I

"It's no use trying to pretend that mostpeople and ourselves are alike.

Mostpeople have less in common with ourselves than thesquarerootofminusone.

You and I are human beings; mostpeople are snobs."

-e.e. cummings

Here I am, and this is what you've got... Me. Simple me, quirky me, chaotic me, watching you, watching me.

Funny how I thought everyone would think badly of me when I made these crazy life decisions to change, change, change. I imagined people looking down on me, wishing bad, making fun. And instead people have applauded me, encouraged me, and embraced my Change.

I began searching for the Why and discovered my luckiness in the midst of this adventure-ready peace of mind... Luckiness becacuse I indeed have managed a re-do in a world where everyone is afraid to confront mistakes. Yes, most of my friends are supportive because they love me, but there are definitely a number of people who applaud me simply because I courageously accepted my do-over opportunity. I was brave enough to acknowledge my unhappiness and change direction. And now, here I am, choosing to live life a little more selfishly, seeking out happiness.


"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people that have come alive."
-Howard Thurman

where in the world??

I realized that last map was probably a bit zoomed in for some of you to actually be able to visualize Abu Dhabi/Al Ain's location in the Middle East, so here's a better one...

small scoop

**Al Ain is the small city directly east of Abu Dhabi on the border of Oman!**

So a lot of you have been asking for "the scoop" on our future in the UAE and our upcoming adventure in the Middle East, with an estimated departure date of August 2010. The contract has now been signed, scanned, delivered (by email)! (Hopefully you got that little motown reference.) I will be teaching for 2 years in Al Ain (the guy who interviewed me said we'd like Al Ain best) for the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). I will teach early elementary (probably first grade).


Nate and I are both free spirits, in a sense, and neither one of us is deeply in love with winter... So, we decided to search for opportunities overseas. The ADEC opportunity was the best one in many ways. Most well-paying overseas gigs are in private schools, which I didn't want. Even though I will still probably be teaching a lot of rich kids, at least they will be locals who can teach me tons about their culture! I found the ADEC teaching positions listed on the Teach Away website: www.teachaway.com Teach Away is the recruitment agency for ADEC.


Anyhow, although it seems kind of insane for the two of us to be heading to the richest area of the world, the experience should be pretty incredible... They are undergoing huge educational reform (which is exciting and challenging), Nate and I get to learn Arabic, there are outdoorsy things to do (desert camping, mountains in Oman, camel rides...), we'll experience life in a Muslim country, I'll still be teaching in a public school system, and we'll be able to save an amazing amount of money (so that we can then buy our plot of land somewhere and a yurt!). Plus, I figure if we make some good money working the richest area of the world, we'll then be able to travel and volunteer in some of the poorest areas of the world.

pinch me please?

Please ignore the university logo at the top of the page... Instead, please feast your eyes on the surrounding landscape and images. This is Al Ain, a city Nate and I may soon call "home".

I intend to keep you posted.

My interview was absolutely amazing yesterday... or else I wouldn't be on here teasing you with bits of the UAE.

So, consider this an invitation to be patient and stay tuned.

MLK, Jr. quotation

"In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends"

Each day if I have nothing in particular to write about, I think I shall search for a quotation that strikes a chord or at least makes me contemplate. I like this one, because today we did some chatting about Martin Luther King, Jr.... How he encouraged people to use words instead of fists and love instead of hate. My first graders really seemed to get that message. One of them even made a connection to another story we had read (4 feet, 2 sandals i think it was called, about a refugee camp in afghanistan), where the girls were not allowed to go to school but the boys were. I think the idea of "unfair laws" is a grasp-able concept. The Discovery Education streaming video I found was totally age-appropriate... A good pre-cursor to the book "Martin's Big Words". If anything, I have more kids verbalizing the fact that everyone should get along and make an effort to be nice to each other. One of my girls said, "I like it when people are nice to me, so I think I should be nice to everybody."

dry.

While reading Dry., by Augusten Burroughs, I came to a part that immediately brought tears to my eyes. A woman is at an AA meeting with Augusten sharing her story-- how she was diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to many other areas of her body. She is talking about the alcoholism in this next section, but I truly think it can apply to us with regards to anything that we are spending time on that isn't "right" for us (like an unhealthy marriage, or bad habits, or jobs people hate)...

""When he told me I had maybe four months to live, my very first thought was, I'm going to go get sloshed at Old Town Pub. But then I thought, I am not going to die a drunk. I am going to try to live the best I can. And that means as somebody who is sober. You see, even though back when I was drinking I thought nothing bad ever happened to me, something did. Time passed. A lot of time passed. In bars, at parties with people I didn't care for. It was always the drink. It wasn't about love or reading the Sunday paper in bed. Or housebreaking a puppy. Or anything that people call 'life'. It was about drinking. So actually, something bad, very bad, did happen to me. I wasted my life. And now, what little I have left, I want.""

And I think maybe it made me get teary-eyed because I know how that feels. Don't we all really? Doesn't everyone at some point find themselves facing their choices? I am just so thankful that I chose to make my life more like the life I want to live.

The book is good, by the way. And Magical Thinking is his short-story book that I absolutely loved... totally laugh-out-loud funny.

15 months ago

Just found a journal entry from October 5, 2008...


"Not feeling well today; is it illness, allergies, or the blues? Throat + tummy hurt, didn't get anything done.

Making my playlist because somehow I find solace in song. The aches of my inner mind unfolding in melody. Does everyone find themselves here? Wondering how we became ourselves and if it's true to our souls?

I am lonely. Fake Plastic Trees is on now. And I can identify because it wears me out to be me in a spot I might not want to be."


I like the last line. And 15 months later, I am happy to report that I am feeling quite the opposite today.
.