A little bit to start off

My name is Anelise. I was raised mostly in Kodiak, Alaska, with some Massachusetts and Guatemala mixed in there, too. Recently, I graduated from Willamette University, a little liberal arts school in Oregon. My parents just moved to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

Now, I'm back in Kodiak, working, and living in other people's houses. Hah! It sounds creepy when I put it that way -- I'm housesitting. But I can't get too comfortable; this fall I'll be elsewhere (to be determined) and in January, I'll move to Malaysia for 10 months to complete a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA). After that, who knows?

So, the puzzle: how does one live happily in the present and find a sense of place when an entirely different family than your own resides in your pre-conceived notion of home, and when your future is full of relocations, long distance phone calls, and navigating different cultures and languages? 

I don't have an answer quite yet. This blog is to document my findings on the matter. For now, I know it is crucial to stay thankful for these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and for such adventurous genes.