Seven Mile Beach, The Cayman Islands Image @Canva
If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude‘’
Maya Angelou
I sit writing this blog with the view of palm trees rhythmically swaying in the ‘backyard’ on my second day of arriving in George Town, Cayman Islands. I am still processing how just three months ago I had a burning desire to radically transform my life and move beyond the humdrum and monotony of what had become my comfort zone.
After twenty months of Lockdown in London, UK, the burning desire to travel and seek new experiences had been rekindled. At the time I had landed a ‘dream’ teaching position in a Reception class in an inner-city London Primary school , yet I began to feel it was time to make a drastic move.
My daughter had secured a Sixth form place in a boarding school outside London, and this niggling voice kept asking ‘If not now when ?’ every time I tried to put off chasing my goal of teaching internationally.
Then I saw an advert for a position in Dubai, which was a perfect match. But aIas or quite, fortunately- depending on how you look at it-I procrastinated and talked myself out of applying for it. The voice in my head just got louder and louder, ‘If not now, when? If not you who else?’
Soon after, bright and early one morning I received an alert of an opening in the Cayman Islands that matched my skill set and qualifications perfectly. I knew then that this was a divine intervention and wasted no time.
I went ahead and sent my application off at the end of June, even though I knew no one there, I admit I had a vague idea of their location; I did have to look up where the Cayman Islands actually was located!
All through the application process, I visualised myself on the sandy beach in a hammock after work and ‘felt’ the sand in between my toes at the weekend, as the voices got quieter and quieter. I quit my job three days before the end of term when I received my contract.
To be clear the work permit process was arduous and took two months of; collating and sending relevant documents, medical examinations reports etc between me, my employers and the Cayman Immigration Department. But it also gave me time to prepare my family and myself for the next phase of this journey we call life.
Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation,which is not nuturing to the whole woman
Maya ANGelou