April Antipodal

Stephanie has been an avid blogger for a number of years, but like all of us, went through a dry spell where blogging became a chore and with nothing good to blog about. She started a new blog a number of months ago, in anticipation of a new life in Japan or Korea. It was not open to many, as she blogged her frustrates and disappointment in the whole application

process. When good news was awarded her, she vamped up her blog and now that she is in Korea... she is opening her blog up to those who want to read about her take on life in Korea.

Her new blog is named "April Antipodal" which you will see the link to on my side bar. Her reasoning for the blog name... I have taken a quote from her first blog in March.....

"To get it out of the way, I’m April. Actually I’m not, but it’s more than close enough for the purposes of a blog – it’s actually my middle name, and could have been my actual name, had things gone another way. I’ve always rather liked it (except in elementary school, when April still meant a feisty reporter in a horrific yellow jumpsuit who hung out in sewers with turtles and a rat, but I don’t think anyone is spared the elementary school name game) and so that’s what I’ll be. Antipodal is the five-dollar word that means “at the other pole”, or, for my purposes, on the other side of the world. Which is my goal."

I have known since Stephanie was 14 that she would be living in Asia as an adult. Her first trip to Japan seem to seep into her soul and she loves the "strange" world aspect. Her travels have taken her to Japan twice as a teenager, a university trip to Belize to work in the jungles digging at a Mayan temple site, and also to Mexico on a month long anthropology study with textiles and the people being her focus. She has talked about returning to Japan to teach, and when that wasn't available, she is off to Korea instead.
Its been quite a summer this year, full of emotional highs and lows. Sending Stephanie exactly half way around the world on her own on Tuesday was way harder than I thought. I have always know it was coming but until she disappeared around the security wall at the airport did it really hit me that she is gone for a year... or more... wow. With all my sadness of her gone, I am also sooo happy for her to be there, right where she wants to be. Sean is joining her in a month when his work is finished, and lose ends tied up. I am so proud of both my kids for following their dreams and going where they want to be.... its pretty darn cool.

Please enjoy Stephanie's blog and don't forget to leave comments... its always nice to hear from those at home. If your picking this up from Facebook.. go to my actual blog http://www.peterssm.blogspot.com/ and bookmark it. You will find other interesting blog links there including Stephanies.(Margertsville Shores - 2009 August)