Reflections

It seems like the end of a decade is a good time to reflect on where we’ve been and what we’ve done with our lives. Chris and I, it seems, have gotten around.

2000 was ushered in at a house in the suburbs, surrounded by friends we had known and loved for years. We played pool and drank champagne. We were in college and not sure what our 20’s were going to bring with them.

2005 was welcomed from a tiny house in the bush on a little island in Ha’apai. This time, we were with new friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers. We were hiding from the hours of sitting in church that accompanies most folks New Year’s Eve in Tonga. We drank ‘Ikale beer and set off firecrackers on the fence post under palm trees. It was hot and sticky, the air thick with the smell of mosquito coils.

We rang in 2010 standing in the snow. No trees this time, just the frozen tundra. We played a little Wii and drank fancy soda with our friends and teaching colleagues. Midnight brought the sound of gunfire. A bonfire was lit on the ice. Adults and students came out on snow machines and 4-wheelers and parked in a semi-circle around the rim of the lake. Soon, fireworks lit the sky over our village in the Alaskan bush.

I wonder where we will spend the New Years of our 30’s. Will we continue to move and travel to more and more remote locations? Or will settling down be the next adventure?