2009 Christmas Letter

To all of our family and friends,

2009 has certainly been quite a year for us. It almost seems impossible to put it all into one simple letter. We have said some tough goodbyes, faced some new and interesting challenges, and grown in an amazing way.
In February, we decided to attend a job fair in Boston, Massachusetts for teachers interested in teaching overseas. The idea of teaching overseas was something that we had tossed around for a few years, but never really done anything about. After all of the fertility issues of 2008, we finally decided that it was time to make a change and begin the adventure of living overseas. The job fair was an intense four days filled with interviews, presentations, and formal dinners. We met a lot of interesting people and were offered a few different jobs from places all over the world. In the end, we decided to accept a job from a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- as Southeast Asia was where we had our hearts set to be.
Once we got back from the job fair, we began the tough job of packing up our life in Texas and starting a new beginning on the other side of the world. Saying goodbye to Dulles HS, the school we had been at for so long, was tough. We had certainly found a family there in both the faculty and the students. But, we knew that Dulles had been a huge part of what helped us to become the type of educators that could be successful overseas. Our farewell to friends was also tough. We knew that lives would go on without us- weddings would be celebrated, houses would be bought, babies would grow- but with the technology of Facebook, we were happy to know that we could continue to be a part of the lives of those that mean so much to us. Goodbyes to our families were certainly the hardest. While we knew that we would talk on the phone, and come back to visit, it was hard to think that Thanksgiving dinners would be had, birthdays would be celebrated, and Christmas songs would be sung- all without us there. However, we knew that it was both of our families that we had to thank for giving us our wings to fly and begin this new journey.
Malaysia has been quite an experience. I don’t think that anyone can quite explain what it is like to move into an entirely different culture. We were lucky to have a great realtor, who really oriented us to the city well. We were blessed with an amazing “newbie class” (that is what the school calls all of the new teachers this year). Sharing a common bond with other “newbies” has often helped us to keep our sanity. Our jobs have taken some adjusting to, but are something that we both enjoy. Billy is teaching 6th grade Humanities, and Jaime is teaching 3rd grade Learning Resource. Both jobs involved a big jump for us, coming from the high school setting. However, the challenge has helped to make us even better teachers. Moving overseas has given us great opportunities to travel- something we are truly grateful for. In September, we visited Cambodia- a place we both fell in love with. In November, we traveled to Singapore- what has to be the cleanest city on Earth. And, in just a few weeks, we will be headed to Thailand- the place that made us fall in love with Southeast Asia so many years ago. We are thrilled to be bringing along with us Jaime’s parents, who will be here for a long holiday and a much needed visit. 2010 already has trips planned to Hong Kong, Korea, and China. We are so thankful for the opportunities that this new life overseas has given us. While it has been a tough transition, it has been one that has taught us so many lessons, and grown our relationships, both with each other and all of you, our friends and family!
As we celebrate Christmas this year in the 90 degree heat of the tropics, know that our thoughts will be with all of you. We truly do wish you a VERY Merry Christmas (Selamat Hari Christma- as they say in Malaysia). We encourage you to make just one New Year’s resolution for 2010- visit Malaysia (we promise you a free place to stay).

All of our Love,

Billy and Jaime