Magic of Christmas
(WARNING: There are spoilers about Santa in here. If you are a parent that has small children that believe in Santa, be warned before you read this aloud to people you want to continue believing in him.) Tis the season to be merry and bright. All the channels and streaming programs are advertising Christmas movies. The air is full of the music. It is the most wonderful time of year, full of excitement and magic. According to pop culture what draws to mind when you think of the magic of the season is wrapped around the figure of Santa. Yet growing up, my family never really… Read more
Letting go of expectations
So much of my prefield training and the advice I received before arriving was, "Know your expectations," because they WILL NOT all be met. In fact, maybe none of them will be met. I don't know what I expected, but coming to a region 10 days after the start of a war was not something I expected. I didn't expect for the country to declare a period of mourning the day after I arrived. I didn't expect for my 2 language classmates to be pulled out of the country after 1 week, leaving me in alone in class.I didn't expect to live with a couple on my team for 2 months while trying to find me… Read more