State of the Season Address

Hello again friends, family, and foes,

While things over here had been relatively quiet - yet pleasant - for a while, I do believe they are starting to gain speed once more.  Spring weather has been here for quite some time, but we're now feeling the momentum and expectation that come along with it.  

During a rogue midweek holiday, Hilary and I headed to neighboring Tarsus.  We had been meaning to go there all year, but it kept being pushed back.  We had ridden past it on the way to Mersin several times, but had yet to stop.  Finally, on Children's Day we boarded the train toward the site of many Christian pilgrimages.

Arriving in Tarsus with minimal preparation or research we thought we had an idea where St. Paul's Well was - the main tourist attraction.  Following my bravado and keen sense of place, we set out in what ended up being the exact opposite direction.  BUT- we found some delicious lunch at a local haunt.  Thus refreshed, we unsuccessfully asked for directions several times, but thought we were on the right path.  

At one point we heard someone yell,  "Mike!  Mike!"  It turned out to be two of our friend's students.  They seemed to speak less English than we speak Turkish, so rather than giving us directions they offered us a ride.  They drove like Turkish teenagers, but we made it safely to the well.  

I think they arranged these rocks after St. Paul moved away or died.

Well...

After that we walked through the old historic city center.  The old streets and homes reminded us of Antakya, which we loved.  Then we hit the main drag for a cold treat.  

Happiness > Manliness

Our school year is passing by quickly and we have long been considering what we'll be doing once it finishes.  From the outset of our plans to move abroad in 2012 we both felt ready to spend the following few years away from home (Minnesota) and were relatively open as to where they might be spent.  We've gone back and forth (in our minds) between South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Turkey among other places.  From one day to the next our preferences continued changing, with no clear leader emerging for most of the year.

Our boss approached us a few weeks ago, giving us until the end of April to decide if we were staying here another year.  After much praying, hemming and hawing, we decided not to come back to Turkey next year.  It was difficult, because we have really enjoyed our time here.  The relationships, experiences, foods and general growth this year have been huge blessings.  

However, we feel we have a relatively small window of time we wish to live abroad and there are more people to meet, places to see, things to do and ways to grow.  We love being in Turkey this year and we are extremely grateful for this experience, but we have faith that we are making the right decision.

So we narrowed it down to either South Korea or New Zealand.  Both have lots of pros and cons for us, but we can share more on that later.  This post has already grossly exceeded an appropriate length.  Let me just say this: After receiving lucrative job offers to teach ESL in South Korea Hilary and I (after loads and loads of prayer) decided to move to New Zealand in August 2013!!!

New Zealandish-looking tree in Adana

To make a long story longer, I have been getting really geeked about camping/hiking/backpacking lately.  So I forced Hilary to make the 3-mile trek along the river to the closest bit of nature for a local day-hike.  She lovingly obliged and we had a piece of the world to ourselves for a few hours.

Picnic in the Park

...and then the cows came.

We love and miss you all.  We're headed back to Minnesota mid-June for about a month-and-a-half.  We are trying to enjoy the present and experience today, but we are definitely looking forward to seeing the family and friends that await us home.  

Love,
Mike and Hilary