It’s been a while since the last time I wrote and during that time quite a bit has happened. We had our annual all-vol conference in Yerevan and a workshop where we learned better methods for teaching our curriculums with the teacher assigned to teach that subject. We also got to celebrate Thanksgiving with actual turkeys (yes they have turkeys in Armenia, I was surprised too), and while I know its late happy Thanksgiving everybody and a merry Christmas. I haven’t seen many Christmas decorations but I did find an advent calendar “Bob der Baumeister” at a fancy liquor store. I think the store owner thought it was a fancy box of chocolates because I bought it in October and who knows how long it had been sitting on that shelf before I bought it.
During this holiday season and especially Thanksgiving I look upon what I am thankful for. So what am I thankful for? I’m thankful for new experiences for which this past year has been full of. Not quite a year ago I stood in the basketball stadium at my university ready to receive my diploma. Then a short time after that I was headed to Florida where I learned how to sail, got a good tan and had a lot of fun. Then I headed for Armenia. Looking out my window now I can see the incredible distance I’ve traveled in that year. Not just mile wise but societal, linguistically, familiar, historical, and so many other ways that separate me from East Texas, the Florida Keys, and the Caucuses. There are no palm trees here and while Tyler may be cold I doubt there is any snow sticking to the ground. I’m also thankful for my family not just my actual family but the community that bonds perfect strangers six months ago to be pretty surprisingly close now. And if it weren’t for that then this would all be a pretty difficult task. So I hope that in this holiday season everybody can look to the things that they are most thankful for.
