One of the greatest benefits to being a teacher is the time off during the holidays. The final lessons have been taught, the grades are in, and there is nothing to do for the next couple weeks except get together with family and friends. For an international teacher that amounts to a little more effort than many would think. Two of the days of the break were lost traveling back and forth to the States, and then there is always the headache of jet lag to contend with.
Still, with all of the downsides of getting there, it is still worth getting back to the place where I grew up. There is a certain sense of comfort being back in Colorado that I just can’t get anywhere else in the world. Yet the longer I stay away from the place, the more I feel like I am no longer a part of this place. I am always on the search for those things that remind me of my hometown when I am abroad to feel that same sense of comfort.
It can come in the most unlikely places as well. Seeing a fox curled up under a bush might not be a common thing to see in Colorado, but it is not out of place either. There are many times that I ran into wildlife during my decades of living in the state. I can’t even count the number of times I have come across deer, elk, coyotes, foxes, and raptor birds. They were always something to marvel at when I came across them, but at the same time, I did not believe that I would have to note every time that I did.
I do not come across wildlife in Jordan like I did in Colorado. That is not to say that I am not reminded of that wildlife form time to time. There are the moments where domesticated animals give me the same kind of joy that I would get when I see a fox sleeping underneath a bush. It makes me start to realize that there are not many differences between places in the world. I might sit in Jordan over the school year and miss the place where I came from, but it takes me going there and back again to realize that I can find the same kind of joy no matter where I am in the world. It just takes a matter of perspective, and a shift of attitude. And traveling to my home state allows both of these things to happen. It makes coming back to my current life a pleasurable experience.
I know that I am not the only one that made this voyage over the holidays. I could see it in the airports with their packed in crowds, and people weighing their bags to make sure they could return home with all of the presents that they received. It is a wonderful distraction this time of year. It allows us to take pause and reflect on the life we have and we are living. I am grateful that I am given that opportunity to be able to do that every year, and I hope you find yourself in a similar situation.
Have a Great New Year, and I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with you throughout the course of it. Thanks for reading.
John Collings 