So that is one reason why we have been "quiet" for so long. But frankly we have just been really busy, Korbel takes most of our time, and life in schools after spring break are jam packed with assessments, performances, tournaments and the usual chaos. We committed to a 12 day detox plus 15 day food challenge, and believe it or not that took up time. To be successful at a detox, or any diet change, you need to always be prepared. Which means we had to prep (chop, juice, zest, portion, and pack) enough food for the day/week(this translated to a few hours at a time in the kitchen) The detox and challenge were hugely successful and we have enjoyed educating ourselves on health and lifestyle changes related to the food we eat, or don't eat.
The time and work week difference are more of a challenge than I ever expected, it makes it very challenging to make and receive phone calls from family and friends in the states.
Before spring break I had an awful sinus infection, after spring break the whole school was passing around different "bugs". When the community of people you work with take two week trips to various places around the world, they all come back with different germs and such, put them in the same building (with kids) and what you end up with is a bunch of people out sick. I was one of the unlucky few that got the stomach bug. Gross. It was just one day but I was in a state of shock for about four days and probably completely recovered in 10 days. I take that back, I think I a still in shock from that awful vomit day.
Moving on...I can't tell if things right now are picking up and moving quickly, or if they are settling down....Or if things are just moving so quickly that we have all just said 'forget about it' and started to kick back and accept the things we just can't get to. At any rate, the energy is weird and unusual around here, and I cannot believe I have been away from home for 9 months.
That.Is.Crazy!
Before spring break, I was in a very dark and depressed place. I started to absolutely hate it here. I hated everything except for my school. I hated the things I saw, the people, the smells, the sounds...everything made meant to scream or break something. Challenges here are pretty small for the most part, but there are A Lot of them....they add up and can feel overwhelming at times, and for the most part there are no outlets to get me feeling more balanced; at least none that I enjoy: driving to the gym, meeting new people (that are not affiliated to your colleagues or your students), going to the beach, going hiking, nice restaurants, looking at beautiful nature, taking a deep breath (and not becoming fearful about the chemical plant next to you putting god knows what into the air), just driving somewhere. I felt awful, I even convinced myself that I would have to be forced back on the plane to Saudi when returning from Bangkok. I became physically I'll on the flight back and felt like I was going to hell, seriously.
I am not sure what happened in that time period, but I do not feel that way anymore. Hamdallah (thanks god)!
However, that awful period of time obviously led to conversations about our future here....how long do we want to stay here? We talked about this before we even arrived and always thought 4 years with our school, then try to transfer to a different school in the Saudi region. Working in Saudi sets you up financially, the money is good. Well, at our school the money is good, the benefits are fantastic. At other schools in Saudi, the money is fantastic and the benefits are also fantastic. So getting established with our current school for four years and then transferring to a higher paying equally beneficial school in the region will allow us to do things like travel, have incredible health care, grow professionally, pay off student loans (almost done with that already), and pay complete cash for a home (in California) in my early 30s. Sounds great, right.
Yes, but....living here is challenging. Is it worth the challenges, probably, mostly, sure. But I really want to see other things. It is also easy to lose yourself here....you get lots of money and can forget where you came from. Last year, we were living on Phillip's part time teaching job, and I subbed one a week, when I could. We had very little money in our very little apartment, we did not do many things, but we were extremely happy. I think here we have made in just a few months the same amount of money we made that entire year....and one month, we ran out and really had to scrape by the last week or so. I felt so completely ashamed. I never ever ever ever want to do that again, there is no excuse.
I digress...anyhow, we frequently talk about our future, here or elsewhere. We will absolutely be here throughout our contract (through June 2014), and after that we do not know. Do we live for the moment and put ourselves (geographically) in a place that is fulfilling to us, or do we make major sacrifices now to ensure stability for our future? We go back and forth about this frequently. Even writing this right now my thoughts are ping-ponging back and forth.
Phillip once said in a previous post that people come to Saudi with two buckets and you leave when one fills up; the buckets are labeled "money" and "frustration". Money is really the only reason to stay here, and most people living here openly agree with that statement. Is that wrong or bad to stay for the money to make sure your family is set up in the future. Absolutely not. I just feel like I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, let alone my early 30s or beyond. So, I am happy we came here, we have already experienced some incredible things, practically paid off student loans (sorry folks that are not going to say that for another 30 years), and accoring to my passport, I have traveled to 6 different countries since September. Awesome! And hello, I have a job, in my field, the field I went to school for, the field I did my research paper on....that alone is somewhat uncommon these days, I am extremely fortunate.
Well, there are 8 school days and 10 more total days until the last day of school. We stay with Korbel for two weeks, then fly to California. We have just 4 weeks stateside, and one week is in Kauai, then it's back to Korbel for the final two weeks before school starts. 2012 was the longest summer of my life (June 1-September 18), and I think 2013 will be my shortest. We will be all over California : San Diego, Disneyland, Catalina, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Sonoma...a week in Kauai....then back to San Diego. I wish we could do last summer all over again, see Chicago, Texas, Maine, New York/New Jersey, and California / Kauai of course. I am daydreaming now...
FYI, I hope to start doing more of a photo journal of our journeys...more photos, less words. Like the books I preferred to read as a child.
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