First off Ramadan Kareem to my Muslim friends!  It’s the first day of a holy month of fasting, detoxing your spirit, being charitable and communing with God.  While I may not be Muslim, and I’m not even going to pretend that I’m fasting (I tried, but I just can’t go without water during the day, and let’s face it my cellulite demands to be fed too many times a day), I am grateful for this reminder to remember those who are not as fortunate as me, and to nourish my spiritual self.  And, to thank God for all of it!

It’s been a stressful few weeks, but the last two weeks have reminded me of how incredibly lucky I am.  I am so unbelievably touched by the people I work with.  My students blessed me with heartfelt notes and lovely gifts, all of which I’m taking to my new home.  Local teachers surprised me with heartfelt notes in English (which isn’t easy for them) and beautiful gifts (all of which are coming with me too!), and my fellow expat teachers took me to lunch and made me the most awesome, personal reminders of my time here, and how lucky I was to share it with all of them!  I am beyond words for how much I will miss everyone.  The job has had its horrible days, but oh my goodness the people I’ve met along the way are priceless.

I’m busy closing down my apartment, and it’s bittersweet.  Sometime this week my electricity and Internet will be shut off, and I’ll move in with Shannan until I leave for good.  Week after next I’m flying to Virginia for a few days to get some things done for my new job.  It took a month, but woo hoo I finally got the final word on my housing benefits, which are more than what I expected.  So, yes!   I can afford to take the job.  I cried for like 5 minutes and have been light on my feet ever since I got the “you’ve been approved” email.  I didn’t realise how much it was weighing me down.  I’m still not posting where this job is until I sign the final offer because I so don’t want to jinx it.  But, Joe and I are beyond excited.  I will tell you it’s not in Virginia (that’s just where HR is, and since I have friends and family there it’s the easiest stop for me to get fingerprints, etc. in) and that it’s for a Department of Defense school (holy moly I landed a DOD job — it’s only taken 4 or 5 years to get noticed!) somewhere on our planet.  No Mars schools yet.  As soon as I sign the final paper I’m blasting my news, and then you can all plan to come visit.

And, on that note, I need to get back to packing.  For the folks back home, enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!  I’ve attached a ton of love and gratitude to this post, so that you can all, hopefully, feel the good in this world too.