After a momentary period of silence, I’m back. And guess what? I’m traveling. I’m currently on board a flight from
Seattle, WA, to Edmonton, Alberta.
It’s off to the Great White North for me for the long weekend to spend some
time with my Canadian side of the family before I head off to the Far
East. I’m excited to see my
wonderful grandmother, aunt and uncle, and a few friends from Ethiopia days.
Life is exhausting these and I’m having a hard time keeping
my eyes open past 3 o’clock when school gets out. I always seem to have just enough energy to do what I need
to and then the inevitable crash of my systems follows. I certainly hope this isn’t a long-term
state of being that I will just have to get used to. Perhaps I’ll finally have a chance to breathe once I make it
to my new home in July.
Speaking of exhausting, I feel as though as I simplify my
life in preparations for my journey, it just gets more complicated. I am finishing up the school year here
in Washington, attempting to stay sane and have memorable moments with my
nineteen students that I truly adore.
Simultaneously though, I’m attempting to put all of the material
possessions I’ve accumulated into boxes based on when/if I actually need
them. In my China trunk, it seems
to be an abundance of cooking materials, clothes, and miscellaneous things that
I may or may not have an inkling for at some point in the next two years. At the same time, I’m trying to put all
of my thoughts in order for the coming school year, planning lessons, writing
units, and preparing for the different demographic of the school that I will be
entering. Oh, and I’m trying to
get support taken care of and finish up all of the paperwork that I keep
procrastinating on. Who ever said
moving was easy?
On a relational note, I find that I am doing well with
making friends where I am going, communicating often with the teachers that I
will be working with next year and getting to know what will inevitably be my
group of friends. They all seem
wonderful and I’m excited to finally meet them in July or August.
But then there is life here: friends, family, work. It truly is a beautiful life that has come together around
me for the past three years, and the reality of leaving it in just two short
months is heartbreaking. To add to
that impending misery is the reality that my friends who haven’t dealt with
transitions like I have really don’t understand the leaving process. Or maybe they do and I don’t. Who knows. They are shutting down and shutting me out, which makes
total sense. But sense never relieves heartbreak, now does it?
Oh the joys of being a Third Culture Kid, torn between a
wonderful international upbringing, a great American life, and the new
adventure that is to come. Welcome
to my world.
Location: Somewhere between Seattle and Edmonton
Local Time (PST -- GMT-7): 3:00 p.m. (5/24/2012)
Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 6:00 a.m. (5/25/2012)
