Yesterday was Father’s Day, which brought a bout of homesickness for me because I was thinking about all the ‘family time’ I was missing out on. Erica, on the other hand, informed me that the cat hair she found on her skirt this morning is what made her feel her first hint of nostalgia. (In her defense, her cat is ridiculously adorable.) Regardless, it is safe to say that all of us miss home and the people (or felines) that hold our hearts. But the anticipation and excitement we share about the next 6 weeks is just one way we know we’re meant to be here.

Although we’ve only been here for four days, it feels like we’ve been here for so much longer. This is mostly because of how amazing the people from Santisuk English School are. Take the word hospitable, multiply it by 45,297, and you’ve got the staff at SES. Seriously, though – some people spend their entire lives looking for friends like these. You think I’m hyperbolizing (word of the day – look it up) but I’m not. We, and I can honestly speak for all five of us, have definitely been blessed by having met our new friends: Kwan, Ethel, Awe, Khitt, Tong, Nit, Joy, Rung, Awn, and so many more!

Today we received our schedules and were given teaching orientation, which was useful since none of us are teachers. Thankfully, none of us are teaching a 7 a.m. class – Praise the Shepherd! We’re definitely all anxious about tomorrow and meeting our students, but we look forward to the conversations and learning that we’ll all be doing!

Those reading, please keep us in your prayers, and know that while you’re living vicariously through us, we’re using lots of bug spray and drinking lots of water for you!

- Natalie