"IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL..."

When I think about what I'm about to do, I can't seem to shake the sense of disbelief.  It seems surreal.  Did I really just agree to put my life as I know it on hold for two years?  Am I really giving up my amazing apartment in on of the best neighborhoods in NYC?  Am I really walking away from an offer of tenure?  

Going into this past year, I knew I was ready for another change, but I don't think I ever fully anticipated this.  Joining the Peace Corps seemed like yet another idea that I was tossing around.  I was all over the place.  One day I was convinced that I would move back to Boston.  The next day I was looking into graduate school for Speech Pathology.   The day after that I'd be researching teaching abroad in Europe.  How did I end up deciding to go to Africa? 

If anything else, this entire process has reinforced my belief in the idea that all things happen for a reason.  As cliche as that may be, I eat it up.  I wasn't ready to leave BC at the end of 4 years so it made sense to extend it to five.  By the end of five years I was ready to move back to New York and spend time with my family.  Before I knew it I had a contract with the NYCDOE.   When I was sure I would never find the right school, all of a sudden I found Heritage.  Perfect.  I was tired of waking up to catch a 5:45 A.M. train, Rina needed a roommate to move into the best apartment ever.  No question.  I hit quarter-life crisis, and I get accepted to the Peace Corps.  Why not?  Everything seems to fall into some sort of odd place.  My life doesn't necessarily always make sense, but everything that has happened so far allows me continue to believe that everything works out in the end.  

The entire application process from start to staging took less than five months.  That still sounds a hell of a lot longer than it felt.  Up until two weeks ago my priority was trying to help my students pass the Regents.  It was almost shocking when school ended and I finally realized I had less than two weeks left in the U.S.   I couldn't believe that staging was going to be in Newton, MA.  Of all places.  I love that we are leaving out of Boston.  It definitely adds to a feeling of everything somehow being connected or coming full circle.  Now I'm here.  On a plane. Flying to Africa.  Wait, what?!