Sitting at home with the dog in my lap

I have finally made it home. Well I've actually been back in Georgia since Sunday evening, but this is the first time I've had to sit down and really reflect on the last week. It seems so strange that just a week ago I was finishing up my last day of active work as a US-2 missionary and now I'm home with our sweet little dog in my lap and thinking about all I have to do to get ready for my next adventure.

It occurs to me that I haven't really shared what's next for me on my blog yet. Mostly because I think most of you who read this already know, but if I happen to have some random readers who don't know me outside of the Internet world let me clue you in. (By the way, I'd love to know if any of you actually exist. I have an automatic stat counter on my blog, but it can only tell me so much about who is reading this.) So back to my new adventure... in September I'll be moving again- I can hear the audible sighs and the "can't this girl stay in one place for any significant length of time"- to the U.K., specifically Bristol. I'll begin a master's program in historical archaeology of the modern world at the University in October. My first real international adventure... I mean I have had my passport for about six years and been out of the country twice for about 10 days each, but I wouldn't really qualify that as an "adventure". They were just trips or visits. Now I'm applying for a visa and will be living in the U.K. for a full year. This is a real adventure.

In addition to being a student, I'll also be serving as an ambassador of the Rotary Foundation. Like my friend, Jane Marie, whose blog link is on the right, I've been awarded a scholarship by Rotary to help fund my studies. Which partly helps to explain where I've been since leaving Louisiana. Over the weekend I attended a orientation seminar for my scholarship. I met tons of other scholars mainly from Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, but with a few random states (and neighboring countries) thrown into the mix. The scholars I met will begin their programs around the same time I will, but in places all over the globe (Russia, Taiwan, Costa Rica, etc.). We are all commissioned by Rotary to be creating pockets of peace, which I've learned can take many forms so who knows what my year will hold. I have so much more to share about my weekend and lots of photos and at least one video to post, but I think I'll go unpack a little more of my life and get back to this later.

Just, Margaret