It’s a new year. Whew. I like the idea of a clean slate.
2012 is big in the Life of Leah. It’s my first full calendar year in Ethiopia (if all goes well). I’ll be turning 31 (yikes). I’ll miss my first full baseball season and a whole year of family members’ and friends’ birthdays. Oh, and all of this stuff. I will miss a presidential election, though I can’t say I’ll be sorry to be spared the accompanying media circus.
Also, it’s widely reported that the world will end.
Hmmm.
I have much to look forward to, though. I’ll be moving into a new house. It’s a fresh start for me, a chance to shed some bad habits acquired in my first few months here (like bajajes). I think I finally know what I’m doing at the University. I might have even found an Amharic tutor. It’s like my service is starting now. 2011 was just a dry run.
Later this month I’ll be attending my group’s In-service Training. Then I’ll be off to Djibouti for some R&R. Other trips are planned to parts of the world I’ve yet to explore.
By the end of the year, I’ll have seen which projects have panned out or will, and which ones never had a chance. I’ll either be pretty good at Amharic or will have given up completely. Same with playing the guitar. Many more books will have been read and even more movies watched. Countless cups of buna will be consumed. Hopefully the food cravings will have disappeared. I don’t harbor any illusions that I’ll lose more weight or that I will start exercising, but maybe I will have started wearing sunscreen.
And honestly, when I think about 2012, there’s no place I’d rather be than Ethiopia, Especially since it’s only 2004 here. Take that, Mayan calendar.
Cheers.
Have a Happy New Year, and good luck on your travels.