we have arrived

Way back in college, I dreamed of living in a Spanish speaking country, but I had doubts about going away on my own, and never made it happen. A few years later, I talked my newlywed husband, Earl, into teaching English (it’s my field) in Japan for a year. He agreed, but only if we’d come back to our home town. Forever. 

For many years, I was satisfied with the memories of that amazing year-long experience, but once our kids started getting a little more independent, I began to long for another adventure. We agreed to make travel a priority even though anything longer than two weeks would be a challenge after Earl accepted a promotion last fall. 

This spring, we spent two weeks in Japan, and came back with full stomachs, hearts, and memory cards. We headed back to work, but something had changed for Earl, and he was ready to take the overseas leap again. We weighed our options and in May I started applying for jobs that would be a good fit for our family. By the end of June, I was matched to an English Language Fellow project in Panama, helping train teachers at a pedagogical high school.

So two weeks ago, we packed up everything into a bunch of suitcases, and left Florida for Panama. And now here we are, settling into life in Panama, learning new roles within our family, homeschooling for the first time. We’re all handling the adjustment differently and learning a ton. Can’t wait to see what the year brings!