A popular answer when asking a new retiree what they plan to do
with their time is “travel.” But Kathy Konopasek has taken the
concept of traveling when retired to a whole new level.
After a 30-year career with CPS where she
took on many roles—teacher, librarian, assistant principal,
principal—Kathy was saddened at the thought of retiring and found
herself in tears when signing her retirement paperwork in Winter
2016. She immediately signed up to substitute teach in order to
ease the transition out of working full-time, and a winter trip
to Mexico with a fellow CPS retiree certainly helped to ease the
pain, too!
An avid traveler when she was in college and teaching abroad in
her early career, Kathy has always been an explorer, but the time
commitment required for the CPS leadership roles she eventually
took on made extensive travel a bit trickier. Bitten by the
travel bug once again following her Mexico getaway, Kathy decided
to make her next adventure a big one, and went to South Africa
and Zimbabwe for 19 days.
Described as “a trip of a lifetime,” Kathy
got to immerse herself in a completely different culture and was
particularly fascinated by the free-roaming wildlife that
surrounded her. Openly encouraged by her tour guides to both
observe and participate in Africa’s wildness, she got to ride on
and feed a 4-ton elephant and rub the backs of lions (and she has
the photos to prove it!). She also got to visit the home of
Nelson Mandela, which she describes as an honor and a humbling
experience.
Back in Illinois for the time being, Kathy continues to
substitute teach, has become a member of the Retired Teachers
Association of Chicago (RTAC), regularly takes yoga and
stretching classes, volunteers at her local park, and is thinking
about her future travels. A return trip to China is being
considered, as well as a first-time visit to South America, and
as winter creeps in, another jaunt to Mexico seems very
appealing.
But for now Kathy is happy to enjoy the still-vivid memories of
her time in Africa, letting them last as long as possible.