What Comes Next

It's hard to think that even though it feels like I just got to App State and started my graduate program, that in reality it will soon be over. In just a few months, I will be starting the job search process and applying for positions all over the US looking for the next great fit! Not gonna lie, it's a little intimating. Within this graduate program I have always felt that I have been planning life six months in advance and I haven't ever really had the opportunity to be present where I am. But I guess that's the nature of this beast we call graduate school. So, in attempts to be proactive and figure out the next step in life, I have started contacting a school in Scotland that I visited in April to see if there is any possibility that I can set up a short term internship with them after I graduate. The goal: The University of St. Andrews. There is no doubt that out of all the Universities we visited while abroad, St. Andrews made the largest impact and the best impression. The feeling I had while at that school was similar to what I have felt at ASU - it felt like home. It wasn't hard for me to picture myself living and thriving there. Due to that feeling, I have taken the leap of faith in pursuing an internship opportunity there. Fingers crossed! I know that this is the time for me to take risks like this. Once I start my full time job, these international experiences won't be as available and I don't want to look back and regret not taking this chance. However, I do have hesitations. There are factors - things and people - which cause me to reconsider if this is something I really want to do. I get caught up in asking a lot of "what if's" which I know I should not do. I have often struggled with making decisions only based on what it means for me. But with this, I need to take a deep breath and give it a try. To be completely cliche' if it's meant to be it will all work out. Guess now, I just get to wait and see what comes next!

Concert Time!

For being the music lover I am, I hardly go to any shows. I think the most recent show I went to was hearing John Mayer in downtown Chicago on the 4th of July back in 2007.  Yikes! Major band geek fail. BUT...I am ending such an era in my life by going to Asheville, NC see Mumford and Sons in concert this week!

I'm so excited to see them live! Finally getting away from the mountain for a few hours is going to be pretty great too. And hopefully in just a couple weeks I'll head back to Asheville to see Adele. Bring on the music!

Start of Something New

The world is always in movement.

- V. S. Naipaul 

Something about being in Boone makes the above statement even more true. I feel like ever since I have arrived in Boone my life has always been stuck in this constant fluidity of change.  Learning a new job. Meeting new people. Adjusting to this hippie culture. Trying to figure what it exactly means to be a Mountaineer. And now, even though it's technically "summer" here at App State, I feel that I have been experiencing more changes now than ever before. While some of these changes are great and better than what I expected. Some take time to adjust to and I'm not always so thrilled about them when I first become aware of them. Some make me smile and maybe even blush a little! ;) Yet, others have brought me to tears and left me completely confused and frustrated. But no matter what, whether I am happy about the change or not, I strive to see the good. I have to look for the thing that keeps me going and the ways that I could possibly become a better person because of this new adventure in my life. No matter what I do to stop the curve balls from coming, they always seem to show up when I least expect. Might as well make the best out of it and enjoy the ride!

Across the Pond

Where we love is home, 

Home that our feet may leave but not our hearts.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

A couple weeks ago, 14 of my cohort members, my three professors and I traveled over to the UK to examine Universities and what they do for student support services. Going back over the pond was like going home. Something about that place allows me to breathe deeply and something that was lost within my soul was revived. We started out in Edinburgh, Scotland. Got to tour the city a lot and spend a lot of time outdoors. Some of my favorite memories from that city was discovering that we could climb to the top of the Scot Monument and got a great view of the city.

We also went on our first hike with Daisy and of course, in true American form, had a dance party when we reached the top. But it was a great view, and it was great to get some fresh air!

The first University we visited was University of Glasgow. Amazing school with beautiful architecture. I think I found what really draws me in to schools: architecture. Hook. Line. And sinker!

We then went to Aberdeen. Some of the ladies and I took a walk out to the North Sea. It's at times like that when you have to pinch yourself and verbally remind yourself that you are in Scotland. The University of Aberdeen was a great school. Didn't have the medieval architecture that was seen at Glasgow, but something about the community was so welcoming. Note that our time in Aberdeen was the only time it rained while we were abroad. 

