Home!

As probably a lot of you know, I’ve finished up my time in Kurdistan and I’ve been back in the States a little less than a week. I figured I’d better give you all an update on my last few weeks there. Teaching ended well, and in fact, I will miss many of those students. Maybe I mentioned this in a previous entry, but this second group of students were so much more enjoyable to teach than the first half. So, it was hard to say goodbye to those students, and also hard to say goodbye to a number of friends I’ve connected with over the last almost 2 years since I first arrived there. However, the hardest part of course was saying goodbye to my Kurdish family! Harseen’s brother’s family had me over for a big feast in my honor, and they made so much good food. It meant a lot to me that they would put so much time and effort into doing all that for me. I’m already missing them so much. Below is a picture of the feast, and then a picture of my whole Kurdish family. Aren’t they great?







For those of you who haven’t heard yet, Harseen received a Fulbright Scholarship to study for her master’s degree in the States! I’m so glad for this, and hopefully many of you can meet her! She doesn’t know yet where she’ll be studying, but she should find out in April. From what I hear, she’s the first Iraqi woman to receive this type of scholarship. This made it a little easier to say goodbye to her because I have the hope of seeing her again.

Anyway, I survived all the goodbyes. Then because of how flight schedules worked out, and also because I wanted to visit some friends, I spent a few days in Amman, Jordan. The highlight of that time was floating in the Dead Sea! It was fun, but I learned that I should NOT have stuck my tongue in the water to taste it! Spending time in Amman was also good for me to prepare me for life back in the States. The first day I was there my friends listed a bunch of American restaurants that we could go to that evening. It was a little more than I could handle making that decision. We ended up eating at a Chiles, and I was completely overwhelmed by all the menu options!





As difficult as leaving Kurdistan was for me, coming home was just as extreme, but on the good end of the scale! It's like leaving was one of my lowest lows, but coming home was one of my highest highs. On the 12th I flew into Philly, and got picked up at the airport by guess who! My little niece Ashlyn! She was unsure of me at first, and would only shyly look at me and play with my passport! However, by now we’re good buds and we like each other a lot. She’s definitely been one of the best parts of coming home! (Photo by my brother's cell phone)






Now that I’m home, you may be wondering what I’m planning on doing. I don’t really have anything set in stone, but I’m hoping to possibly substitute teach, and then work Outdoor Ed again in the spring.

Thanks for following my blog. If anyone wants to try some Kurdish tea, or for that matter a Kurdish meal, call me up and we’ll work it out!