I am in the middle of writing a paper about the practical application of storytelling for literacy and learning, and I checked the calendar to see how many days I have before this assignment is due. That's when it dawned on me. Today is year 3. Three years ago, I decided that I wanted to wake up every June 23 in another country. I've organized my traveling around this date. The first year I wandered around Machu Picchu in Peru. Last year I spent the night on the beach celebrating with the people of Spain the longest day of the year. This year I woke in the Dominican Republic to my favorite smile in the world. This has been the most challenging of my trips because I have not spent it alone. I'm not complaining about that fact. The last two weeks have been a flurry of Spanish and cuddling new kittens and hanging out with my new niece. It seems that no matter where we are in life, merging two lives carries its own learning curve. He's been asking me a lot, "Ma...

I had to make a few difficult decisions this week. At least, they were difficult for me. I wish I could be the kind of person who completely makes decisions based on his/her own needs and wants and boldly moves through life with unabashed freedom from how our choices affect others. But I'm not built like that. I had placed an ad for my former stray. I felt like it was time to find her a more permanent home because so much in my life right now is uncertain. One person answered the ad, but she did not seem like a good fit, and I gave up further thought. This week I received another response. As long as this person is telling the truth, it's an ideal situation for the dog. Yet, I had a strange feeling and could not sort out whether or not it was my intuition kicking in or that fact that I actually like the dog and don't want to see her go. In the end, I decided that it was in my own (and my Winnipeg's) best interest for her to stay with us through the summer. (I seri...

My countdown is now narrowed down to one of my hands. In five days, I'll board a plane and will not return to U.S. soil (save for one week of mandatory training) until the end of the summer. I will be living abroad...in another country...soaking up all the mangos and plantains I can get my grubby hands on. It's exciting and intimidating. Leaving behind the solitude and comfort of my home and my dogs. Adjusting to a slower pace of life and system of rules. There's nowhere to run there. I have no place to hide when my life overwhelms me. My phone won't work there. Seven weeks is a long time to be away from everything familiar. I remember the first night I traveled alone to another country. After making my way through the airport in Lima and checking in to my hotel, I sat on the bed and turned on the t.v. Of course, it was in Spanish. Every channel was in Spanish...even the programs I recognized. At the time, my conversational skills were much more severely limited ...