From Aberdeen we traveled to the place I most hope to return: St. Andrews. I fell in love with the town, the school, the tradition and all the history. What I felt when I was at St. Andrew's was similar to what I felt when I came to ASU. Even though I had only been there for a short time, it immediately felt like home. The University had the closest thing to what resembles a Residence Life system here in the states. My hope is to go back to St. Andrew's for a couple months after graduating. Fingers crossed!

From there we traveled through the beautiful countryside of Scotland to Chester, England. That city has some AMAZING history and of course the day we got to tour the city, I wasn't feeling well. We had a "Hen Party" for cohort member Emily the night prior and had a pretty great time. While visiting the school, our host exclaimed they had a very extensive history as they were established in 1849. I laughed. The schools we had visited previously started back in the 1400's. By just visiting three ancient schools, we became such snobs. "Extensive history? Yeah right! Talk to us when your school's history is nearly 600 years old."

After Chester we went to Brecon, Wales. When people ask me about my favorite part of the trip, the first thing I think of is Brecon. We got to go on an incredible hike with Daisy one day and I saw views that words can't even begin to describe. The beauty was something that put me in awe. The peaks we climbed were Pen Y Fan and Corn Du. We hiked while sheep grazed among us. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. After the hike, we all went to a local pub to watch a football game of Manchester United vs Manchester City. YAY MANCHESTER CITY!

From Brecon to Cardiff. I really liked Cardiff. For some reason it reminded me of Minneapolis, except Minneapolis doesn't have a castle in the middle of it. 

Story time. So we arrived in Cardiff on a Sunday morning. Our professors wanted to give us some time to see the city so we got there early. Did some shopping in the early afternoon, then walked back to our hotel to get checked in. We then decided to walk to the Castle which was just through the city center. The castle cost 11 pounds so we decided not to check it out. From there we walked to the National Museum after getting lost for a short bit. Didn't last in the museum very long because it was just the day before that we did the long hike in Brecon, so my feet were killing me and I was in flats. Well my professors Daisy and Cathy met up with us at the museum and since it was such a beautiful day out we decided to go to the Cathedral for evening song. So we started walking. At first it was so peaceful strolling through the parks and seeing people enjoy the weather. And we kept walking and passed a cricket stadium and through some random neighborhoods. Well 15 minutes into the walk, my feet are giving me the middle finger and I'm shuffling around like an old lady. I see the group, that is now way a head of me, stop by a building which looked like a cathedral. I finally make it there and see a sign. Homeless shelter. I laugh. Why? To keep from crying! We figure out that the cathedral is about another 15 minutes in the same direction. We push on. Walked through another park and got to see a cricket game. And then finally we see the cathedral in the distance. This one looked legit. Great architecture, grave yard, good history, the whole nine yards. Get to the front. It was closed. Go figure. To top it off, we got a bus ride back to the city center and we got there in 3 minutes. Hilarious!

We also visited the University of Cardiff which was a nice university. This school also was founded in the 1800's. From Cardiff we were off to LONDON! Hooray! There is something about that city that makes me feel so alive. And to me it's interesting that a small town like St. Andrew's and a huge city like London can feel so much like home. We got to do a lot of touring of the city. The weather was fantastic so our day in the city was a 16 hour day. I got to see Abbey Road, go on the London Eye, we went to the Tower of London and hung out by Peter Pan in Kensington Park. It was awesome!

The last school we went to was Cambridge University. That school was so intimidating! To think of how many brilliant people have attended the colleges there and the things they have accomplished and the rich history of the school just blows me away. We also got to punt the cam which was a great way to end the trip! Before you know it, I was getting packed up and headed back to the states.

My time abroad was so refreshing and it really confirmed that I need to be working in International Programs. Someday! I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity and that I have this experience a part of my graduate career. If you would like to hear more, don't hesitate to ask!

Cheers!

SPRING BREAK in MISSISSIPPI

This past week I spent some time down in Pascagoula, Mississippi with a group of ASU students for an Alternative Spring Break trip. After a fresh shower and a meal that doesn't consist of PB&J I am beginning to reflect on a great week. 11 hours. 11 hours I spent in a 12 passenger van to Mississippi with a bunch of students I had only seen a handful of times. We had a vague idea of the type of work we would be doing in a place we knew nothing about. We got down to Pascagoula Saturday evening and soon made plans to go see a Mardi Gras parade in Mobile, Alabama the next day. What a great way to start out a trip! I never knew that I could become so excited about getting beads thrown at me!

