One year later

One year ago today I was forgetting to wish my sister a Happy Birthday as I was running through the list in my head of everything that I had jammed into two suitcases, a duffel bag on wheels, and a large tote bag. Praying that my luggage would be under 50 pounds, I handed the American Airlines woman my passport and started my journey.

Man. Was I a WRECK that day. I just feel sorry for all of the people in the airport that had to look at me. I mean, I LOOKED fine, but throughout the day (the longest day of my LIFE), I would get texts from my siblings, or my MOM, or my friends, and no matter WHAT they said, I got teared up. The worst part of the day was the flight from from Miami to Quito. I couldn't even look out the window at the country I was leaving without crying. I STILL feel bad for the man sitting next to me.

Every time I've looked at the clock today, I've been thinking "At this time one year ago I was ______." And every time I think that, I think "That was ONLY a year ago??" So crazy. I still can't get over that I just up and moved to a country not knowing what was in store. Was I really that brave? Because brave is one of the LAST words that I would use to describe myself.

Over New Years, I was telling one of my friends that I basically live my life in fear: I was afraid to move to Ecuador, afraid to work in Ecuador, afraid to go to the jungle, afraid to climb a mountain, afraid to HAIL A TAXI, etc. Since being back, I've been afraid that I won't find a job, afraid that I'd be living with my parents forever (Love you Mom and Dad!), afraid of mice, afraid of interviews, afraid of phone calls, afraid of accepting a job, afraid of apartment hunting, afraid of moving, afraid of starting a new job... And that's only a few!

So right now, I want to thank everyone. Thank you for supporting me through everything. My trip, my return, my adjustments, and my job search. Thanks for putting up with my doubts, my aspirations, my constant mind-changing. The support that I have from you is what fueled my determination to help land me where I am today: living in Green Bay, WI working full-time (eee!) for a company in the dairy industry. The icing on the cake? I'm able to use both of my degrees on a daily basis. And I am so happy.

In the fall, I began what I thought would be a long, tireless search for a full-time job. I lived with my parents and worked part-time for my dad (Primary calf care and management is what my resume says, but what that REALLY means is that I woke up at 4 every weekday morning and fed calves. ) and nannied for a family part-time (That means I woke the boys up - 6 year old twins - got them ready for school and on the bus, and then returned to get them off the bus and stay with them until their mom got home. Exhausting. Oh, with a little mouse-hunting on the side, including not moving off of the couch when I saw a mouse scampering around the kitchen floor.). While I was doing this, I was looking for full-time jobs.

I applied for what seems like a million positions all over the place. I had several interviews. Then, in the beginning of December, I had an interview with a company called CRI in Shawano, WI. 12 days later (12 of the longest days EVER) I got a job offer. Two days after that, two weeks after the interview, I accepted. I was so excited. And scared. More scared, I think.

Right after Christmas I packed my bags again - almost exactly a year after I packed my bags for Ecuador - and moved to Green Bay.

My first week of work went spectacularly. Thank you for all of the well wishes. I truly appreciate them.

I also truly appreciate the followers of my blog for the 8 months that I was abroad. I loved every comment and every email that you sent me. When I wrote this blog, I wrote it thinking that there were only 3 people reading it: my mom, my grandma, and my aunt (who printed them for my grandma). Since being back, I've started to realize that more than just these three read my blog. People that I hardly knew were coming up to me and asking me questions and commenting on it. Whenever this happened, I got all embarrassed about my stories and experiences. I KNOW that I put them on the internet, but really, I didn't think people read them! I just found out last week that over the last year, there have been just shy of ONE THOUSAND hits on my blog. I was blown away. So thank you, to everyone. Really. I'm still shocked, but I'm also so flattered that you enjoyed my stories so much.

So this is it. The end of my Ecuador blog. The end of one chapter, to begin another.

The final time,
Sara.

Just, Sara.