India/Italy, they are both five letter countries that start with I

So, I am having a "mid-life crisis" as my friend Shahana S. publically announced in her Math Department email. I realized that if I signed my contract to teach at HRS next year, I would be doing the exact same thing for the 16th year in a row (less the one year of recovery from my accident). Now there is something to be said about routine and security, but I knew I would always regret not DOING something while I had the chance.

So, I applied to teach at a high school year abroad program in India. As you know, I applied to get to India on the State Department's dime last summer and didn't get the fellowship. This time, the Mumbai attacks of late last year caused security concerns for Americans and so the program was cancelled. Therefore the organization I applied to asked if I would consider having my application considered by their European programs in either France, Italy or Spain. Sure, I said.

So last Thursday, I interviewed on the phone with the three directors in each of the countries simultaneously for an hour. The next day, I was offered the one year teaching position at the program in Italy!! Here is a link to the SYA Italy website.

In short, I teach five classes to a total of 60 or so American high school juniors and seniors who are in Italy to study the Classics, Art History and Ancient History. I get a furnished apartment from August 1st, 2009 through June 30th, 2010. So it's off to Italy I go........

Now, if you see me you should ask me what Plan B was for my "mid-life" crisis.