So, here it is, the first post to our new blog, Dolsons Do Deutschland. As many of you have already heard, our family will be moving to Wiesbaden, Germany for a year on a teaching exchange. Wiesbaden is 30 minutes west of Frankfurt. Robb switches jobs with a teacher in Germany. He works in her job and she comes here to work at Robb’s school. The countdown is on. In 10 days we fly out and head to our new home for the next year. We thought the easiest way to let everyone know what is going on was to keep a blog to let you all know what we are up to.
Here’s how we got onto this idea. One day Robb camehome talking about participating in a teaching exchange in Europe (I had never heard of an educational exchange). Wetalked about it and thought it would be a great idea in a few years. Within 5 minutes the conversation moved to the fact that it would actually be ideal to do it right away with the girls’ ages and me wanting to spend more time at home with them. So, in true Dolson form, we applied thefollowing week. We prayed that God would either open up doors or close them right away and then we would have our answer. We wrote a list of European countries we would consider for the exchange. The next thing I know, Robb informed me that we had a match in Germany. After the initial proposal the exchange coordinator called Robb andsaid she did not realize the match was at a private Christian school. I think she thought Robb would turn it down as private schools are harder to match for an exchange. However, this for us is further confirmation that thingswere opening up.
Robb is currently doing his Masters in Counseling through TRU. We thought he would have to put this on hold for a year. Robb talked to TRU about deferring his schooling for a year. He was asked if he saw the recent email sent out to graduate students about a study abroad opportunity, where you might ask… in Germany! The deadline was at the end of the week. Robb frantically put the paperwork together and had a bunch of help through the Dean’s office at TRU and through TRU World. Robb applied and was officially accepted in June. He will continue to work on his Masters while we are abroad. It is only a 30-40 minute commute to Heidelberg. After being accepted at Heidelberg, we foundout that Robb will receive a monthly stipendium for the spring. This was perfect timing, as I had to quit my job to go on the exchange. We were very thankful and very sure God had his hand on this.
Robb will be teaching English from grade 7-10. He will also help teach a Homeroom block and is writing a course on leadership and outdoor education. What are his qualifications for wilderness coursework? Well he is Canadian, so that is automatic certification. He has an autumn, Christmas and Easter break. We are planning some exciting trips! The school is in a forest and not accessible by car. He has a short walk into the grounds each day and is really excited to meet his new coworkers and students!
In just over a week we begin our adventure with a ten-hour flight to Frankfurt. We are a little stressed about Peyton and Micah surviving the flight and fully anticipate to be disliked by all 295 fellow passengers on this sold out flight!Please pray that our children decide that they love flying and love being quiet ;) Robb has been learning German over the last few months and been teaching a few words to Peyton. Peyton easily repeats them when prompted, thus her German is 100% better than mine. We expect her to come back fluent. We are hoping to be able to learn a little faster once we are there. As for me, my plan is to stay at home with the girls, which is something I have always wanted to do. I am really excited about this and having new adventures with them every day.
Wish us luck and please keep in touch. I will update theblog regularly… If it is exciting enough to write about.Below are pictures of the things we have been up to this summer. Thanks for reading.
wow - what a great story - good on you guys. It will be a great adventure for sure. Bless you guys & your whole family. Lots of love to you all. On one of your side trips - Kenya is that much closer you know ... here in Kenya we have loads of Germans.... just sayin. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteThis is soooo stinkin' cool!!!! I am really excited for all 4 of you. What an incredible opportunity to experience a whole different life and create very memorable times. I love that you are doing a blog Crystal. I will be reading all your posts.... love you guys!
ReplyDeleteI'm bookmarking your blog now! Thanks for your first (of many) updates. I'll be praying for the flights, you can do it.
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