I have often described life as weird. I have weird friends. (Seriously – skydivers and B.A.S.E. jumpers. Enough said.) I have weird experiences. (Swimming in a lake full of jellyfish, running a marathon in Uganda!) I have weird jobs. (Hooters. Ha! Packing parachutes!) I have weird feelings and beliefs. (I think the pledge of allegiance is fuc*** creepy in a classroom with kids who have no clue what they are saying, and I can’t properly advise them because I think it contradicts any spiritual belief.)

I have also always been spontaneous. I’ve been spontaneous and confident. When I make a decision, my mind is made up. This is true for events large and small. I’m also laid back, so it’s weird to think about me being spontaneous as well as laid back – pretty much indifferent to day-to-day minor happenings. I’m not picky. I’m not needy. I’m not bored. But, something clicks in my brain and I put together a whole puzzle in a matter of moments and I’m on the other side of the world all of sudden. That about sums up my last 2 weeks.

Two Friday nights ago, I was in Montenegro. I had been applying for international teaching positions in the weeks prior and not hearing back from any school. When I did hear back from an international school, they would inform me that they couldn’t sponsor an American visa at the time. Dustin and I were going on daily hikes and trying our best to relax, but we felt as if we were somehow still wasting time. We just weren’t quite doing enough to make it seem worthwhile to be spending our time and money where we were at. But, we also didn’t know where to go next. On a whim, I looked at a California teacher’s job posting website to see what openings were in San Diego.

I applied to ONE position. A 6th grade math and science position in El Cajon. It’s almost midnight here in San Diego, so it’s funny to think (ignore the time difference) two weeks ago at this time I was searching the job openings in San Diego and decided to apply to this ONE position that was appealing to me. I told Dustin I was applying, and if the crazy off-chance I get it, it’s meant to be. Fifteen minutes after I applied, my phone rang. It was the principal. After an informal phone interview, he asked if we could set up a Skype interview for Monday (since I told him I was in Montenegro). The ONE is significant here mainly because, two years ago, when I was looking for my first teaching contract, I applied to over ONE HUNDRED job openings in the San Diego area. I was invited to TWO interviews, and offered ONE job, which I took and will be forever grateful for. So, to apply to one position and to be invited to a Skype interview was already pretty magical.

Well, if you’re reading this, you know I’m in San Diego, which means the Skype interview went well and I got the job. The job started in exactly 1 week (Halloween), but paperwork needed to be finished the Friday before! Monday night/ Tuesday morning (3am) I was on the phone with Delta getting flights lined up for Wednesday and Thursday with my ESA (Bella!) back to Southern California. It’s weird to look back on how well everything worked out. Even though my flights were extremely last minute, they were in line with what an international round trip ticket costs throughout the year (~$1100 give or take $300). Tickets booked. The next morning, we went to a tiny little private veterinarian operated out of some man’s home to get a stamp of approval for Bella being fit to travel. It took a couple of translators, but 20 minutes later and zero dollars, Bella had a stamp in her Euro passport saying she was fit to fly! Tuesday evening, Dustin and I drove to the capital of Montenegro to be close to the airport the next day. Alitalia was a pain in the butt to fly with with Bella, as they didn’t document my phone calls to them the day before stating I would have an ESA with me in the cabin. Over the phone they told me it was no problem, I just show my paperwork. At the ticket counter, they caused a big fuss which almost caused me to miss my flight. But, the important thing is, is it worked out.

