198: Just Desserts

I have learned, after 52 years of painful experience, not to shake my upright middle finger in the face of God. He does not appear to appreciate that very much, but then, that is completely understandable, because I don’t much like it either when it happens to me.

The last time I did it, that I can clearly remember, I said something along the lines of “I will go anywhere in the world God wants me to go EXCEPT for AFRICA or NEW YORK CITY.” Well. Here I sit, in AFRICA, writing this blog entry, and wondering (faintly, but with sure certainty) when I am going to be sent to New York City, because I am pretty darn convinced that’s coming up pretty soon, too.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not a missionary. Unless, of course, you consider teaching school a mission field, which many teachers the world over actually DO, even if they don’t admit it. The underlying reasons are much the same: make a difference in the world, help make the world a better place, make my contribution to the betterment of the world, etc., etc., etc. Sounds like missionary rhetoric to me, even if you are not allowed to actually mention God while teaching.

However, be that as it may, I am a reflective personality in that I ponder things that happen, searching for an underlying pattern, logic or plan. Increasingly with the advancement of age, I can see the hand of a higher being (one that I sincerely HOPE has my best interests at heart) at work in the seemingly random occurrence of events in my little, old, rinky-dinky life.

There have just been too (FAR, far too) many fortuitous happenings for this good fortune just to be the vicissitudes of karma, or random chance. I am not sure if trying hard to do your best each day counts in the grand scheme of things, and trying to live an ethical life that does not ‘do dirty’ or take advantage of other living beings carries any weight in the great cosmic scale of justice. I prefer to believe in a gracious God who takes into consideration the underlying motivation of His creatures to do no harm (at least those who espouse the hold-harmless view).

Even when there have been people who have been determined to do me wrong (husband’s ex, for prime example), somehow, their evil machinations have (so far) been countermanded to my (eventual) credit and gain. I have no explanation for these happenings other than divine mercy, because even though I try mightily to be a decent person, I don’t make the cut more days than not. Especially when considered in the light of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, when he explains that just THINKING evil is the same sin as actually COMMITTING it. Sheesh

Well, nobody said being a Christian was going to be easy, and I do NOT have sufficient control over my thought processes to prevent glorious, rapturous fantasies of various nefarious forms of revenge against this ……person…..and I use the term loosely. The Lord has not matured me to that point of thought control…yet…and I suspect the maturation might take longer than Johnnie Walker Blue’s years of ripe aging in the oak cask.

At any rate, trying to be good, with the help of God and prayer, not to mention Scripture, has worked out to be in my decided favor for the vast majority of experiences in my life, whether you believe in a God or in Karma, or in the Force, for that matter. I don’t think I EVER got a spanking that I did not richly deserve, and I know for a fact that I never got a traffic ticket that I did not richly deserve, either. So, based on personal anecdotal experience, God works for me, in both senses of the words. I do my best to work for him in grateful and humble gratitude for favors received, unearned and undeserved.

64: Living and working at an international school in Morocco

International teaching is ‘where it is at’ for me. I taught for twenty years in the public schools in Georgia in the United States. Various things were not too good, including the taxation and the standard of living, the disrespect of students and the administration’s views (trickled down from the federal government) that everything wrong with the schools, and why students were not learning, was the teachers’ fault. Since I emphatically do not agree with that diagnosis of the ills of American education, I sold all my possessions, paid off nearly all of my debts and accepted a two-year position teaching at a small international school in Morocco that I found while surfing the Web at a subscription site that lists vacancies at K-12 international schools world-wide (www.joyjobs.com). Did I know anything AT ALL about Morocco before I said YES?? No, I did not. Is this ‘jumping off the deep end’ without doing your research absolutely against the advice of seasoned international teachers? Yes, it is.

After I said yes, I began doing some belated research. I subscribed (for not a lot of money) to a Website that allows international teachers to post reviews of schools and directors (administrators) (www.internationalschoolsreview.com). Turns out I picked a pretty good one. Then, I did a little online research about Morocco. Turns out I picked a pretty good one there, too.

