Dear All,
On the 28th of June, 2010, I found this website offering a teaching position in the Republic of Georgia. To qualify the applicant must have at least two years of university, be at least twenty years old, and be a citizen of an English speaking country. I qualify! Or will in a few weeks! So I decided to apply. I contacted one of the coordinators, and she told me how confidant she was that I would be accepted. I went to the doctor the day after to get my physical for the application.
Everything was fine at the doctors, but right at the end of the visit I asked him to check out this ugly mole I had on my right arm. He took a look at it with a magnifying glass, and decided that he thought I should have it checked out. I scheduled a meeting with him for the next week, and thought no more of it. I continued to work on my application as well.
I asked three great people to write me letters of recommendation, and needless to say the letters are wonderful. I had most of my information together, and I was almost ready to go. So on the 6th of June I went in to have the mole removed. I was really nervous, but I knew it would be over fast. Sadly my wonderful doctor was unable to do the procedure, because an oversight had caused the nurse scheduling me to forget the doctor would be gone that day. So another good doctor did the "minor surgery," as she kept calling it.
With that over, all I had to worry about was how itchy the stitches were and about when i was going to get my application sent in. I decided to do what ever it took to send it in the next day. So, I emailed the wonderful lady at the programs office, and asked her if they wanted the applications before all the paper work had been sorted, since the program starts on the first of September. She replied in the affirmative, so I emailed her all my papers.
That same day, July 8th, the doctor called me. I did not expect to have the lab results back so soon, and the doctor sounded very chipper on the phone, so I did not think anything was wrong. But it turned out that she had called me back so soon because they had discovered that my mole, that seemingly innocuous blemish that I rarely noticed, was actually a melanoma. I was able to stay under control for the next twenty minutes, helping some one who walked into the office, and talking to my boss.
It is weird to me that my boss was the first person I told about the whole business, but I sort of broke down when she asked me if anything was wrong. The Dean walked in a few minutes later and found me crying. They both told me I could go home, but I did not think that that was a very good idea, so the Dean invited me to sit in her office while she went to a meeting. I did, and had a good long cry. I called Anika and told her what the matter was, and we agreed to meet for lunch.
It is remarkable how Sushi can dispel many issues. When I came out of a lunch that had entailed more food than most people would think reasonable, and a delicious mango mochi, I felt infinitely better. So this is the beginning of my adventures. I do not know much about what life is going to be like, but I do know that with my amazing friends and, frankly, perfect family, I will be able to do anything.
Love,
Katie
