South America!!!

It is official! Next school year I will be teaching and living in Puert0 La Cruz, Venezuela! The school is Colegio Internacional de Puert0 La Cruz (CIPLC) and I will be teaching science and physical education. Puerto La Cruz is located right on the Caribbean coast (and so will my apartment, hopefully!) Here's the school's website if you're interested:
http://www.ciplc.net/index.php

This is the school Eric works at! I can't believe how well life seems to work itself out. I am looking forward to this change SO badly that it's rather difficult to concentrate on the entire semester I still have ahead of me here in Korea. In case you want to start day dreaming with me, here's what I imagine will be a typical day for me next year...

I wake in the morning to the equatorial sun streaming in my window. I grab a cup of coffee and a book and make my way to my hammock overlooking the ocean. As the waves roll in and the day already begins to warm, I reaffirm my appreciation for the "good life".

Following my peaceful awakening, I stretch and make my way to the beach for my morning run with Eric. Along the coast, past the marina and back again, I'm now awake and ready to begin the school day.

In my biology class we are studying a unit on marine biology. I bring in some local crustaceans and echinoderms and we investigate how these creatures live and function in our changing world. Later in my physical education classes we talk about healthy living and spend the afternoon playing basketball and volleyball (my favorite, of course!)

For dinner that evening, Eric and I walk to get a few shawarmas and a bottle of wine and enjoy it together discussing events of our day (or as it usually ends up - some debatable topic surrounding politics, science, religion, education). Or maybe planning our next vacation to Angel Falls or Machu Picchu or the Galapagos...

As the sun is setting and the evening starts to cool, I roll out my yoga mat on the balcony. It's seems only suiting that my day begins and ends this way. The ocean and sun - the life-giving forces for our planet.

Of course, I've painted quite a Utopian imagine. I know the realities of life in Venezuela may also involve social unrest, power outages, visa issues and more unpredictable events. But I'm ready for a new challenge. A new location. A new start. A chance at a new professional experience. New lessons. And especially the chance to explore this new relationship with Eric as we explore a new part of the world together. I'm also looking forward to everyone planning their vacations to see me! Being closer to home with a similar time zone will greatly increase the ease of communication with family and friends. I can't express how excited I am!!!!