We have been here nearly twenty months. My husband and I have really liked it here. That does not mean there are no problems. Administratively, Moroccan government bureaucracy is legendary, and in no way compares to the American ‘get ‘er done’ attitude. But hey – it isn’t America, and a lot of other things work here just fine, thank you very much. Besides, I live and work here with NO US taxes, which is great for somebody who was more than a little upset how all my hard-earned tax monies were being used (read MISused) by US government. Plus, the school where I work provides some very nice perks in addition to the no US taxes thing, as if that were not enough. They paid us a relocation allowance for the airfares to fly over which almost paid for my ticket AND my husband’s ticket (he is a spouse, and does not work here unless they need an athletic coach part-time). They also pay us a monthly housing allowance which covers our apartment rent, our electricity and gas, water and phone, and computer access bills. That leaves only food to purchase, and the expenses for our little, used, plastic car. Neither of these expenses amount to much in a month – certainly FAR less than we were used to paying in the US. They cover our major medical policy for us, and adding vision and dental is VERY cost-effective.

We have decided that we are NOT returning to the US, and if we do, it will be for a short two-year contract there, strictly in order to increase my Georgia teacher’s retirement pension. I will quite happily finish out my ten year’s worth of teaching in international schools. I have learned a few things. Generally, international school teachers do not pay taxes in the country they are working in for at least the first two years, and they don’t pay US taxes because they don’t earn enough. You have to make more than 80 or 90 thousand US dollars a year before you have to pay US taxes, and most international teaching contracts are not paying that much. For this reason, many international teachers stay only the two years at any one school. Then, they move to another, so they can enjoy tax-free status again for the next two years, and also so they get to see a new part of the world – a primary reason many of us choose teaching overseas.

Plus, the costs of living in most of these countries is MUCH lower than in the US. The salary that they do pay you goes MUCH further than it would in the US. My current school pays about US 24,000 annually. Sounds sucky, right? Now consider: no US taxes – an instant 1/3 raise on federal income taxes alone, much less state taxes, sales taxes, and additional assorted fees (which are also taxes). That 24 K is now much closer to 36K. NOW, add in: no housing or utility costs. My former home cost 1,500 per month for the mortgage, and that did not even touch electricity, gas, water, sewage, storm water utilities tax and various other crap. Now that 36K is up to 54K US money, and I did not include the free utilities every month. That surely adds another 6K a year – so, I am effectively earning 60K in US dollar value here in Morocco, where I can buy a week’s worth of fresh fruit and produce at the market for less than ten dollars US.

What’s not to love?

61: CAT style

I learn a lot from observing my cats. They happily share my life, and allow me to see interesting bits of their personalities. For instance, cats nap a lot. I respect that. Now that I am growing older, I have discovered the joys of naptime, too. And the best part is that usually there is a fur child who is willing to share naptime with me, too. Sleeping buddies make naptime even sweeter.

And as for love: there is a LOT to learn from cats. I have observed wild cats outside our apartment building, consumed by the search for love (like some people I know). They make a lot of annoying noise searching for that perfect mate (like some people I know). Having found what they think they want, they engage in lovemaking, being as noisy as possible in the process (like…well, you get the picture). Then, he leaves her, or is it that she leaves him??? Whatever, they part company, and go their seperate ways. Just like most of the people I know. MY kitties have all been fixed. They play with their housemates, and have fun together, but they are not interested in the other stuff. They all get along quite happily. Maybe all of US should also be fixed. The world might become a much more peaceful and friendly place, like my fixed-kitty apartment.

Cats practice the “stiff arm.” This is a football move, best viewed on the Heisman trophy. The little guy on the top of the trophy is doing the stiff arm. This is a move to hold off someone else who is annoying you. It is quite effective. The cats use it when a brother or sister comes too close at dinner time. That stiff arm shoots out, and sometimes they literally hold the offender’s head off the food. That’s about it for squabbling: the stiff arm. That should work for people life, too. Sort’ve a warning not to get too close to MY stuff.  Better than guns.

Cats like warm places, especially sunshine patches. I have learned how nice that is, too. I put my lounge chair in a sunny spot on the roof, and doze in the nice, warm sunshine. Usually I wake up with a kitty person in my lap. That’s nice, too!

My cats like meat: fish, chicken, turkey, rabbit, goat, cow, pig, sheep – whatever. They even like bugs, which I think I will skip. I like meat, too. I don’t plan to become a vegetarian. Neither am I exclusively carnivore, either. But then, neither are my cats. They like some strange things. Baked pumpkin, olives, tomatoes, honeydew melon, peas, vegetable soup, cheese, bread, cupcakes – they all have been eaten by one or more of the kitty people in my house. I like all of those things, too. Variety is the spice of life, and my kitties already know this. I am learning!