Paid Sabbatical Dreaming

We are headed back to school (and work) today after a little more than a week off for March Break. Today is momentous for a few reasons. First of all, it's the first March Break in three years where our kids are headed back to in person school. Yes, in 2020 and in 2021, our kids finished out the school year online. So we're beyond excited about that!

Today also marks a momentous change in my work life. The Monday before March Break I got offered a job as Temporary Head Secretary at the school I'd worked at for one day a week in the fall!!!!! I start today and I will be there until the end of the school year!!!!!

I am now working full-time (as opposed to four days a week) and the pay is higher too. Also, it's a twenty minute walk from our house, as opposed to a fifteen minute drive, so it's excellent timing what with the increase in gas prices. Plus, it's more responsibility with more interesting tasks. To say I'm excited is an understatement!!!

With this change in my job situation, I thought it would be a good time to write a post that my friend Bekah wrote about just a little over a year ago. She answered the question, "If your employer gave you a month-long paid sabbatical, what would you do and where would you go?" and you can see her response here.

My answer to this question is that I would love to combine my love of travel and my job and work in school offices in various countries. If I worked at each school for a week I think I could get a good sense of how each school works, and the various issues that school secretaries handle.

I would love to work at a school somewhere in the States (maybe New York City!), a school somewhere in Europe (how about London, England, my other favourite city?) a school in Kenya (in Nairobi, so I could visit my dear friends who live there), and then a school in Australia or New Zealand. Realistically, I'm also choosing these countries so I don't have to deal with a language barrier :)

I think it would be interesting to see how different school systems work, how they handle different issues, and to get a sense of school around the world.

If I had more than a month, then I would want to delve deeper into schools in countries with different languages -- like if I had a month (or three months!) in each school, I could maybe get a better sense of schools in other countries like France, India, Japan, and Brazil.

While it's fun to dream about possibilities, for today, I'm thrilled to be heading off to my new position! What about you? How would you use a paid sabbatical to enhance your work life?