Reverb10 :: Appreciate

I've decided to be a part of Reverb10. It's a 31-day blogging challenge where you reply to the daily writing prompts that are designed to get you to reflect on this past year as well as provide some insight for the upcoming year. I'm going to give myself 5-7 minutes for each post.

Day 14 :: December 14, 2010 :: Appreciate

• What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it? (Author: Victoria Klein)

I have two points to list under what I appreciate most this past year:

1. My family and friends
2. A good and steady Internet connection

I've come to appreciate my family and friends more and more. Last year, I left the U.S. for the first time in my life. I moved to Cairo, Egypt to live and work at a university. It's been a wonderful experience, but sometimes I just want to have some of my Mom's mac and cheese (even though I can do a pretty good version of it myself; see image below); I want to jump in my Jeep and visit my grandmother or other family members. And I love to hang out in Cleveland w/my reading group and just trolling around the city.

Not my Mom's Mac and Cheese, but mine! (Nov, 2009)

So the move abroad makes me miss and appreciate my fam and friends. And the time difference doesn't help. Technology gives me many ways to keep in touch w/folks. But on many days, I'm just too exhausted to make calls. Of course, I send emails and check out updates on Facebook, but sometimes I feel like I'm just out of touch and missing out ...

Speaking of technology, the Internet can be a friend or foe. I usually have a decent Internet connection, but sometimes it's not the best and that makes for frustration when trying to Skype or using other forms of voice communication. Lately, it's been mostly smooth. But I can see the value in this as well. Not only for communicating w/my fam and friends, but I depend on the Internet for work too. I teach on campus two days a week, so the other days, I need to be available via the Internet.

The Internet is also my source for connecting w/my online community which I mentioned in my Reverb 10 :: Community.

Okay, time to wrap this up and get ready to visit my peeps in the States for the holiday season. Let's hope that Santa drops me some new tech devices to help keep me connected internationally.