It's been a while...

So, I haven't been all that committed to my blog, but here I go with another entry. I can't guarantee I will post again in the near future, though. I just finished my first week in Dallas. It has been interesting so far. A few things:

First, because it snowed for 24 hours straight leaving a foot of snow on the ground. I didn't plan at all for the trip and basically just threw a bunch of stuff in my suitcase. Since I don't associate Dallas with winter weather, I have no warm clothes. Thankfully, I am residing in an all-inclusive compound complete with hotel room, dining, and work classrooms and I don't really have to go outdoors unless I want to. The advantage of all this snow: there is a ton of excellent shopping in the area so I can supplement my wardrobe with a few more "snow-appropriate" items. The building has a huge network of hallways with some great windows, so you can look out and admire the beauty of the snow-covered grounds without having to get wet or cold. Although the snow was a surprise, I think it is pretty great and am grateful for it.

Second, I am kinda loving Texas. The people are ridiculously nice. The service is fantastic. The restaurants are great. I love the accent, I love the hospitality and I am completely amused by all the Texas pride. You see Texas flags and Texas pride slogans everywhere and I am not sure there is another state in the nation with residents who love their state so much that they have to display there pride on every available flat surface. Some of my instructors even wear Texas flag ties. I just love it. I am really looking forward to exploring this lovely state during my unbelievably long, seven-week stay here.

Third, work is not too bad. I am not terribly excited about listening to lectures for eight hours a day, but I am trying to look at all the positive factors. It is a nice break from the usual routine and an opportunity to learn more and improve professionally. The people in the class are really friendly and so far everyone seems to mesh well. It's a pretty social environment and that relieves some of the boredom. The food at this facility is good (unlike previous trainings) and we can pretty much choose what we want at every meal. They have plenty of healthy choices and, of course, they are super nice in the hotel cafe. The grounds here are pretty beautiful and, once the snow melts, I think it will be nice to get some exercise out there. In the meantime, I will stick to my Jillian Michaels 30-day-Shred dvd - which is awesome and painfully difficult at the same time. "Shred" seems to be an appropriate title for the dvd because that's how you feel after doing it the first time, completely shredded (but oh so happy to feel like you are making some much-needed headway).

So that is it for now. More to come....Maybe...

Adventures in Asia!

My favorite part of my job is that I have an opportunity to travel occasionally. I was assigned to an international detail in Thailand during the first two months of this year. It was wonderful to get to travel to Thailand and to be there long enough to get a taste of the culture. The experience also really opened my eyes to how much I have to be grateful for, I mean things I had never thought about before when counting my blessings. I interviewed refugee families who had fled on foot from Burma to Thailand and were living under very precarious circumstances in a crowded refugee camp in the mountains of Thailand. In the camp, they lived in tiny bamboo huts with either bamboo mats or dirt flooring, no electricity, very little clean water, and few if any possessions. Some of the people had been living in the camp since the early 80s and their children had been born and raised in the camp. Most of those who came from Burma had no education, could not read or write and had very little, if any understanding of why they had to leave Burma. These families had some of the most precious, beautiful children. Some days it could get a little chaotic in the interview room as there were so many children who were antsy and restless, sometimes the older folks couldn't hear the questions being asked and so there was a lot of shouting through an interpreter to get the question across, and of course, with no daipers for the litttle ones there was the occasional accident on the floor of my office and a bare-bummed child for the remainder of the interview. Despite the craziness, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am so grateful for the system of government we live under, for the peace and stability we enjoy, for the education we are all provided in this country, and for the unparalleled material comfort we enjoy in this country. I am grateful for a lot more, but we'll just start with that for now.

Time to start blogging - I think?

Well, I have finally decided to join the blogging world. Not that I have much to say, but you never know. Brilliant things have been known to spring from this brain. I had no idea what on earth to name the blog, so I decided on this silly title because I thought it would fit both the exciting and mundane occurrences in my life. I live with my sister and whenever we go somewhere with my niece Carmen, we always tell her we are going on an adventure and we say it like we are going to the most exciting place in the world. Sometimes we are only going to the grocery store, but we still call it an adventure. Hey, you never know what exciting times lay ahead in the most ordinary places and it is always good to get excited about what you are doing, even if it is a chore. So, I thought that was a nice little metaphor for my life. Sometimes I am going on an international adventure, but sometimes the only adventure in my week is a trip to Costco. So here I go...on my adventure!