Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful that M is home from Australia! 

She had a great (and safe) time during her eight weeks in Sydney.  While I was glad that M had a ton of fun, I was most impressed with how she handled some of the unexpected challenges that arose.  Additionally I was pleased with the commitment she showed to the special ed students at her internship.

M isn't a special ed major; she plans to go to graduate school and earn a Masters in Occupational Therapy.  Working with the students at Wairoa was definitely something she hadn't even had minimal training to do, but she embraced the task and grew really close to her class of 12th year boys.

I'm sure there were times that M was homesick (not so much for G or me, but for her bf, J) but she didn't mope around in her apartment at night or on the weekends.  M learned how to surf and scuba dive; she went on several self-guided coastline hikes along the eastern coast, and she explored different neighborhoods throughout Sydney.  I feel that she struck a good balance between living as an Australian resident and acting like an American tourist.  M even lamented that she wished she didn't stand out so much as an American and she attempted to blend in more with the culture in New South Wales.

I'm glad that M enjoyed her time in Sydney and I'm happy that G and I were able to provide her with the opportunity to study abroad.