So WHERE are you going?

Hi all! I'm writing this to update my friends and family back in the good 'ol U.S. of A. while I'm abroad for the next year. Here's a recent life summary to bring everyone up to speed:

I just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (my home away from home), having majored in International Studies and minored in Business and Entrepreneurship. During my time in school, I was bitten by the "travel bug" after multiple study abroads and international jaunts. Post-graduation, I was offered the chance to spend the next year teaching English in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. So about a month later and two suitcases packed, I'm just about ready to begin my journey! The trip begins with a few days in L.A., a stop in Honolulu, and then off to my final destination, the capital city of Majuro, where I'm working as an elementary school teacher (most likely 3rd grade).

Anyways, a lot of people keep asking me, "so WHERE/WHAT are the Marshall Islands?!" Here's a quick breakdown:

-The RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator (quote 'borrowed' from Wikipedia)
-the RMI is about 2000 miles south west of Hawaii and 2000 miles north of New Zealand
-The people speak Marshallese, which I'm currently trying to learn
-there's a bit more than 60,000 people on the islands and 25,000 on Majuro Atoll
-the RMI is a sovereign nation, but is in the Compact of Free Association with the U.S., meaning they receive financial assistance from the US in return for defense rights (there's a US army base on Kwajalein Atoll)

More to come....stay tuned for the next year!