The Passing of David Donohue

Yesterday we were told that my cousin, David Donohue, had been found dead. I would like to share my most favorite memory of my cousin with all.

January 5, 2002. My wedding day. David showed up and declared that he was what the family in New York sent for our wedding. We were thrilled. Debbie, his sister, was one of my bride's maids and it was really nice to see some of the New York family. One of the highlights of my wedding was the Karioke at my reception. I had to have it. It is from this that the lasting memory of David comes.

Being a few short months after Sept. 11, 2001, patriotism was high. David, in particular, was very passionate about his love for New York. He had visited the Twin Towers on the 10th and felt especially connected to the events of 9/11. Cue the music. The music started with the traditional beginning for "New York, New York." David wrangled Wally to the front of the room and together they began singing a slurred rendition of "New York, New York". The room was filled with giggles and laughter, it was great. As the song progressed, Wally bowed out and allowed David to take center stage, and he did. It was a fantastic time. I will remember David as a fun loving guy, as someone who made us all laugh and will always be linked to my wedding.

Rest in peace, man.

When it rains, it pours (but with a positive connotation)

We were offered a job and accepted it. We are very excited about the location and the culture. Wally will have a great position, Social Studies Coordinator, and it will really allow us to get a lot of training that will help us in the future.

As soon as we accepted, we got emails from two other schools, schools that we had really been interested in. Isn't it funny that way?

We are truly blessed to have the opportunities that we do. We should be receiving our contract tonight, after that we will be in full preparation mode. We are truly excited.

Let's Try This Again

It was a little under a year ago that we decided to try teaching overseas. It was something that we had always wanted to do. We originally thought about teaching in England, fearing the language barrier for both us and our kids. But as time went on we got bolder and decided to try the Republic of Georgia. We moved to Georgia in June, fell in love with the people and the country, then got evacuated when Russia invaded.

When we got back to Florida we bought a house and started to settle back into life in the USA. But nothing about teaching overseas has changed. We still want to do it. And we're going to.

This blog will be the record of our next overseas trip. We have interviewed with a school and have been offered a position. We are very excited. In this blog we hope to show our preparation, of experiences and (hopefully) our love of our new home.

Stay tuned...