Coming Home...

"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln

Well, I have closed another chapter of my life and I am coming away with a deep sense of satisfaction. That crazy school I complained about most of last year will always have a very special place in my heart. I think it has really helped to form my thinking about so many things in this world and will continue to have an impact on how I choose to live my life. I am so grateful for having had the opportunity and for having taken the opportunity to go and learn so much in such a short nine months.

Coming home so far has been amazing. Both my parents came to pick me up at the airport and after a fairly stressful day, it was so nice to see them. We had a good talk and they impressed me with a lot of what they said about immigration, spirituality, and family. It's amazing how much more reasonable your parents seem when you aren't 16 years old. My sister was great about returning all the clothes she had borrowed out of my closet while I was away and we even got to lay out in the sun for a little while... Juan Carlos and I had a great afternoon together sitting outside with his family drinking Corona and eating Ceviche. It was a wonderful way to open up this new chapter, full of familiarity and yet so much still unknown...

This summer, I'm planning to teach several English classes (hopefully a total of 18 credits) and I'm going to work with CIELO as much as I can as well. I think I can work with them pretty consistently through June and then we'll find out about the funding and how my position might change... I'm excited about it. Even though I would ideally like to be doing student advising, doing curriculum design and teaching again will be good. I get to be creative and I still get to interact with students regularly and everything. I'm hoping that working at CIELO will help me to meet several people in the local community too and maybe create connections and inspire future endeavors. Meanwhile, I am continuing to apply for full time work in higher ed, as an international student/study abroad advisor. We'll see what comes up...