My family has finally drafted the next few steps on our journey. Jenny has accepted a two year Post Doc position at Duke University and SAMSI, but SAMSI is a partnership of Duke University, North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS). There she will have a wonderful opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in her field of Statistics. SAMSI is located in the Research Triangle Park, kind of in between Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham.
We have rented a nice apartment in Chapel Hill, about 20 minutes commute from SAMSI. We choose to live Chapel Hill based on the reputation of its public schools, even though the rent is slightly higher than for example in Durham. Anna is going to be in seventh grade in one of the middle schools. Tómas will be in first grade. It was interesting to learn that the school systems in different states have different cut-off dates for kindergarten. The cut-off date in Ohio is September 30, but in NC it is August 31. For a September kid like Tómas, moving from Ohio to NC means that he will be one year ahead in the NC system.
The family will move to NC in the middle of August. We have reserved a trailer for August 12 and we plan to finish packing everything that weekend. The trailer will be picked up on the 15th and will arrive in Chapel Hill on August 17.
Before all this takes place I (Halldór) will travel with the kids to Iceland on June 15 and stay there until August 8, while Jenny finishes up her dissertation and attends a conference in Miami, Florida. In Iceland I will be working as a camp director, Tomas will learn to swim, and Anna will do all kinds of fun stuff (and all will be visiting relatives).
Back to Chapel Hill. The kids start school on August 25. Jenny plans to graduate from The Ohio State in Columbus on August 28, and we are looking into if and how to attend the graduation. After the graduation, Jenny goes for a three day conference in California, before starting at SAMSI on September 1. We hope that after September 1, things slow down for Jenny and the kids.
I (Halldor) have accepted a call as an associate director of youth programs (or something like that) at YMCA/YWCA in Iceland, starting in September. Therefore I will continue to move in the middle of September. This time to Iceland.
It is not going to be easy to live in two countries, two continents for two years. However, this seems to be the best decision for the family for now. I (Halldór) have little/no change of getting a work permit in the US, and it is very complicated for Jenny to find a job in Iceland at the moment.
Back to my task at YMCA/YWCA. There I am going to be a part of a great team, working with some of the best people in Iceland when it comes to Christian youth work. I hope we will continue to be a place of risk, respect and creativity when it comes to introducing young people to the Gospel. The calling at YMCA/YWCA means I will reside in Iceland, but due to the nature of my position I will have the opportunity to take extended weekends off making it possible to fly to NC on a regular basis. I also plan to take a few weeks off around Christmas and stay in the US.