giving thanks.

For:

• Omaha...I never realized how much I loved my hometown until I uprooted myself from it to go on this adventure.  I miss and love Omaha so much and can't wait to get back!
• My dearest friends, who have been patient with the time difference, wonderful in brightening my mood, and always there for a laugh or a hug via e-mail or Skype
  
• My support system from back home, family, friends, former students, families I have cared for...too many to name.  It's crazy the amount of people that are inquisitive about this journey, a lot of people I haven't talked to in a while even.  It's strange to think that I can be closer to these people despite being half a world away.
• My health and youth...this experience would be miserable without it!  
• Lots and lots and lots of things that I had to leave behind to realize I was thankful for, and although some are quite trivial (the food and creature comforts), others are wonderfully profound.
• Bret, for challenging me daily to strive and succeed by trusting in my faith and strength
• My education, willingness to learn new things, and sense of adventure and growth that I have suddenly found

I am thankful for many things in my life, most of which I cannot encapsulate in a single blog entry.  This trip has already helped me grow in ways that I never anticipated and no one ever warned me about.  It is a constant struggle to maintain balance, stability, and comfort, but I can feel myself growing and changing and chalking up these new experiences to add to those of my life so far.  And to even be able to have this opportunity, well, I am so thankful.