new year

Well, I'm back from the States and much 'healthier' around the midsection as a result. I live for Mexican food... My jeans do not however.

And I'm in the final part of my journey in the Netherlands. 2006 sees a lot going on in my life and my stint in Zuid-Holland is drawing to its conclusion. I'll be going to a job fair in about a month to find that next locale and its going to be another international school. Not that I don't have other options but I choose to stay an expat. Heck, they'd take away my blogger name if I wasn't!

I really enjoyed my time in the US. It was very easy and the appeal was there. I could take a job back in California with no problem and get back into my old lifestyle without missing a heartbeat. I had two former prinicipals of mine offer me a job while I was back but I couldn't see my way to saying yes. As difficult as it is being an expat, it is something that I cherish and enjoy. Yes it would be easier and less stressful to live in my native land and get on with my life. Yes it would make sense to find a home and set up shop for the rest of my career. But what fun would a life be without a challenge? Anyone who has been a military kid or expat of any kind can tell you that living away from your native culture is a challenge.

So why not take the easy road? Lotsa reasons. And not a one of them makes sense to someone who isn't a traveller. Its kinda hard to say but once ya start, its so hard to stop. Life would be simpler someplace else but sometimes simpler translates into boring and at this point in my life I'm just not ready to settle down and be domesticated. At least not yet.

So in less than a month I fly back to the US but this time its not for vacation; its for another international job. I don't know what I'll end up with or where it will be but unless something dramatic happens, it will be some place where the native language isn't English, the American dollar isn't the main currency, and the people are all a bit different than me.