Thursday, February 4, 2016

Returning to Education

My husband and I overlooking an ever
present lake and mountains in Switzerland
I've been absent for quite a while on my blog because of many life changes. After leaving my position as a Technology Facilitator for the International School of Zug and Luzern in Switzerland, I returned to Texas with my husband to pursue opening our own business. This business was a nano beer brewery. We worked tirelessly for 3 years on this goal, and I'm proud to say that we did indeed build a brand, and made a product that I am very proud to stand behind. We closed the doors to our brewery on December 31. This decision did not come easily, but at this time, I do feel ready to move on. This is where Education comes back into the picture.

Our brewery logo 
This is a difficult shift. As a business owner, my mind was always occupied with the business. I couldn't get away from it, and I didn't want to. The brewery was our baby, and letting go is hard. I also know that my routine will change dramatically, though not working 120 hours a week is a definite plus. I actually think I'm looking forward to the return of a school routine. I have maintained my skills in technology over the past couple of years in numerous ways with our business, but I've also stayed in the Education Technology loop. I have friends and family in the industry and it's never been that far away. I am working on re-building an Ed Tech Twitter account (@TxpatEd) and I feel ready for the challenge.

This is where the hard part comes. I am currently on the search for an international teaching job in Instructional Technology. I'm anxious to return to the role and build upon my experience as a Teacher, Instructional Technology Specialist, Brewer, and Business Owner. You see, I'm convinced that all of these experiences have made me an even better educator. I'm anxious to see where we might be going, and what the next big change in our lives will be, but through my experience with our brewery, I know we will adapt and learn more about ourselves in the process.