Tuesday, June 14, 2011

it's the final countdown

one more month. that's it. my classes will be officially over as of 9:30 on friday morning. at that moment, a whole school year of teaching will be complete. wow. i will probably engage in some kind of happy dance to celebrate surviving my very first year of teaching.

after classes are over, there will be preparation for english week and english camp, hopefully some time for relaxation and a bit of exploring, and then english week during the last week of june and english camp during the first week of july. after that, i'll have a few days to recuperate, pack, clean, and say "see you in the fall" before boarding a plane to head back to indiana.

july 14th. that's the day. i'm lucky enough *insert sarcasm here* to head out on a 6am flight. i have a three and a half hour layover in frankfurt, a super long flight in which i'm praying for an aisle seat, another hour and a half layover in chicago, and then i arrive at the ft. wayne airport around 4pm. it's going to be one long day, but i'm excited to see my parents and celebrate with some delicious mexican food :-D i'm almost as excited about guacamole, chips & salsa, margaritas, and fried ice cream as i am about seeing my parents. just kidding ;-) mom and dad, you're definitely at the top of my list of what and who i'm looking forward to.

it's quite possible that i will be in a traveling-induced coma for the next few days after i arrive, but once that's over, i am planning to see some wonderful friends, reunite with my church family, enter a cooking/baking frenzy, attend a wedding, gawk at the bling of my newly-engaged friend (yes, amanda prior, i'm talking about you :-D), and see how long i can hug my dog for without him going stir-crazy.

i'll only be home for about a month and a half, and i'm already trying to figure out how i can do it all. there are grandparents i'd like to see in other states, boy meets world marathons/dance parties/baking extravaganzas to have with amanda, huntington friends to visit, favorite eateries to dine at... and by golly, i'm going to try my hardest to squeeze it all in to that time.

boy oh boy, i'm excited. but it's also bittersweet. yes, i'm coming back to ostrava next year, so i don't really have to say any goodbyes (which is good, because i really can't imagine doing that right now), but things will be different next year. i will have some of the same students, but some will be new, friends will leave for universities outside of ostrava, and some friends will actually be leaving for a year in america. some changes will be good while others will be hard to adjust to. i really can't say what next year holds in store other than change and hopefully growth. i hope to continue to grow as a teacher, as a friend, as a roommate and teammate, and of course as a Christ-follower. i hope to continue building the relationships i've already started here and also begin new ones.

that's all for now. to my friends, family, and dog at home, i love you, i miss you, and i'm so very excited to see you. to my friends here in czech, thank you for making my first year here such a successful and joyful time. i love you all and i am very happy for the opportunity to spend another year with you. it's an understatement to say that i'm excited to see what next year holds in store :-)

1 comment:

  1. You mentioned me twice... you sooo like me. :D I'm so excited to have you back soon!!! And so completely jealous that you get to spend another year there... :) :( :)

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