A prospective student and 2015 wrap-up.
Wednesday, 12.30.2015 - 6:05 pm.

Oh, my. It seems Nephew #2 may be here by mid-January! After a lot of lobbying on my part, fully supported by Andrew (bless him for he was far more articulate when presenting arguments), we convinced my sister that he should come here and try to get into a college or university to get a music degree. There is no academical training in the arts in our home country at all, and he's been spending this year playing gigs and acting in plays, but nothing that helps him to advance his career, academically nor financially.

He tried to get into a university in Costa Rica this year but was rejected, he lacked knowledge of some instruments he had to play. He will try again later this year if it doesn't go well here, but hey, maybe it will go well here! I know he has the basic skills, I'm mostly worried about paying his tuition and all the paperwork to get a student visa. But let's take one step at a time and I'm sure we'll be able to work these things out.

The possibility of him coming and staying hit me this morning, and then scared me a bit. Only because Andrew and I are used to living just the two of us and we may lose some of the privacy and freedom we're used to having. But Andrew has been rooting for my nephew to come live with us and study here, as much as I have been, so I know he's willing to make these arrangements long-term. So am I. And it's not big losses we're talking about, other than not having to close our bedroom door at night.

So, we'll see how all this develops in the next few weeks. We're aiming to welcoming him by the 15th-18th, so he can go make all enquiries in person and figure out if he's a good fit for this system and if the system fits his needs. I'm confident he is and it does, I'm crossing my fingers.

***

Hey, this is the last entry of the year. I'm quite satisfied with 2015. Highlights: It brought Andrew and me to the UK (with the cats!) to get a PhD and we've found open doors and open arms. I published a book. The members of my family are in good health, and my mom continues being cancer-free. I do hate that we're so far apart, my parents and siblings and I, and we can't see each other (mostly me, really, the rest of them get to see each other more often given that at least they are in the same continent) but I hope we'll meet, all of us, some time in 2016. I'm counting my blessings and I'm very grateful, from the smallest to the biggest things in my life.

The world in general is not as wonderful though. It just seems to get worse and worse, in terms of, say, weather and violence. I am aware of my privileges and in my mind I always try to walk in other people's shoes. It does not make a real difference, hopefully one day it will somehow, but thinking right (which is not the same as merely thinking positively, yo) is fundamental.

Happy 2016, dear reader!

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