Day 201 - Another Year...

Another year is over. 2011 will end in less than 24 hours. A whole lot has happened this year. It has been an incredible year. Full of small moments that I have totally forgotten about by now and by big grand moments that I will never forget.

It is hard to believe that this January I was unemployed and living it up in Winnipeg looking for something new. All I found was an awesome house to live in for 2 months, discovered that I can never and will never ever again work as a telemarketer, I spent a ton of quality time with friends and learned that couch surfing is not so bad.

I gave blood for the first time in March.

I moved back home the end of March to get back to the wonderful job of painting with the best co-worker/boss anyone could ask for. This involved a 15-hour road trip with a good friend in a jam-packed car and my wonderful cousins picked me in Calgary to take me the rest of the way home.

I experienced my niece grow and change day by day. Rolling, crawling, ‘talking’. Many moments.

In April an email came. I got a job in South Sudan. Major life changing moment. Yay!

Another first for this year…In May I ran in the Mother’s Day Race in Calgary in the rain with my cousins and Aunt. My first organized 5K race ever. My good friends had their first adorable little baby boy! Hiked to Troll Falls with two of my favorite people in the world. I ran my second organized race in the end of May in Calgary. It was a beautiful day.

June 13th I was on a plane to Cairo to begin my Sudan adventure. Three months working with a research firm, travelling around South Sudan, seeing an amazing country, meeting amazing people, hearing amazing stories and doing great work. Experiencing so many new and different things.

I experience the birth of a new country. South Sudan’s Independence was on July 9th. A day I will never forget. Incredible.

In August I was living it up in Rumbek where it was confirmed that South Sudan is a bold country. Bold bugs. Bold men. BOLD!

September was a quite month. Learned a lot about myself and just how much I can handle. One word: Perseverance!

October I met amazing little children who live at the Juba Orphanage. Hangman is an excellent game to play with children who do not speak the same language as you. AECOM decided I was awesome enough to hire. Hello job, goodbye being a Juba bum! AND I climbed Jebel Mountain.

I moved to a new compound in November. Moved from a tent to a compound with my own room and personal bathroom. This was huge. Life lesson: enjoy the small things in life, such one’s own bathroom, four solid walls and a comfortable bed.

December I anticipated the best surprise of my life. Going home for Christmas without telling anyone. So great. Many moments with family and getting to see my niece, who has changed so much and continues to grow into an amazing, beautiful little girl.

This is only a small glimpse into the events and moments that took place this past year.

Top things I learned this year:

Being an Auntie is one of the best things ever.
Telemarketing is not for me.
Painting is a great skill to have.
South Sudan is an amazing country.
Dirt runways really do exist.
10 seater planes are the best to fly on.
Connections and networking are essential to life.
Mosquito nets are your friend.
Living in a tent is not so bad.

Happy New Year’s Eve My Dear Friends!