Today I turned 24. I remember when I was in Junior High and I thought that 24 was old. By 24 I was going to be done with school, probably be married, and most definitely I would have a big kid job. In junior high I was in between wanting to be an elementary school teacher and a journalist. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would still be in school (today also marks the first day of my second semester of grad school) and living in Malaysia. The possibility just wasn’t on my radar, but my summer in Berkeley changed that, my 4 years at Alma changed that. I am in love with the path that I have chosen for my life even if it is not the traditional path or at times the easiest path. I have committed myself to a life of working with developing countries and traveling the world and even when I miss my friends and family (which I do. a lot.) I love knowing that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. In the past year I have...
...started grad school. I am anxious to get back to Denver and studying and paper writing. I think school has almost become a security blanket for me. I feel incomplete without having readings and paper deadlines.
...started to regain control of my health again. Working on getting my hormones back in balance with some new medicine and have lost 40lbs and counting since last September.
...moved to Malaysia. Only 8 more weeks. Too hard to process that at this point so we’re just going to leave it there. 8 more weeks.
...met 49 new friends and 16 new family members in the form of the T-ganu crew who are the only ones who are going to be able to fully understand this year.
...experienced my first Ramadan. As nervous as I was about having to teach classes of hungry, sleep deprived teenagers for a month I really enjoyed the experience. There is nothing comparable to it in the US. An entire village waking up at 5am to eat breakfast and then work through the day with out any food (even for my pregnant mentor) or cigarettes (which seems to be the harder of the two for a village that loves to smoke) and then feast together at exactly 7:20pm. The sense of camaraderie and togetherness in the air is really remarkable. I wish I could have participated, but my body decided to revolt for all of July and a good portion of August.
...showed my parents around another country, specifically Malaysia. I had a blast showing them around my town, introducing them to my students and then exploring new places with them. We went snorkeling at Rendang Island, got eaten alive jungle trekking at Lake Kenyir, and went white water rafting down a river in Borneo. I think it actually helps with the homesickness knowing that they understand my stories a little better now.
Today I turned 24. It was a pretty normal day. I traveled up to Besut to plan for our next English camp and will be going to China town for dinner so that we can grab a beer to celebrate. It doesn’t really feel any different but for some reason the number screams adulthood to me. It might not be the definition of adult that I had in Junior High, but I am more comfortable considering myself an adult than I did when I turned 23. It might be a few years until I get what I would consider a “big kid job”, but I think today I officially declare myself an adult.
Finally, I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated you all on Malaysia so if you have any questions feel free to post them and I’ll answer them as best as I can. Too much has happened in the past 2 months to write about all of it. I wouldn’t even know where to start. So I guess I’ll end with this: I’m 24 and 8 more weeks until Michigan. Woah.
