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My husband and I’ve been home from Jakarta since June 9, 2009, missing the subsequent bombings there (occuring not far from our old neighborhood) by nearly a month.  Since returning to the US, life has been anything but boring…more like thoroughly frustrating.  The recession situation here is quite real, something we simply observed from afar in our enormous tiled-floor Indonesian bedroom, compliments of many of local news networks there.  Now we are back in the thick of it.  Luckily, I’ve been able to find work, which, ironically enough, just ended yesterday.  Not even a month ago, I commenced round two of teaching for the same local ESL school in Atlanta as I did before moving to Indonesia nearly two years ago, this time at the Chamblee branch.  I had the opportunity to teach a bigger variety of students this time, including those from Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, and, the one country I SO want to see and experience, Brazil.  After they finished taking their final exam last night, my students and I said our goodbyes, my Brazilian pupils giving me gifts of cards, money and Brazilian cuisine (if the food is any indication of what the country is like, I KNOW I have to get to this place at least once before I die).  Now that chapter is closed and I’m sitting here waiting…

Two weeks from today, I’ll be departing the US to commence yet another adventure abroad, this time in Africa.  Back in February, I was interviewed for and got a job in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.  Said job officially begins on October 1st, and I can’t believe the time has come to make this new move, so it’s time to say goodbye to Atlanta once more.

Admittedly, I’m nervous, but it’ll be more than interesting to see what this new assignment will bring.  I consider myself very lucky to have gotten this job.  The company for which I’ll be working, according to my research, is one of the most reputable schools in not only Rabat but Morocco as a whole.  I certainly hope it doesn’t disappoint.  More so, I’m wowed by the fact that I’ll be in Africa for nearly a year.  Morocco, I guess, isn’t quite the Africa that most people think of at the mention of the continent.  There are no lions, elephants and impalas there to boast.  It lies just south of Spain, positioned in Northwestern Africa.  The climate is Mediterrean.  Like Indonesia, it is a Muslim country (I seem to have an affinity to these sorts of locations).  While living in Indonesia, I learned some of the language but still managed to get by mostly with English.  Learning Arabic and French will be a must in Morocco as English is not (obviously) the top language.  More unlike Indonesia, Morocco also has more than two seasons; wearing a coat during the “winter” is now a concern once more.  There is so much to consider, in many ways, I’ve blocked everything out and am just waiting to see what happens.

In any event, this new experience will prove to be no less than enthralling.  I just hope I can handle it.

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