Sawadee kah 2009 & Sawadee kah 2010

Seconds after popping balloons and blowing kazoos to bring in 2010, a grey haired gentleman slung his arm casually around my shoulder and said with a hint of a slur, “Ya know, youngen, I have this theory about ‘why time flies’.” I raised my brow at his claim, and he continued, “When you’re two years old, one year is a pretty significant 1/2 of your life. When you’re 60 years old, though, one year is a meager 1/60 of your life....” Clever, eh?

So, going along with this mathematical logic, 2009 was 1/28 of my life's pie, and well, I think it really did get eaten faster than years past. Plus, it had a constant underlying theme -- the potent concoction of anticipation, prepartion and bittersweet goodbyes....

Since the get-go of 2009, I knew I'd depart for the Peace Corps in 2010. I hung up my five-year environmental educator/networker career, purged my cozey basement apartment - thus liberating my sundeprived houseplants, bulked up some muscles with some old fashion farm labor (see The Walk-in Lock-in), had a last paddle on the Chesapeake and well details, details, you get the drift. In short, all is now whittled down to a 50lb backpack, a French horn and a computer bag, each of which I’ll stumble along with through airports, hotels and buses until I reach the other side of the world this coming weekend.

And as to the ‘why’ of this whole fare-thee-well year of a life I truely loved, and upcoming stumbling and bumbling to the absolute unknown? Well, my placement in Thailand working for the environment will truly make for a home unlike any I’ve ever known, and I've always been one to keep life interesting.

I explained in my Peace Corps application that I anticipate settling into unfamiliar surroundings and realizing new strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. I look forward to new relations and celebrations, contemplations and innovations. I expect the experience to be reciprocal in nature, fostering change, growth and discovery in both me and those I meet; teaching and being taught. And honestly, if all else fails, I’ve always been one to make the most out of anthropological experiences!

So, all that said, here's to the New Year, another year, whatever fraction of your life it may be. May everything come up roses!
~shelby

p.s. "sawadee kah" = "hello/goodbye" (in Thai)