certification

Greetings, intrepid reader. My name is Chris.

That’s me.

And my partner’s name is Mitsu. It’s pronounced MEET-sue, like, “Today I will meet Sue!” and it’s actually a very pretty name so I would appreciate it if people learned how to say it correctly.

That’s her. She’s clearly the prettier of the two of us.

If you wonder why we look rather dorky, or why our setting is very plainly a bougey coffee shop in the Pacific North West, I understand. We took these pictures to apply to (literally) dozens of jobs teaching English as a foreign language, about 4 months ago now. And we found one!

Now we live in Kalar, a small town in Iraqi Kurdistan north of Baghdad near the Iraq-Iran border.

We teach English with the English Access Institute, and we work with an amazing group of students, teachers, and dreamers.

If you want to learn what it’s like for two Americans to move to Kurdistan, teach English, and learn about a beautiful culture, you’re reading the right blog. Mamosta Qsa Akat means “Teacher is Speaking” and contains every word I know in Kurdish so far.

If you want to learn how Mitsu and I (but mostly me) got here, check out The View from Rubona, a blog about my (our) time serving in the Peace Corps in Rwanda and what came after.

Thanks for visiting the blog. You’ll be hearing from us soon, Insha allah.