ready, set...

so, today was my last day of work for...da-da-da...five-ish months.  am all packed and just about ready to roll.  goodbyes with my students were tearful, and walking out of work was just plain weird.  have a few more difficult goodbyes to say in the next few days... especially to those (namely, jen and heather) who wont be here when i get back... it's so bizarre, the way an expat community rolls over... knowing that the people i have spent the best year of my adulthood with, shared my innermost self with, traveled with, threw dinner parties with, laughed with, cried with for a solid year - i may not see for a long, long time.  it's really nice that my closure with this year will be punctuated with idyllic islands, exotic foods and all the time in the world to just think and write and be.  i desperately need this trip.  my body needs it, my mind needs it, my soul needs it... it's why i came here in the first place.  just have to read the last few pages of this chapter, and then on to a whole new book!!