This morning I looked at the previous post for the blog and realized it has been nearly a month. I have been seriously neglecting my blog writing lately.
I do have a good excuse, however, since the end of the year is always full of events that seem to eat up our time, money, and energy. No complaints here – we always enjoy our busy holidays. Usually about this time I am feeling stress about my contract and whether I’ll have a job in the upcoming year. At the end of the year we are throwing together packages of presents for our family overseas, we’re finalizing plans for our winter trip, and we’re hosting holiday parties for friends and neighbors. There is always a lot going on, culminating in a rush to the airport and quick zip down the runway to whatever destination we have chosen.
This year is pretty much the same, but it seems like the job situation is clarifying a bit and I’ll have some good news to announce soon. As of last Sunday our packages were sent out, and tomorrow we’ll host our last holiday party of the year with the neighbors. Kuniko spent the evening last night making a rich red sauce to smother lasagna noodles rolled around ricotta cheese. Tomorrow will be a red wine night for sure.
Next week is an abbreviated week for me – I have shorter class schedules, some open time to plan for next year’s lessons, and a company holiday party on Thursday that hopefully won’t leave me with a hangover for our departure the next day to Egypt.
We’re excited about the trip to Egypt, seeing Cairo, Luxor and Abu Simbel. I think that more than previous trips this one will be a challenge for us, but the challenging trips are the ones that leave you with the best memories.
We’ll be in Cairo from December 23-26, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel from December 26-30, and then back in Cairo from December 30-January 2nd. We should be landing back in Japan on Wednesday, January 3rd. It looks to be a busy itinerary but we can’t wait to see what’s out there!
