You can go with this...or you can go with that.....

I had the wonderful privilege of talking to two of my best friends on the phone last weekend. It's amazing the joy it brings. I often go months without talking to people, and it really makes me feel even further away when I feel like I'm losing contact. At the same time, I'm at the point in my life where I realize that having just a handful of great friends is all I need, no matter where they may be. It's those same people that when I do see them or talk to them, we haven't skipped a beat. Also, I'm really lucky to have made a few good friends while I've been in Europe, and although we may have only known each other for a year or two, our bond is so very strong. Teaching English, it's amazing how close you become with your co-workers as you are all away from home and on some kind of mission to lead a "different" kind of life. Traveling, working in different countries, moving every 6 months, being partially homeless during the summers. It all sounds exotic and exciting. However, after 3 years of this kind of lifestyle, I'm exhausted!
I think my friends and family tend to think that this kind of life is always exciting and easy. It's not! Yes, I might be living in a foreign country, bragging about my travels, the food I'm eating and the people I'm meeting. But we gypsies have hard days too. As an English teacher my income was never guaranteed, you get NO benefits and I really don't miss spending hours a day on the metro to get from class to class. Holidays seemed to occur once a week (St. something day) and these days you have off of work, but everything is closed, so forget trying to be productive. When I left Madrid, I really was truly frustrated and exhausted. But I wouldn't change that experience for the world....and I miss it like crazy.
Which leads me to now. As I talked to my friends this weekend, and in e-mails from family members there is a constant theme: "What are your plans?" I'm tired of this question! So here you go: Kevin finishes his Master's Degree this month (yay!) and he will be able to work on the business he has set up with two of his friends. They've been working on it for a year and I really hope they are able to get it off of the ground. www.dingadeal.com Check it out:) So we're giving it 6 months in Cork. I'm on the job and apartment hunt which are not panning out well so far. There are very few jobs here, so I might have to revert to retail or restaurant work for a few months. I'm so ready to have something steady and I look forward to moving back to the states in the next year. I need to put roots somewhere, and I think I'll appreciate those roots much more now that I've let the travel bug dictate my lifestyle for the last few years. I know travel will ALWAYS be a part of my life, but I can't wait to have a home to go back to.
In the meantime, I am focusing on finding what I truly want to do. I am allll over the place. I absolutely love teaching and think I will end up being a teacher one day. I happen to love teenagers, crazy, right? A part of me really wants to study again, and my day to day interests of photography and cooking come into mind. I want to do something good for the world (cliche point #1) so maybe teacher of photography/community health that sells the photos/food to benefit a charity?? I don't know! This is what I'm trying to work on though. I think this lifestyle of mine has opened up my mind TOO much to all of the possibilities in the world. So if I can just hone in and dedicate myself to something, I think I'll feel a lot more productive and H.A.P.P.Y!