We flew from Montenegro to Rome on Wednesday, and I stayed at a little hotel on Wednesday night. Dustin stayed behind in Montenegro because we had rented and payed for this little apartment through November 10th. It wouldn’t have done any good to rush both of us back, especially because we needed a plan for our van. While I was returning to the States with all my gear, I brought minimal clothing with me to reduce my baggage loads. I love the fact that I have a small but purposeful wardrobe in our van waiting for me in Europe! That being said, I was returning to San Diego to begin a teaching job, without any clothes appropriate for teaching! I lucked out and ended up at a little hotel with a clothing store across the street. If you know me, you know I hate shopping. I don’t find any joy in going on a shopping spree, especially if I don’t need anything. I’d rather spend my money on other things…like parachutes or traveling! This experience, however, was different. I needed clothes to wear to school, starting in 2 days from the time I was buying the clothes! So, all in all, I enjoyed my little shopping trip. Surprisingly this store had cute, business-casual clothes that actually fit me well and didn’t cost a ton of money. I walked out with 2 pairs of pants, a dress, 6 tops, 4 scarves, a pair of shoes, tights, and some socks for about 100 euros. I dropped my stuff off, walked Bella around, ate a delicious pizza, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Bella and I were picked up by the airport shuttle bright and early. We were at the airport 3 hours before our flight. I do not like Rome’s airport. There are no rules. It’s chaos. It took over 2 1/2 hours just to get checked in and get my bags checked. Never again. Security was easy, but it still, the overall experience was way more stressful than it needed to be. Bella was a rock star. Fast forward to landing at LAX, getting through customs, rechecking my bags, and getting outside for Bella to pee…this was 19 hours after she peed last in Rome. She’s an amazing dog. Enough said. Also, no-one at the Rome airport asked to see her “fit to travel stamp” and U.S. customs did not ask to see ANYTHING regarding vaccines, travel history, nor did they even acknowledge I was coming through customs with a live animal! USDA, APHIS, and that silly vet in Florida can suck it!!! (See my original posts on traveling with a dog in my “Dog Stuff” section!!!) “Your daw-gs gonna get con-fin-scaytud!”

I dislike Rome’s airport. I hate LAX. Every time I end up at that airport, I end up feeling like an absolute idiot. I can navigate all these international airports without speaking the language, but even though English is my language, I still fail at LAX. It’s too big and unorganized. The monitors are useless. They have all these stupid tunnel hallways. You start walking down one because a sign told you to, and 10 minutes later, you’re still in the same stupid hallway wondering how you ended up there in the first place and if that’s really where you’re suppose to be! Luckily my flight to San Diego was delayed because once I made it down the correct tunnel hallway I was able to make it to my gate.

I wouldn’t have been able to make this sudden move without the help of some amazing friends. I knew when I accepted the job offer I’d be able to land on solid ground in San Diego. You never realize how great your support system is until you really need to rest on it. Bella and I landed in San Diego at 8 pm on Thursday evening. We gathered my bags, took the shuttle to the rental car station, picked up a car, stopped at target, and drove to our friends’ place in Spring Valley. It was 10 pm when we pulled in and everyone was sleeping, but the door was open for us. I showered and was in bed by 10:20. (Thanks Sarah, JT, Tigger, Scott, Porter, and Bubs!)

Friday morning I was wide awake at 4 am ready for my day of HR paperwork, new hire videos, new hire physical, fingerprinting at the police department, and a meeting with my new principal. The middle school dance was a bonus. It’s weird to think that that was already 1 week ago. I’ve already been playing this new game for a week, and I have to say, I’m confident and content with it. Sure, I’m not exploring a new mountain or driving through a new country, or peeing in a bucket anymore, because this is a completely different adventure! I’m still adventuring. I’m adventuring and growing in the space of a low socioeconomic middle school with kids who have some serious needs. I also survived my first week which just so happened to begin on Halloween and included a field trip (today), as well as before and after school supervision duty everyday! In 5 days I have memorized 80 some kids’ names and faces! I’ve made good and bad phone calls home, fed a hungry student, learned how to say hello and goodbye in Arabic from some young students, and much more.

I’m so happy and grateful for this opportunity, but I’m also sad. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. In my last posts I wrote about being homesick and my fall memories but, I’m feeling a different kind of homesick now. There is a part of me that is homesick for the simplicity of the van life. In my first five days back in San Diego I went into Target 5 times to pick things up and I wanted to melt down and scream every, single time. I hate needing things. I can’t stand how everything is so in-your-face. I’m working on finding balance, but, to be honest, America is a hard place to find balance.

Here I am. One weird week after getting back. It was fast, it was meaningful, it was purposeful. Dustin will be driving the van to Norway in the next week or so and he flies back here near the end of the month. Van life isn’t over yet. One friend said, “For most people, yours was an adventure of a lifetime but for some reason, I’m thinking it was just another adventure.” I do agree, and I know there will be many more to come.

Thanks for reading, and my San Diego friends, I can’t express how thankful I am to have you in my life! You made this decision easy!