It was the best of times and the worst of times. And I hardly know where to begin this list. Do years just continue to spiral more and more out of control the longer you live?
Recalling events from the past sequence of years, it certainly feels like it. It’s not a bad feeling necessarily, just a “Seriously? Do years just continue to spiral more and more out of control?” kind of feeling.
Here’s a taste of my memories from this past year, rapid-fire style:
- Driving 100 mph down the road with my head out the window
- Taking photos at the Houfs wedding in Dallas
- Teaching Zach to ski
- Bowling with the big group before I left for Saudi Arabia
- Reading Kisses From Katie to Momma
- Signing the contract to teach in Jubail
- Getting my international driver’s license
- Getting my first credit card
- Seeing friends’ lists of rapid-fire memories from 2012
- Talking with Ted about Neustar
- Taking the express lane for frequent flyers when I got on the plane to Saudi, not realizing it was only the beginning of an extensive travel year for me
- Eating the best thali I’ve ever had that first time with the guys in Bahrain
- Crossing the causeway into Saudi Arabia while Shabir’s asking if it was our first time in the Kingdom
- Getting stuck at the causeway for an entire day on a visa run
- Being observed by my boss without knowing I was supposed to prepare for that (but still doing a good job)
- Driving through Cairo with our amazing Egyptian driver that first day
- Ducking down the tunnel into the heart of a pyramid
- Seeing my bank account grow past its previous record high
- Hearing the call to prayer outside my window
- Walking to the Valley of the Kings from the east side of the river
- Realizing my photos from the pyramids didn’t copy to my hard drive correctly and I’d already deleted them off my camera’s memory card
- Celebrating my birthday without much fanfare at a Korean restaurant
- Exploring old Jubail with Ryan the weekend before he got fired
- Moving into the unfinished housing on JTI
- Dune bashing with coworkers in Qatar
- Boating in the cove just outside Doha with the McGill clan
- Walking out on our first basketball game as a team in Jubail because the refs weren’t calling a fair game
- Winning our first game as Al Shabaab
- Finishing the five-week long Arabic course
- Waiting for the public beheading in Dirah Square in Riyadh, leaving, and then finding out we missed it by just a couple hours
- Buying a Kindle for the first time and realizing it’s one of my favorite things I’ve purchased for myself
- Driving across Saudi Arabia on a three day weekend with Caleb and Fil
- Barbecuing with the McGill teachers
- Learning how to build and operate a homemade still illegally
- Pillaging rooms after teachers left the McGill program
- Going through all the hassle of trying to get my visa for India from Jubail
- Exploring Goa on a rented motor scooter
- Letting myself get drenched in rain as I strolled down the monsoon soaked beach in Goa
- Ruining part of my camera by getting sand stuck in it
- Following the guide to the burning ghat in Varanasi
- Watching kites take flight from rooftops as strangers helped their neighbors keep their kites afloat
- Feeling the poverty in Kolkata (but not the way I thought I would)
- Eating banana pancakes on the hostel rooftop overlooking the Taj Mahal
- Drinking chai in a train on the way to somewhere in India
- Finding out that we’d been locked out of our places back in Jubail while we were away on our holiday
- Hurrying the administration at JTI to open our rooms with Martin, the man they were looking for, hurrying them along right there with us
- Renting a car for the second to last month in Saudi
- Growing out the goat for seven months
- Driving down the dirt road we thought was the road to Kuwait only to later discover the freeway that ran parallel to our dirt road
- Watching the last episode of Breaking Bad on the widescreen projector with Patrick, Tommy, and Rob
- Getting extra pages added to my passport
- Researching about rental properties in Old Louisville
- Meeting with Lucas each week to talk about finances
- Commissioning a tuktuk to drive us out to this lake outside Addis on a terrible road and then getting stuck up on the mountain in the cold
- Hanging out with the student who showed us his falcon and let us watch their hunting sport
- Chatting with Meagan on Facebook
- Playing chess with Nick and Martin and Rob and the guy in Bogota
- Getting robbed by a man with a knife in the streets of Bogota
- Listening to blues in a hostel in Armenia, Colombia
- Walking away from the World Vision office after getting Alisha there safely and on time to meet the girl she sponsors
- Wondering if I had malaria in India
- Wondering if I had malaria in Ecuador
- Getting stamped into my 20th new country
- Listening to fireworks exploding on Christmas Eve while seeing what everyone was up to back home in America via Facebook
- Chatting in broken Spanish and English in the same conversation
- Finding, writing, and sending postcards from foreign countries
- Going to the zoo
- Feeling totally underwhelmed by the airport in Dubai
- Watching the fountain show outside the Burj Kalifa
- Landing in Ethiopia, and it feeling like Africa, finally
- Busing through the mountains and desert overnight in South America
- Reading with my shirt off on top of the compound in Saudi Arabia
- Eating felafel sandwiches (or wraps) in the cafeteria at JTI
- Hanging out with William and Lauren for the first time (that I can remember) since they’ve been together
- Helping the owner of Raquel’s ballet company set up the stage before a performance so that I could watch it even though I wasn’t supposed to attend
- Noticing “Gangnam Style” playing in unusual contexts around the world
- Taking Spanish classes in Lima
- Lending money to friends who had their debit/credit cards stolen in foreign countries
- Falling in love
- Admiring the old Victorian homes in Old Louisville
- Sleeping at the church in the freezing cold
- Driving to Atlanta with all the bad weather warnings
- Cooking adobo for friends in Saudi Arabia
- Taking cool showers for five months straight
- Coming up with a signature knock and using it consistently
- Nose kissing guys in the Middle East
- Taking photos with students before their class graduated
- Taking photos of my traveling buddies surrounded by children
- Struggling to take Spanish lessons via Skype
- Telling students about the United States and hearing them tell me about Saudi Arabia
- Saying farewell to friends I worked with this year
- Waking up at 4:00am every morning because of the timezone difference
- Enjoying the new housing at JTI once we finally got to move in
- Finding out that Little Ricky died
- Living through Ramadan in arguably the most Islamic country in the world
- Running around trying to get a sick note from a doctor when I got sick in Saudi
- Getting to #97 in this list and realizing, “Oh, I don’t have three left. I need to get all the way to 113!”
- Starting a new blog, Marshbox, but then not really doing much with it
- Making or finding or buying virtual presents
- Having diarrhea off and on for a few months thanks to delicious Indian food
- Playing guitar when I got back to Kentucky after my stint in the Middle East
- Reading the same book over the Bible every day for about three weeks in a row and then hearing a sermon from a chapter in that book my first week back in the United States
- Confirming with the McGill project director that I could get a reference letter from the university
- Enjoying the “It’s not so bad” conversations within the first month or two of Saudi Arabia
- Eating cheap shawarma sandwiches and drinking fresh juice that cost about as much as each sandwich
- Stepping on five continents all in one year
- Losing contact with almost all my friends back in Kentucky
- Missing home, so many times
- Feeling like I might have retired from teaching ESL for good
- Adding a Failed list to what I’ve done
- Noticing all the “Te amo” graffiti in South America
- Breaking my own record for longest letter I’ve ever written
- Feeling excited about starting yet another chapter (or maybe it’s another book) in my life
Happy New Year!
