Until I get on a plane to Malawi Africa. Am I crazy? I must be.
Who am I kidding? I'm not named Sabbatical Sally for nothin!
I'd be crazy not to go. I received an offer in my email Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, my mind was made up. I have to go. This is my dream. Anyone who knows me well knows... Africa has been on my mind since age 2. None of us knew why until 2006 when I experienced the peace and awe and amazingness that was HOME. I belonged. After 7 long years... I finally get to return to that place that brought me such solace.
This is it. My chance.
I'm sure my mom hopes I get it out of my system. But who knows. I may never come back ;)
(Oh hush mom... I'm coming back!!)
But in 47 days 20 hours... I'll be heading to Africa to teach a classroom of kindergarteners. And I have a feeling I will learn more about myself, my life, my future, and my purpose than all the Saxon math I could ever teach those cute kiddos.
I can't wait to see their faces. I can't wait to see them sing and dance and play.
But lets get real... I am terrified. Just me and Bobby Bear... We've done this. We do this all the time. But 10.5 months is a whole new monster.
I'll miss my friends. I'll miss my family. I'll miss my dogs.
But this is an opportunity that doesn't come a-knockin every day.
The timing of it all is blowing my mind. God has His hands all over this. He is so sneaky! I totaled my car in April, meaning I was in a rental, then bought a new car through carmax (DONT GO TO CARMAX!), and was having major issues with the car and frustrations with the customer service so they allowed me to return the car for a full refund (thats the only thing they did right), I returned the car Sunday evening, June 16. I got the job offer Monday morning, June 17. Guess I won't need to buy a car seeing how I will be in Cabo with the family, then in Texas where I have a car to drive for the last 5 weeks in the US. Thanks God! Oh and what are the odds that I would be in Texas with my family for 5 weeks shooting a wedding, attending my best friends wedding, working, and helping my sister and her family pack for a big move... oh and those 5 weeks just happen to be the last 5 weeks I will spend in the US before departing for Africa for 10.5 months. (That makes for one happy momma) Although, I think she would be happier if I wasn't going at all :) Oh and another funny little thing that happened... I have been working at a retail travel store for the last month and half and I went in to use the computer for something on my day off and my manager asked me if I would be traveling to a few random spots in the near future. We had expired LonelyPlanet books that we can't sell, so we recycle them and send the cover back to LonelyPlanet... One of them was "The best of Zambia and Malawi". Yes please. (That was a week before I received my offer for the teaching position). The stars are aligning quite nicely, if I do say so myself.
Heres to the beginning of the next chapter in my life. Gonna be a wild ride, world wide web.
I'll keep you updated.
