At the end of June, Jeff and I made the long trek back to the USA. We flew from Phnom Penh on a late night flight, through Korea, and on to JFK. When we landed at JFK we just stood there, clearly in the way of other people, but unable to move for the beauty of it all. The people. The colors. The food! After getting our bearings, we shuffled off to the side and made a game plan. There was no time to spare. We still needed to get through security and onto our JetBlue (my favorite!) flight to Boston. There were so many dining options and such little time, but we quickly made up our mind that a quality sandwich was what we had missed most. There was an actual Boar's Head deli counter where they would make to order any sort of sandwich you desired. And desire we did. Within fifteen minutes we were grinning like two little school children who had just tattled on the mean kid in class. We had cold Diet Coke, we had two delicious sandwiches to share and we had potato salad. Heaven. We couldn't even wait until we boarded -- we ate them at the gate.
As we got in line to clear security, I checked my Facebook for the first time since leaving PP. I gasped as I read the news that my Mom and my step-father, Tom had gotten a call (not their first) from the Cleveland Clinic and were on their way to get a pancreas. What?! I immediately texted my sister to confirm and she told me that unfortunately, they drove 99% of the way there (about three hours) before receiving a call telling them the organ was not viable and turning around. Brutal. But since Tom is one of the most upbeat people ever when it comes to such crushing defeats, I did not let it dim my newly-arrived-home light.
After an hour-long flight to Boston, during which I fell in love with the MTV show Girl Code (side note: I would typically be embarrassed to admit I gave that channel more than a glance, but this shit is GOOD), we landed in Boston. Even after the travel we had just experienced, we were feeling good; the potato salad didn't hurt either.
We then proceeded to launch ourselves into 43 days of whirlwind travel, up and down the East coast, with our home base being Boston. Here are some highlights.
1. Buffalo. After about five days spent relaxing and reconnecting with friends in Boston, I left early on a Sunday for Buffalo. Jeff planned to fly in to meet me Tuesday night and we were going to spend the week of the Fourth of July with my family. My sister and her husband flew in from San Fran, and both of my brothers were home, albeit working a lot (and generally behaving as handsome, young males in their early 20s do). Little did I know that my dear boyfriend had designs to turn the week into more of a party by proposing at 9am the day after he landed. Woo! So, I left Boston a (theoretically) single lady and three days later was saying yes to a very emotional and authentically-Jeff marriage proposal. He had respectfully filled in my entire family before asking, and it was a great chance for us all to be together to celebrate. I had thought that we were going to wait until the following summer when we would potentially be finished living abroad, but he had other plans. That night we kept the news a surprise and were able to get some pretty good reactions from people as we slowly spread the news. At this point there are no serious plans on a wedding as we first need to figure out what next year will look like. Our party line is that we are taking our time, enjoying being engaged, and will let everyone know when we have decided something.
It was a great time to spend with family, of which I have plenty. I also got to see my nephew, Theo, for the first time in a year. He will be two in August and is absolutely adorable. He is also quite clever and very sweet. One of the things I regret most is not being around for his babyhood, but the time we had together was great.
2. D.C. - After a week in the Buff, I flew directly down to Washington, D.C. where I spent a lot of time with Lindsay, one of my best friends from college (and future bridesmaid -- what what!). The main purpose of my visit was to attend a conference/training on a language program called SIOP, which I am going to be implementing at Liger this year. Collectively, we made the decision to transition from translation-based learning to English immersion, which basically means we are no longer going to teach content by having our Cambodian TAs translate. Instead, SIOP planning and strategies are going to support our students' language development in lieu of having content translated. Stopping translation is a pretty contentious topic among schools in general, and even among our small staff, but we have faith (as well as a lot of logical, reliable data from last year) that our students will rise to the challenge. Furthermore, we are not going to a black and white system where there is absolutely no translation allowed or any sort of punishment for speaking Khmer. We are instead going to use common sense to determine when and where the use of Khmer is appropriate. Learning English has to be our first priority if we want these kids to be competitive with same-age peers for college acceptance in 6-8 years. Anyway, the conference was fabulous and I learned a lot, despite being the youngest teacher there with the least amount of experience with SIOP. I made some good connections with other participants and had a good time. It was also nice to catch up with D.C.-based friends (Lion Pup) and I am sure Jeff enjoyed the time in Boston by himself, post engagement whirlwind.
3. South Carolina. For those of you who know me, I am sure that you have heard a lot about Pawley's Island and the family reunion that we have there every year. When my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, my Mom's nine brothers and sisters contacted each other and set up a reunion. I had just turned eight years old. Our family at the time numbered around 30. We lived in Canada, Buffalo, New York City, Florida, New Jersey, California and Chicago. We didn't get to celebrate holidays together because we were so spread out and because no one's house could really hold us all, and so, Pawley's Island began.
18 years later, Grandma and Grandpa are celebrating 67 years as a couple, and in Grandpa's heart-wrenching words, "are going to try and hang in there as long as we can." We know how rare and special this type of family gathering is, and this year was no exception. Seriously though, how cute are they?
This was Jeff's first year attending, so we were able to celebrate our engagement with everyone. We also celebrated the engagement of my cousin Dan to his boyfriend Josh, the high school graduations of my cousins Chelsea, Timmy and Oona, the birth of five-month-old Rowan, my uncle Paul's donation of his kidney to Tom earlier this year, and the college graduation/acceptance to med school of my cousin Meaghan, who unfortunately couldn't attend. Even with that extensive list, I am probably forgetting something else monumental in the life of one of my family members. Sometimes its hard to keep track with so many people! This year we numbered 69 total, overtaking six different houses on the small island. Jeff and I were only there for four days out of the week, but it was absolutely amazing. I don't think I have ever been so proud to introduce Jeff around, knowing that everyone he met means so much to me and has had a hand in making me who I am.
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| Grandpa, with the five girls of 1999 |
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| The Ten and Grandpa (Daws is there in spirit): Mom, Jerry, Kathy, Timmy, Terry, Susie, Andrew, Meg and Tom |
4. Speaking of the kidney donation, shortly after Jeff and I left Buffalo, Cleveland called again and this time the pancreas transplant actually happened. Tom and Mom only spent six days total at the Clinic before being sent home. Medical miracles do happen and Tom has now experienced more than his fair share. The patient is at home and doing well, although unfortunately he had to miss Pawley's.
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| Doesn't it look like he chose the leopard print scrubs? So handsome post-surgery! |
Last year we accomplished A LOT. We established that the students we have are not the students we expected when we took the job (gifted), but are teeming with curiosity, adapting to daily challenges with a smile and astonishing us with their developing personalities and intelligence every day. This is a group of kids that I doubt I will ever be able to match or even come close to if I were to teach in a different place every year until I retire. Their enthusiasm, wit and sheer happiness is unparalleled. Even when I have had a zero day on a scale of ten, there is undoubtedly a story that Jeff can tell me about one of the kids that can make me smile. They are like our fifty new best friends and what I am going to say next is going to sound cheesy and trite, but we absolutely DELIGHT in them. They are why we returned. They are what drive us. We are so excited for this second year with them.
More to come on observations about being home and Italy!
