Wandering the city

Today, I went out with five other teachers for lunch and had meat that they cut from  a sword. It was pretty much a dream come true. 

Then we went shopping for some thrilling things like shelves and hangars. And we got milk shakes!

It was a good, full day. 

Tomorrow!

It is so crazy to me that I finally leave for Brazil tomorrow. I feel like this has truly been 12 years in the making, since I first went to the Dominican Republic with the INN during my time at UW. It's crazy to see how God has been preparing me for this for a long time, most likely in ways that I don't even fully realize. But off I go... after just a few more errands. 

Why Brazil

Well, the short version is that it seemed like it was the right fit and that God wanted me there.

The slightly longer version is this:
I have lived in Anchorage for the past three and a half years working for Camp Fire Alaska mostly doing before and after school programs for K-6th grade. For the past two years I was in middle management, working more with the college-aged staff than the kids. I know that I learned a lot through my time there, but I also had a deep longing to do something more meaningful and more in line with my faith in Jesus. So I started looking into teaching again (I graduated with my Masters in Teaching in 2011).
Let me back up a little... In March of 2015 I went to visit my friend, Karen, in Seoul, Korea. She was working at the time as the elementary librarian at an international Christian school. I came back from that trip and felt like I needed a change from Alaska and felt that I wanted to go abroad. I started seriously considering teaching and living abroad. After a few months of loving Alaska but dreading my work days, I decided that I would apply to work with the same organization that Karen works for. There are 18 schools in 14 countries, so I knew we wouldn't be in the same place, but I also knew that I trusted the organization, and that meant a lot. I applied in November and jumped through a number of hoops, which a) strengthened my resolve that I wanted to do this and b) confirmed for me that God wanted me to do this too. By the end of January, I was talking with the placement specialist who recommended me to the school in Brasilia and in Caracas, Venezuela. I heard from the director of the school in Brazil almost immediately. After talking with him, I knew that it was where I wanted to be. I got back in touch with him a few days later and told him that it felt to me like my random background of everything Alaska made it feel like a really good fit to work at a small school where I would get to know the kids well and be encouraged to reach more broadly than just teaching American History, which is what I would want to do if I taught in the states.
I'll be teaching secondary social studies at a school of about 180 kids. I have a 6th grade class, 7/8 World History, 9/10 World History, 11/12 civics and government, and yearbook. It should be an interesting year.