What am I up to this semester? I'm taking two Arabic classes (Arabic to English Translation and another on Arabic roots and pattens) as well as finishing up the Federal Semester program with my internship at a UMD & Department of Defense affiliated site. I've been there for the past year working only 8 hours a week, but now that I'm there 20 hours a week I have gotten more involved on different projects and have gotten to know my co-workers better!
It's hard to believe that I only have almost 3 months left until I potentially head to Morocco for a full year - I just got accepted into the program this past Friday, actually! - but I'm still considering my potential job offer at my internship site, especially since I can get tuition remission for my master's. I hope to pursue an M.Ed. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, or TESOL; I should be hearing back from UMD's program by early to mid April. It's unlikely that my supervisors at my internship can hold a position just for me since it all depends on their funding, so I'm heavily considering their offer.
My options as I see it (taking into consideration different things I have applied for) ...
OPTION 1:
Live in Morocco for a full year (hopefully paid for by the Boren Scholarship) - 1 year
Return to UMD to obtain my master's degree and take a graduate assistantship (part-time and hopefully at my current internship site, but I may have other options) - 2 years
OPTION 2:
Work as an RA for Middle Eastern students at Georgetown during the summer (assuming the best)
Stay in MD and take a graduate assistantship (part-time) at my internship site while getting my master's - 2 years
(Take a full-time job there?)
OPTION 3:
Work as an RA for Middle Eastern students at Georgetown during the summer (assuming the best)
Work full-time at my internship site and save - ?? years
All of these would end with me moving to San Fran at some point to join Stephen at UC Berkeley where he has been accepted for grad school - he'll be there for 5-6 years completing his PhD in theoretical physics - assuming the best, again.
I think this all largely depends on if I can get the Boren Scholarship, as that would result in me having to pay nothing out of pocket to study abroad, but I won't hear from Boren until April. I told my supervisors I would have a decision by the start of May for them. This will be a tough choice, but at the same time it is really nice to have these options and I'm very lucky.
For the sake of this blog, you should hope that I'll be traveling more so I can share more stories with you! :) Hopefully I'll have more good news to share soon!