Put My Left Hand In, Put My Left Hand Out..

This summer class is an Education Orientation class. I don't really need to be in this class, because I've been down this road already, but it's required so I'm in it--but, honestly, it's not that bad, and it got me thinking.

When I chose to go into education, I'm not really sure why I chose it. I think I just really liked English, and needed something to do with an English degree. However, Devil University has done a good job of killing my English love, and fostering an Education like. As I was growing up, what I wanted to be went like this: Teacher, Pediatrician, Teacher, Nurse, Teacher, Social Worker, Teacher. We can also tag "mom" onto each of those. But I didn't want to be in school long enough to be a doctor, and hated science too much to be a nurse, and was discouraged from doing social work by my mother, so teacher it is. I had originally planned on going Early Childhood Education, which here is Birth-PreK. However, even before entering college, I figured out that that was a bad idea. Why in the world would I waste 4 years of college to get the same job that I am currently doing now without a degree? So that was out. And Elementary just wasn't for me, and I knew it. And middle school? Um, no thanks. So 8-12...that's the hole. (Just for the record, I really do love my job...even though my boss is the jeans devil slighty completely psycho, evil, and blonde and some parents should really chill out).

At one point I had this dream mapped out that I was going to open an adoption and foster care center here, and then several others around the US, and then sister centers in the most-adopted international countries (Guatemala, China, Ethiopia, etc.) that would be run by staff from that country rather than US staff. But, I gave this up, because it's impossible to do when you could have to pick up and move at a moments notice. But you know that new commercial for some phone network that is about Tom's Shoes? How they give away a pair of shoes for every pair they sell? I'd immediately join this. I love helping needy kids. It's just awesome. And when I watch those medical shows or "destroyed in 60 seconds" or whatever kinds of shows I'm always fascinated by figuring out how things happened--or CSI, piecing things together. However, I'm NOT interested in CSI stuff, just the medical piecing together. And I hate science...so no scientific pathology for me. I'm pretty sure my ideal job would be a teacher in a hospital in a third world country. But, that doesn't exist for multiple reasons you can probably figure out on your own.

I'd love to open some kind of NPO that runs to many third world and undeveloped countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, 95% of Africa, Guatemala, India, etc. etc. that deals with helping children (with clothes, with shoes, with housing, with food, with toys and activities, with healthcare, anything and everything). But I don't want it to be one of those "sponsor a child" only organizations. I would want it to be something different. And I want to figure out a way to run an NPO that I can still make a living off of and make pretty frequent trips to the central operation zones within each country to check progress (and to get my husband and children there occasionally) and still make money enough to open a few operating buildings around the US that could be run by my second-in-command when B and I are forced to move somewhere else.

Any suggestions?