I cannot believe it is already 2019!

Honestly, it does not feel like I have been in Namibia for 17 months, and yet here I am.

2018 seemed like such a short year, even though so much happened in that time, including, but not limited to:

• Started teaching for the first time
• Attended three trainings as part of a literacy workshop that changed the way I approached lesson planning
• Adopted and lost the most wonderful cat in the world
• Had surgery
• Visited new places that completely awestruck me
• Developed relationships with some pretty wonderful people
• Wrote, submitted, and got approval for my first ever grant request
• Experienced a very low low
• Attended the Mid-Service conference for Peace Corps
• Noticed improvements in the levels of English of my learners by the end of the year
• Facilitated at an awesome camp, and I’m very ready to do it again
• Went home for the holidays
• Visited a new American city

As I am writing this, I have a little less than 10 months left as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and maybe even less than that. I really value my time here, even though I know that 2019 will probably go by even faster than the year before.

This year, I am starting a Masters in Global Studies and International Relations program online, which I will finish a few months after I finish my service. I am also studying for the LSAT, which I plan to take in November after I am home.

At school, I have a lot of really awesome lessons lined up for the year and we will be starting some new clubs to help improve English speaking and reading levels at the school not only in the senior primary phase (Grades 4-7), but the junior primary phase (Grades 1-3) as well.

2018 re-sparked my enjoyment of working out, and I am continuing that hobby into this year as I work towards my goal of being at my healthiest. I am also still planning on fulfilling my desire to travel, with a trip planned in April, one in the process of being planned for COS, and a few more in Namibia that I am working on as well.

In the wake of the success of our first regional camp, volunteers in my region and the other southern region of Namibia are starting to hit the ground running on a second camp, which I am very much looking forward to. I am also a member of a working group that is planning to host a country-wide workshop during the second school term this year.

2019 has a lot in store and I am very excited to see how it all unfolds.