A New Year

The sun has set on 2007. It was a busy year for me: living half of it in Korea teaching english to wee ones; then escaping to scuba dive and float down rivers in Thailand, trek the moutains of Burma, and explore ancient temples in Cambodia; then traveling back home to visit friends and family in Colorado, California, Louisiana, New York and D.C.; followed by an adventure in getting to know Uganda.

This friendly, intriguing and diverse country, which while wraught with many problems is also pregnant with possibility, is where I celebrated the dawn of a new year. I found it very ironic that Christmas in Oderai village didn't feel like Christmas becuase there was absolutely nothing western or "christmasy" around, and then New Year's I didn't really feel as though I was in Africa becuase everything was so posh and quite familiar as a New Years Eve celebration. I was in K'la, and stayed with a friend who was house-sitting. This house was really REALLY nice, and I'm talking by American standards nice. We cooked pasta for dinner, drank wine, had champagne, went to watch fireworks on the roof of a very posh apartment building, then went for dancing and drinks at Bubbles, an Irish pub that is very popular among the expat crowd. About 5 am I took a special hire (what we would call a taxi, something that I never take) back to my posh abode and slept on an real mattress. That morning I slept in and then spent most of the day lounging on a leather sofa watching movies on DSTV and eating Brie. This is not something I've thought of doing or had the opportunity to do since coming to Africa, so it doesn't reflect my experience here at all. It was indeed odd.

So anyway, here we are in 2008. After reflecting on my past year, I feel quite satisfied with what I accomplished. As I look forward to this next year I'm filled with anticipation. In less than a month I'll be in Cape Town! Getting ready to start Grad School! I'm eager to explore new places and make a new home for myself, create new relatioships, be challenged, and see what South Africa has waiting for me! I hope wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you are also excited about the possiblities to come, are dreaming of all the things you can do, and are ready to make things happen!