Happy Thanksgiving...and an announcement!

Current location: home in Glenview!

Happiest Thanksgiving to all you readers out there! We love Thanksgiving at our house and have the great opportunity to host my mom's side this year. I'm on the Cooking Committee...grocery shopping, brining the 23-pound bird, baking pies, mmm...perfect job for my food-loving soul. In recent years, my family has come to love themed family get-togethers. Last year, we celebrated a Flannel Thanksgiving followed by Tacky Sweater Christmas. This year, with dad and Jen serving on the Party Planning Committee, we are hosting a Murder Mystery Thanksgiving. I've never done one of these parties before, but we're all pretty pumped for it. With all the knives I'll be wielding, I sure hope I'm the culprit...hah.

How are you celebrating Thanksgiving this year? What are your favorite holiday recipes? Jenny and I have recently fallen in looooove with all things pumpkin, as was evident today with pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin-spiced hot chocolate, and pumpkin pie in the oven.

Sunday will mark one month until Namibia...wow! So soon. So exciting. Last week, I finally received my placement and have been itching to tell you about it. Here's part of the email I received from our wonderful field director:

Greetings from Windhoek!  After much consideration, We have decided to place you at [PSSS] in the recently pronounced town of Helao Nafidi.  PSSS is a secondary school teaching grades 8-12 and has about 900 learners and about 30 teachers. PSSS is located in north-central Namibia, just off the main tar road that goes north to Angola, and is in the Ohangwena Region.  The local people there come from the Owambo tribe and speak Oshiwambo...PSSS is interested in having a volunteer teach English Grades 8-12 and help in the library...Your school is eager for your arrival and I am confident that you will excel in your new living and teaching environment. 

Helao Nafidi is located right on the border of Namibia and Angola:

Teaching high school English is a dream come true, in an odd way. It's something I've clearly never done before and have little experience in, but I can already feel enthusiasm coursing through my veins and can't wait for the great adventure that being a high school English teacher is sure to be! I can't wait to meet my students (or "learners," as they're called in Namibia) and dive into this adventure that will be the 2011 school year. I know I will learn just as much from them as they'll hopefully learn from me.

And seriously, what's more perfect than being the school librarian? Love organizing, love wearing glasses. Perfect.

I am nothing short of thankful for the great challenges and tremendous joys that I've been brought through this past year. Rejoicing in anticipation and gratefulness.