It has now been over a month since we updated our blog! Things have been crazy with the holidays. We had such a great time in Utah for Christmas (mom and dad, we missed you!). It was so fun to see everyone and catch up, even though our time was short. We were really lucky, too, that we didn't get stuck in any storms--we seemed to miss both major storm systems that came through while we were traveling. Some of our friends were stuck in airports for nearly 24 hours or delayed a lot, so we felt really lucky that we somehow squeezed into a couple of good windows for travel. Now that we have come out to Salt Lake it is everyone's turn to now come out here to visit!
We enjoyed New Years in Boston. I came home a bit sick after the holiday, so it was low key for us, but we had a good time. There was another huge snowstorm and frigid temperatures that night so we decided not to do the "first night" festivities downtown. Every year there is a big parade and festivities by the Common so we'll have to hit it up next year.
Derrick is back in school and has already had 2 exams. He is doing a great job and really enjoying his work. This week he was able to assist in filling two amalgam fillings on Saturday, which he said was really cool.
As for me, I am back to work and really enjoying both of my jobs even though the hours are a bit crazy. I really look forward to teaching every day and the students amaze me. They are so concientious and upbeat even though they are in hard circumstances. For example, there is one student at our school from Africa who was leaving her country by boat to come to the United States. She had her two little boys with her. One of her boys was very scared to get on the boat and did not want to go. She told him that it would be ok and that she would protect him. However, when they got onto the boat, the man said that there were too many people and someone had to get off. He grabbed her son and threw him overboard and she had to stand there and watch him drown. Horrible. There are many students from Albania who were part of the difficult conflicts in that area of the world (in the 90's) as well. I have a lot of respect for them and what they have been through.
We have also been toying with the idea of buying a condo for the past little, bit, but we haven't come to a decision. It seems like in 3 years we would just end up paying on interest and not build more equity than we would build if we just pay rent. It's also unclear where the market is going to go in the next year so it would be a bit of a gamble. We're up for any advice :)
We hope you are all well and staying warm.
