My Next Adventure!

I earned the title of expat and international educator 14 years ago, when I made my initial move overseas and took up a post in Shanghai. Since then, I’ve lived and worked in five different countries- China, Albania, Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. While there have definitely been some bumps along the way, I completely love the expat lifestyle and all it has to offer- cultural immersion, lots of travel opportunities, new experiences, and the chance to meet so many new people!

I’m completing my fourth year at Branksome Hall Asia in Jeju, South Korea, and the past four years have been truly rewarding. My school is amazing, and I have been given some remarkable opportunities here. I’ve also made incredible connections and lifetime friends. For the most part, the students here love learning and are passionate about excellence in all they do; they inspire me! Jeju is full of natural beauty, and its rural nature has afforded me a slower pace of life, which was a welcome respite after the busyness of Jakarta.

While I have loved my time here, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Back in September, I began thinking about what I would do next year, as the date to make a decision about whether or not to extend my contract was near (mid-October). I started the school year convinced I would sign on for year number five, however, after a non-stop first two months, the pace of everything was becoming unsustainable. I was getting sick more often, lacked energy, and all I did was work, work, work. I didn’t feel drawn to another school or country (I love my school and living in Jeju, remember?), but I did feel that a change was needed. I didn’t want to burn out and quit education altogether, as many educators are doing lately. That’s when this little seed was planted in the back of my mind…what if I took a sabbatical?

At first, I rejected the idea. How was I, a workaholic, going to survive a year not working? What the heck would I even do with all that time? Could I afford to take a year off and not earn an income? What would future employers say about it? Being the planner that I am, I jumped straight into research mode, consuming everything I could about the topic, from blog posts to YouTube videos, to books and articles. I managed to fill 25 pages in my journal one weekend! The more I learned, the more the idea didn’t seem so strange. Maybe I could do this…

After a few more weeks of research, lots of reflection, and many Facetime sessions with my closest friends and family members, I made the decision. I was going to take a year off. Whew! Once I had made the decision, I felt peace about it and knew it was exactly what I needed to do. The way I see it, everybody works for decades and decades until they’re old enough to retire, and then they do the traveling and resting that they want to do. Why do I have to wait another 20 years? Why not now?

Since then, I’ve done a ton more research and lots and lots of reflection, journaling, and planning. My year-long sabbatical is going to be a year for me to focus on my health and wellbeing and to rediscover who I am once my titles and responsibilities at work are stripped away. During my sabbatical, I will be slow traveling around the world as well as spending more time at home with my family. I’ll even get to spend my first Thanksgiving with my family in fifteen years! I can’t wait!

I’m so excited about my sabbatical plan, and while everything isn’t 100% ironed out, I have a good idea about where I’ll be.

• My first stop after school lets out is a Wellness Retreat in Bali, Indonesia, where I’ll kick start my year of health and wellbeing and relax from the stress of the end of the year!
• Next, I’ll head back home to Texas for a month in the summer.
• I’ll head abroad again, with my first stop being Sofia, Bulgaria, where I’ll live like a local for a month. Bonus: My friend Brook lives there, so I’ll get to spend time with her!
• Once the fall hits, I’ll head to Tuscany, where I’ll spend a month in Lucca, Italy, a smallish city about an hour and a half from Florence. I’m looking forward to all the delicious pasta and pizza!
• Next stop is Budapest, Hungary, where I’ll stay in the city center and soak up big city life. I’ll take a weekend trip to visit my friend Sara, who lives about 2 hours away. I haven’t seen her in eight years!
• My last stop before heading home will be Marrakech, Morocco, where I’ll spend a week with Bec, who’s meeting me there on her fall break from school. We are looking forward to a girls’ trip together!
• I’ll spend all of November and December back home in Texas, where I’ll get to visit with family for much more time than I normally do.
• After the new year, I’ll head to Asia. My first stop will be Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I’ll spend a month eating delicious curries and mango sticky rice and lounging in the sun by the pool.
• Next up is a quick stop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to visit some friends. I hope I get to see a fellow slicer, Erika, too!
• Following Cambodia, I’ll head to India, where I’ll spend a month traversing the country, starting in New Delhi in the north and ending in Kerala in the south.
• Next up is Tbilisi, Georgia, where I’ll spend about 6 weeks taking in the local culture.
• Lastly, I’ll head to southern Africa, where I’ll go on a safari (or two!) in Botswana and Namibia and check out the foodie scene in Cape Town, South Africa.

I’m truly excited for this next chapter, and I can’t wait for all the adventures, new people I’ll meet along the way, and incredible food I’ll get to try!

Image Source: Free Vector