The job?

After 3 interviews, I was offered the job of Manager of Program Partnerships with the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Though I’ll typically be based out of the Chicago location found in The Loop, there are also five other offices from where I can work. I’ll be planning events for 85,000 girls in 10 counties, including plays, musicals, ice skating, and overnight trips at museums. There are over 24,000 volunteers that will help facilitate the events, though, I, too, will get to attend various shows and the like. I am psyched because this is a perfect fit for education background because it’ll basically be like planning a whole lot of field trips for mass quantities of people.

The apartment?

After hours of scouring CraigsList, I found a cute little place that I’ll be flat-sharing with three other girls, a teacher, a waitress (they’re sisters), and a host for Second City. They’re all about my age and really nice. We each have our own bedroom, but share a kitchen, living area, and dining room. Three of us also share a bathroom. The condo is located in Old Town which is a fabulously young part of Chicago and is only a 15-minute train ride from work. I’ve also rented a parking spot in a perfect garage near my house which is covered (awesome for the winter months!!).

I’m excited about every part about this new transition in my life; it’s exactly why I chose to leave Hong Kong and the teaching profession.