So what happened in 2014 for me? Hard for me to think back to the early part of the year so might as well deal with the most prominent memories first.
2014 was the year I almost went to Azerbaijan. The story goes as follows: I found an ad for a job on a site that lists ESL/EFL teaching jobs (if you don't know what ESL and EFL are they're acronyms for teaching English as a second language or foreign language). This was after I was interviewed for a job in Russia but waited almost 3 weeks for a response to tell me that my qualifications (possibly experience) were not enough. Anyways so I came across the ad and tried my luck with it and within a couple of days I was scheduled for an interview and the person who interviewed me basically asked questions about what I've submitted and told me about the job and a bit about the capital city of Baku. Within hours after the interview ended I got an offer and said yes. Between submitting copies of my documents and waiting for the o.k. to apply for a visa I prepared for going over there such as packing a suitcase and writing posts on Facebook to educate people on Azerbaijan (IMO it's not that well known of a country since it doesn't appear much in the news). Hell yeah I was excited on going there because it would've been the start of some adventure and the place combined both my interests in Russian and Turkish languages (since Azerbaijani is a Turkic language related to Turkish Turkish but with some Russian influence and some connections to Persian). After all, Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union.
So after waiting almost two months (and telling people I was going there) I got word that I couldn't go because of some migration quota. Application from the Azerbaijani side was denied because of it. It was and still is disappointing because I was worked up for it. Maybe the school that hired me didn't know about the quota as well. I did apply for jobs in other places but so far Azerbaijan was the one that gave me a job offer. Here's to hoping I find a job in 2015
On a slightly related note 2014 was also the year I started volunteering at a local centre for helping immigrants. My job there: reading group leader. I actually applied to volunteer there around the end of 2013 but 2014 was the year I got calls for positions there. At first I was called to volunteer there in February but I had a busy schedule as a mascot for Winterlude. I thought the people forgot about be until I got a call in late March/early April. At first I was a bit scared because it was all happening so fast but once I was secured getting rides there and reasoning it to getting some related experience I said yes. I wish I could do something more but I guess I'll wait until I get a teaching job somewhere.
2014 I could say was a bit of an interesting summer. I was able to wander around Toronto for a bit solo (since my dad had some 40th year reunion and mom went along with him, might as well just share the hotel space and do my own thing). I saw the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) and just as I was about halfway through exploring the gift shop I saw Palestinian flags. I thought it was kind of cool not to miss so I left the gift shop and took photos of the demonstration (protest maybe?).
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| One of the photos I took |
I was also able to wander around the neighbourhood I grew up in/spent my younger years (Yonge and Lawrence East). Before my grandparents moved to Ottawa to be closer to the bulk of us they lived in Toronto and 3 times a year I would visit them (Easter, summer, and Thanksgiving). The house is still there with the outside having a lot more decorations and extra windows.When I was a kid I couldn't wander the area alone exactly so I thought it might as well see how much the place had changed. Of course a lot of changes were made since 2001 such as the Dominion grocery store became a Metro. The subway station, however, was still as I remember it though.
One of the events that should probably takes more prominence here is the events of late October, the 22nd, because I live in the city when and where it happened. A ceremonial guard stood outside the tomb of the unknown soldier got shot and died after. I remember being glued to the TV wondering what was going on, like was there more than one shooter. Also that day my area of the city had a power outage and for that to happen that day was a bit scary but in the end it wasn't related to the events downtown. It was a sad day but from my perspective as a city we carried on the next day.
I guess there are other things to talk about but my attention span for this ran out. Here's hoping it doesn't when I get to posting my NaNoWriMo 2014 entry on Wattpad or deviantArt.
