Intro

In western lands beneath the Sun
  the flowers may rise in Spring,
the trees may bud, the waters run,
  the merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night
  and swaying beeches bear
the Elven-stars as jewels white
  amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie
  in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
  beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
  and Stars forever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
  nor bid the Stars farewell.  

-The Return of the King

This is the blog I'll be using to keep track of my own journey, though I am at the beginning rather than the end, and it hopefully won't be as bad as Sam's. That song is one of my favorite poems of all time, and I chose to name the blog after it because it's a poem about hope and endurance and being far away from home. The first few posts here probably won't be interesting to my friends, but they may be useful to other people planning to teach abroad. I'll try to be as honest and as informative as I can be. So, until next time!