decade now, I think it's pretty impressive that I am still encountering new things - and loving them! In November, I was fortunate enough to travel to Dubai, UAE, to attend an international music educator's conference. It was my first trip to the Middle East (other than the airport). Not only did I get to explore a new place (more of that to come in a later blog post!) and network with some amazing music teachers, but I also got to meet up with some of my fellow Orff people from Chicago. International teaching is SUCH a small world.
#orfflove
This year also marked my first experience coaching middle school volleyball. Last year was my first time coaching high school volleyball, and I was happy to have a second shot at it this year. Coaching middle school is a whole different ballgame... literally. It's more about breaking down the skills and fundamentals, rather than working on more advanced concepts and strategies. Our middle school team won second place in our conference and brought back a shiny new trophy. I always used to hate second place trophies because they felt like "first losers," but that was not the case here at all. I was super proud of our season and definitely happy to win that trophy! One of the things I love most about coaching is working with the two other coaches in the volleyball program. They are some of my favorite people that I have met here in Yangon, and I have learned so much from both of them.
Yayyyyyyy! Go Eagles!
This year my workload was about the same as it was last year, but my schedule was slightly better. I still taught Grades 1-6 and put on three concerts per semester. It's a whole lot of work as always, but this year I had students take more ownership and pride in their work than I have ever seen in the past. I got oodles of notes, smiles, and comments from students, and that makes all the hard work completely worth it to me :)
All smiles after the secondary music concert in December
This year I also got help from a wonderful teaching assistant, Ms. Thwe. I am so grateful for everything she did this year!
This is our Myanmar Music & Dance teacher. I was fortunate enough to collaborate with her a couple of times this year. You should see some of her work... AMAZING!
One of the highest highs of my year was working with ten middle school students for the AMIS festival. AMIS is the Association for Music in International Schools, and the acronym is pronounced "ah-mee," like the French word for 'friends' (I know, I know... it's SO music-teacher-y, isn't it?? #noshame). I rehearsed with kids all year and took them to the AMIS Asian Middle School Boys' and Girls' Honor Choir Festivals in Bangkok, Thailand in April. It was a huge amount of work, and I was super nervous to organize my first international field trip. In the end, it was a major success. One of the things I was most nervous about was whether or not I would do an adequate job of preparing my students. It turns out that they were very ready for the festival, and they all absolutely loved the experience. (Also, all of them came back in one piece! Yay!) It was so special to watch my ten students from our tiny school in a country that some people have never heard of, as they joined more than 200 other international students from other countries all over Asia to make some incredible music. The program was so beautiful that I actually got tears in my eyes during a couple of moments during the concert. "Proud" doesn't even come close to describing my feelings about this experience.
Both choirs and all of the directors... what an AMAZING experience for all of us!
A note and a gift from my student after the trip. (Yes, I cried. Like a small child.)
At the AMIS conference in November and the AMIS Honor Choirs Festival in April, I met many new people and made some new friends. One of the coolest things is that I met two guys who work at another school in Yangon (life is funny that way, isn't it?). That connection led me to another new experience. My new friend wrote some music and needed performers to record it for him. I was really hesitant because my chops are not what they used to be, but I decided to challenge myself anyway because as a music teacher, I think it is important to continue performing so that we don't lose touch with what that feels like. The project was a huge challenge for me, but I did it! And the best part was that I got to work with these two awesome people.
No makeup and teacher-tired... but so happy!
Another first for me was the fact that I was HAPPY about rainy season this year. Haha! I remember the first day that the heat broke and we had a major storm here in Yangon. I had all the windows open, and I loved the sounds and the smells of the fresh rainstorm. Usually I am like, "ugh!" when the rains come, or at best I can tolerate it... but this was the first time I was genuinely happy about rainy season.
Here's hoping that my gratitude lasts through October! #positivevibes
As I mentioned earlier, this Year of the Rollercoaster brought some tough times as well. No, not everything is shiny and perfect here. I don't really talk much about the lows on social media or on this blog. It's not that I am trying to be fake or am trying to hide something; rather, I am trying to focus on the positive. However, for the purposes of a recap, I will talk a little about the lower points of the year without being too negative about it.
Year Ten was a very stressful year for me. I always pour too much of myself into my work (it's one of my biggest flaws), and this year was no exception. As I was reflecting on the year, it occurred to me that I committed to many "other" obligations throughout the year. If you are a teacher, you understand what I mean. If you're not a teacher, then I'm referring to other duties that fall outside of normal teaching obligations. For example, I cannot choose whether or not to do report cards; that comes with the territory. However, there are other events at nights and during the weekends where teacher volunteers are needed to supervise or show support in some way. While I did take on many more coaching and musical responsibilities this year, I think it was the "other stuff" that made me reach my breaking point. I can't go back and change any of that, but moving forward, I know that I will cut back on certain things so that I can take care of myself (in the most non-selfish way possible...).
Another hardship had to do with an injury this year. I have two cuts on my feet (long story). That injury sidelined me from running for the past three months. I was very frustrated with the injury, especially in the beginning. Now that I'm (finally) healing, I've managed to find some silver linings. It's forced me to do more strength training, which I usually neglect because of my love for cardio. It also made me feel grateful when I was able to eek out a little run last week. Sometimes I get caught up in speed/times/distances that I put in, and something like this reminds me to simply be happy that I can lace up and get out the door in the first place.
One of my first grade students was also injured in May (at home, not at school). We were pretty thrilled to be Bandage Buddies! #silverlinings
Grateful for every single step :)
So now you know some of the highlights and lowlights of my tenth year of teaching. It felt like a long, slow crawl to the finish line, but we finally made it! Today was my first official day of summer. It feels like a normal Sunday to me, but maybe it'll actually start to sink in when I don't have to set an alarm for Monday morning.
Most of my friends and coworkers are somewhere over the ocean right now as they make the long trip home. I am going to have a slightly different experience this summer, and I am really excited about it: My friend is coming to visit me from the States. We worked together in Chicago, and I absolutely cannot WAIT for her to get here! I struggled with where I should travel and what I should do with my time while I wait for her to get here. Finally I stopped fretting and decided to take some much-needed downtime. This semester was hectic to say the least, and I felt that I had very little time to myself. I am grateful for the adventures that I took over the past year because traveling truly is my Happy Place. However, what I found that I was craving most these days is time to slow down, decompress, and reset. So this week I will do just that. The classrooms are packed up, the rains have come, and I am so happy to sit and sip my coffee in my very own apartment today.
I teach on two campuses and therefore have TWO classrooms to pack up... but we did it!
#hellosummer #happy
Finally, to answer the question about next year: Yes, I will be returning to Yangon. When I accepted this job, I initially signed a 2-year contract. My *big* plan was to teach in Myanmar for two years and then move back to New York City, my favorite place on the planet. I still miss NYC every single day, but by the time I had to make a decision about next year, I didn't feel ready to leave international teaching yet. I also was on the fence about whether or not to leave Myanmar, so I decided to give it another year. For those who are wondering about the next steps, I am unsure about where my life will take me after this contract extension is finished. I have the option to stay or to move on. Which will I choose? Well, that is something that I have learned about my life: There is a lot of unknown, and I absolutely love that part of the ride!
Happy Summer, y'all! #basicadventures #comingsoon
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