In January, I had my senior swim meet. It was my last home swim meet as a Bearcat at St. Vincent. My parents and friends came out to watch me one last time in my home pool.
In February, I had my last competitive swim meet EVER! After swimming on a swim team since I was 4, this was a very monumental day! It was a great end to a huge chapter in my life and a very proud accomplishment. Swimming will always hold a special place in my heart, although I am enjoying retirement!
Also in February, my dear friend Br. Joao Marcos came to visit all the way from Brazil! He has a big heart and it was a really special time being reunited with him.
March was a life changing month for me. On March 28th, I received my unexpected official invitation to serve in the Peace Corps in Macedonia. I was on my way to Buca di Beppo with the Italian club and checked my email and after that, everything changed! The next day I ran my first ever half marathon in honor of my cousin Peyton and got 3rd place in my age group. It was also the farthest I have ever run.
April was a busy month, preparing for graduation and finishing student teaching. Student teaching was a lot of work both in and out of the classroom. I learned so much about myself as a teacher with new ideas and techniques to use with my students. I also signed the Job Board at St. Vincent as an "English Teacher with the Peace Corps in Macedonia."
Next came the much anticipated month of May and it was full of many goodbyes. It was finally time to graduate after 4 years of studying, projects, tests and student teaching. I was sad to say goodbye to the many friends I made along the way and the place I called home for 4 years but I was excited to start the new chapter in my life and begin preparing for the Peace Corps.
I had to say goodbye to the good friends I made, Aron and Tamas, who would travel back to Hungary after a year at St. Vincent. I had the opportunity to tutor them in English and introduce them to many new American things such as s'mores and root beer floats! I am planning on visiting them in the near future since they live so close to me now. I know they want to show me some traditional Hungarian food!
Then at the end of May, one of the biggest highlights of my summer was when my friend Emma traveled from London for a visit. As if being reunited with one friend from study abroad wasn't enough, my friend Kaitlin (who I haven't seen since I studied abroad 2 years ago) surprised Emma and drove 9 hours to my house so we could all be reunited. It was a weekend full of many laughs and reminiscing on the memories from our time studying abroad in London.
In June, we had another big graduation to celebrate. That's right, 2 graduations in basically one month! My younger brother Connor graduated from The Church Farm School and I couldn't be more proud of him for getting into his dream school, Muhlenberg.
We celebrated his big day with our family and friends
July was very busy, working 55 hour weeks as a nanny to save up for my time in Peace Corps. Those student loans won't pay themselves! Thankfully after some rearranging, I was able to go to the Omni in Bedford Springs with my mom for one last girls weekend. We ate the homemade granola I dream of, made s'mores by the fire pit and ate quinoa burgers while relaxing by the pool. I also met a great friend named Stephanie while there. We continue to keep in touch and she has a beautiful heart rooted in Christ.
As if one vacation wasn't enough, my old neighbors, who moved to North Carolina, invited me to go with them to Disney and Universal. I was beyond excited because the brand new part of the Harry Potter world opened and I got to ride the new ride TWICE and it was amazing! I even got to see The Blue Man Group. I tried Dim Sum for the first time and ate some Harry Potter chocolates. We even went to Epcot! I am so blessed to have a second family!
As if that wasn't one of the greatest vacations, I even got to meet up with my friend Anna in the beautiful town of Savannah only a couple days after she got engaged to the most amazing man I know. We met in London while studying abroad and I cherish the many memories we have shared since. We had lunch in one of the coolest hipster restaurants in Savannah. She is one of my favorite people and I feel so blessed to have gotten to see her one last time before I left for Macedonia.
August came and finally it began to feel real that I was leaving for the Peace Corps. There was so much to do to prepare and so many people to see with goodbye tears. The month started off when one of my best friends, Marykate, got married to an amazing man. The weekend was full with many laughs.
On the Eve of Connor's last night home, my amazing mom prepared a whole Thanksgiving feast so we could celebrate all together as a family. We even had sweet potatoes with marshmallows! Who needs to wait until November to come together and give thanks and share a delicious meal together.
Then came the hard part: moving Connor into college. My little brother was growing up and it was time for him to create a path for himself and follow his dreams. It was sad for me knowing I wouldn't be there for him, but would be thousands of miles apart. This was one of the hardest goodbyes I had to say. Thankfully FaceTime was invented!
September the month of departure, goodbyes, new friends and a new chapter. It started off with a birthday celebration for my dad and the day ended with a final goodbye to Connor filled with many tears. We got one last family photo together. 12 days later, my bags were packed and it was time to start my 27 month journey to serve in Macedonia.
One last picture with my parents before I left for Macedonia
Had to say goodbye to my favorite little dog and this was the hardest goodbye
I landed in Macedonia and spent the week at the Woodrow Wilson School. It was the start of new friendships and an answer to a lot of my worries.
I discovered my training site for the next 3 months and moved in with my new host family.
Veles
October was an extremely busy month. I was beginning to get adjusted to life in Macedonia and becoming more comfortable with my host family. My days were long, full of Macedonian language and many other training courses. I hiked my first Macedonian mountain and went on a church pilgrimage with my best friend Susie. I taught my host family how to make some traditional dishes and went to my first National Macedonian soccer or football game against Slovakia. I also found out my permanent site placement in the town of Kavadarci where I would be living for the next 2 years and working in a school, teaching English.
My school in Kavadarci welcomed me with these posters!
My language class in Veles at the Swearing In Ceremony
December was a challenging month in many ways. I had to move to a different host family after facing many challenges with my previous host family. I had to spend my first Christmas away from my family which was a very emotional time. There were some really positive things to celebrate in December though. I began teaching in the school and felt like a celebrity each day when the students would race up to me each morning to say "hello" or "good morning." I taught them about Christmas traditions in America and a group of students sang Jingle Bell Rock at the school concert. I got to go to my school's teacher Christmas/New Years dinner and learned to dance the Oro. Even the director, a very serious man, was dancing! It was a night to remember. I was able to spend New Years Eve with my fellow volunteer Jasmine baking a delicious snack. We then went to the EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteers apartment and spent the night laughing and playing games. It was like the United Nations with volunteers from Lithuania, Estonia, Wales, Portugal, Belgium, Macedonia and America.
The staff at my school
My two counterparts and I at the school dinner
My director dancing the Oro!
New Years Eve!
This year has taught me so much about myself, my faith, my life goals and who I want to be as a person, daughter, friend, teacher and volunteer. I have faced what seemed like impossible challenges and made difficult decisions but I am so thankful that each and every decision has led me to the path I am on right now. I could not have had this amazing year without the love and support I have received from my family and friends. I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for me as a volunteer and I look forward to continuing to grow each and every day. Please continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers in this new year!
No comments:
Post a Comment