Here at last!
Well I've made it. Yay!!! It's great. My flight...oh what a trip. I was scheduled through Miami but Ernesto...grr...made it so I had to reroute. I spent the night in LA and and and it was a pain. Luckily all the flights were okay, just the ground travel. In the line at the LA airport, I met a girl who goes to McGill. She seemed nice enough and we exchanged emails. Then, on the plane to Lima, rather waiting in the Mexico City airport, I met two women who live in Lima. They were very sweet and we exchanged phone numbers. They said they'd check in on me and that I should go visit each of them. Good start.
There isn't much to tell yet....I haven't really left the apartment (only been up for a couple hours) except that I'm very happy with my family, they're extremely nice, and there's a school right next door so all day the apartment is filled with the sounds of children playing :). The apartment is very cozy: one common room, three bedrooms, a kitchen/laundry, and a bathroom and with 6 people (currently 7) it's kind of a tight fit. I haven't yet figured out how I'm going to store all my clothes and things, but we'll figure that out soon, I'm sure. The Spanish is going okay. I'm pretty happy. Oh, one blog-worthy story did happen: the taxi driver who drove us from the airport decided that he didn't want to take the exit he was set up to take (the first one after the airport) so he just drove backward for a few blocks down the highway...crazy. The women in the car (the mama, Fiorella-a sister, organizer, studies at Macalester-, and Nella-organizer) were laughing/ridiculing him but he really didn't seem to care. Well it was a welcome that I won't forget.
chapter Whitman comes to a close
Back in NE after two grueling days on the road, driving back from our west coast extravaganza: Portland, Seattle, Walla Walla. The trip was pretty much fun, even though 4 of the 10 days were spent 100% in the car, speeding down the interstate.
All three parts of the trip were fabulous. The wedding, my goodness, that's what a wedding should be. Seeing Adam and Laura is always wonderful. It was very different being there with my parents to visit them. And then, Walla Walla.
As our minivan crossed the NE state line on I-80, I realized that the Whitman chapter of my life had officially come to a close. I sighed, I'm sure. Being at Whitman was a tumultous ride of emotion and life lessons that I truely appreciate having done. Even though I'm leaving, I surely do not regret 1 iota going there. Not 1. I learned so much about acceptance and arrogance. The slap in the face it served me when I got there really sobered me up. :) Honestly, I was afraid that going back to pick up my stuff would be really difficult. But it wasn't. It started with picking Karlis up from the airport again. How strange. Driving with him in the car from Seattle to Walla Walla felt like things hadn't changed, like I wasn't actually leaving. But when we got there it finally set in. We got my stuff, ate at El Sombrero, and then I spent the entire night saying goodbye to a few people. I'm so happy I got to know those fanastic humans. The next day, after coffee with my amazing core teacher, I walked around campus. The feeling was really reassuring. While strolling along, I felt happy, comfortable, and like I was in a place that had once been mine. I didn't feel like it was mine, however; and I knew I was making the right choice.
So, thank you Whitman for all you've taught me and thank you for letting me go.
sunburn city
I think the sunburn I got at the lake may have finally healed. wow. wonder how it got so bad...
excited
I'm excited I'm excited I'm excited!!!
Info: Posada de Belen, is the home of 12 abused children from 8 to 13 years old, located in one of the poorest urban areas of the Port of Callao, this house is runned based in volunteering work.
Sweet!
news!
Hey hey! I have news!
1)After asking for advice advice advice, I decided that I would take the year off if McGill didn't grant me an exception for a semester. I contact Peru and told them I was coming. I figured I'd go and figure out when I'd come back once I was there. Today, however, I found out that they would give me a one semester deferal!! I bought my ticket! I'm leaving the 29th of August and coming back the 17th of December. Phew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2)Last weekend I drove to Grinnell, Iowa to visit Maria (a flatmate from Italy from Uganda who's currently studying at Grinnell.) We had a blast! It was wonderful to see her and I was glad I could help her get a fan by driving her to the SuperWalmart because it was sooooo damn hot!
3)Two days ago I left for Lake Mcconaughey, which is a pretty big lake in western Nebraska. I wen there to meet Danny (from Wales) and Terence (
my first year from the States) who were in CO. Apart from getting realllllllly sunburnt, this too was a fan
tastic day with UWCers. How wonderful!!!
footprints in the sand
I'm so lucky. Since leaving Italy, I've been able to see quite a few UWCers, which is something not everyone can claim. There's Karlis, of course; Pancho and Chen, who came for Christmas; Rickie, Bronson, Chenxin, and Pancho and Chen again over Spring Break; Maria last weekend when I visited her at Grinnell; and now Terence and Danny this past weekend! Wow. I'm also lucky enough to have talked to a couple of alumni from more years ago than myself, who have provided me with more perspective than I could otherwise possibly have.
And all of these things, these people, these talks, these encounters, remind me of the magnificence of my UWC experience. Want to talk about lucky.... They do more than conjure up memories, though. While the UWC itself is a fabulous experience, it's only 2 years. That's nothing. When the two years are over, however, the experience is far from dead, it just changes. After graduation is when the real testing and implementation of its ideals happens. It's been so empowering to read the alumni digest because alumni from all the schools and all the years are invited to post job openings, project ideas, and housing opportunities. :) It's important to make the next step after the two years end. This past year has given me the opportunity to make that next step and with this recent trip to visit Terence and Danny at the beach, I can feel my foot slowing planting itself into its next stride firmly. Onward.
