If I had a dollar for every time somebody asked me "How long will you keep this up?" or "When are you planning on settling down?" I might have been able to make a dent in the crazy amount of money in fare increases and flight change fees that the cancellations and delays that the snowstorms down south caused. The truth is I'm not sure how much longer Sean and I will be able to continue this lifestlye but I know that for now it feels right and that it's working for us.
But two months in Holland (my favorite place on earth, even in winter) tugs at my wanderlust a little more each year. This year, it wasn't the houses, cars, kids or cool stuff that our friends and family had accumulated while we were away, but the sense of community and care that comes with long-standing relationships and friendships that can be traced to way back when.
This year, particularly, Sean and I were blown away by the generosity, the thoughtfulness and the welcoming warmth of our friends and family. Even though we are always gone for the majority of the year, they received us as if we had never been gone at all. Friends had us over for dinner, helped get us jobs, let us borrow cars, treated us to dinners and drinks, fixed our car and invited us to hang out all the time. It was pretty amazing and not only makes it very hard to leave Holland but also reminded me what's so valuable about putting down roots - the community that loves on you and grows with you.
When I arrive in Brazil tomorrow I'll be attempting to construct an entirely new community - from scratch. If it's anything like last year the process will be challenging, frustrating and a little lonely at times but it will also be a lot of fun and an impossible-to-pass-up adventure.
There is a rather large group of new English teachers seated next to me who are headed to the same orientation that I'm going to help out with in Brasilia. Their excitement is contagious as they talk about what side projects they want to do, where their placement is, how much Portuguese they know and where they've studied abroad before. Most of them had coordinated together beforehand to make Valentine's Day cards for all passengers on the flight (that's 108 total people) that we're about to take. I'm going to take that as a positive indication on how this next year's going to go. Even though my real heart will always be in Holland, this paper cut-out one will have to do for now. Happy Valentine's Day!
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