Yay Beads!!

Throughout the week we worked on a house that had been impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The house had been flooded and within the last 5 years it has started to slowly get pieced back together. Apparently, soon after Katrina contractors would come to work on people's homes, promise to fix up all the damage but instead took off with their money and left their homes in ruins. Our group got to work on a home by caulking and painting the whole house. We started off the week with excess amounts of enthusiasm and nearly had the house finished painting by the end of the first day. After a little pep talk at the end of our first day, we decided to go back and be a little more meticulous with the work we were doing.

We worked with a man who had grown up in Mississippi but then moved around the country a lot. He heard about things taking place back in MS and decided to help out. What he does is he raises money from the help of donors and finds volunteers to fix up homes in the Pascagoula area. In the past two years he has helped over 50 families who were effected by Katrina.

While working, we kept ourselves entertained fairly well. We sang songs. We spoke in ridiculous accents. We turned the paint into face paint. We climbed up on the roof just to catch a few rays of sun. It was great! An older gentleman Ned was working with us on the house. Ned became a major theme in newly created songs, conversations and inside jokes. The best moments were when we got Ned to sing "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean with us while working on the house. There was also another guy working on the house who was born in MN so of course we got to talking about the land of 10,000 lakes! He now lives in MN but has been coming back to MN in the summers to participate in the triathlon in Buffalo, MN. Crazy meeting up with someone familiar with my home town on a service trip in Mississippi.

Oh Ned!

The group was 9 girls and 1 guy - poor Clay! Everyone was great! On the ride down we were still figuring out each others' names, but by the end of the week we were laughing like crazy and crackin' jokes with each other like we had known each other for years. I don't think I have ever laughed so much in one week. It's funny to me how this group of strangers have seen the real me, while the people I go to class with every day have only - at best- seen a glimpse of who I really am.

Excited faces!!

Wednesday there was a storm in the morning that prevented us from working. We spent the day playing Sardines and taking naps. We also decided to take a little driving tour around Pascagoula. The houses that are now on the Gulf are million dollar homes but there are still a lot of empty lots right there on the coast. You can see other parts of the city are still abandoned and destroyed from the Hurricane. We also somehow ended up by the port just around the time everyone was getting off of work. I don't recommend doing that. YIKES! So many people!

By Friday we had the house all painted on the outside as well as the inside. We even got to grout the kitchen and bathroom floors, which was an unexpected but welcomed task. Our help wasn't a major impact like the home next to us that had 40 people working on it and was gutted and resided within the week. But we did get to move the house one step closer to being a place someone can come home to and hopefully be a continued sign of hope for the people of Mississippi.

The best part of the week was going to get some BBQ at The Shed. Rumor has it this BBQ & Blues joint has been featured on Dinners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It has some incredible BBQ and you can sit outside under the stars warmed by the heat provided by the nearby bonfire all while listening to a great blues band play hits from Johnny Cash and Elvis among many others. It was fantastic! If you ever end up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi you must go eat there! You won't regret it.

And then after another LONG 11 hour drive I am back in Boone. I am so glad I got the opportunity to go to Mississippi for this trip. I was glad to get to know some students that don't live in my building and to be a part of something bigger than myself. I was reminded that one person can really make a difference in this world. I know that I may not be fixing homes and restoring hope, but I do hope that something I am doing here at ASU is making a difference. So all in all - GREAT trip! Mississippi, it's been real!

China isn't that far away...

In just over a week, my dear friend Jenny Fey will be taking a giant leap of faith as she is moving to China to teach English. Yay Jenny! I can remember having so many talks with Jen in our old house at 1183 Farrington St (see below picture...and then read Welcome to the Jungle blog post!)

J mowing the lawn for the 1st time ever!

 about what Jenny would be doing next with her life. Was it going to be grad school? What she supposed to go back overseas? It was a big decision for Jen. One that we prayed about often. Jen thinks I have some sort of 6th sense or that I'm prophetic (doubtful) because I have an uncanny way of guessing things correctly. I just say it's a healthy dose of intuition. But one night after a lengthy discussion on what Jenny is passionate about and the big decisions she was facing in her life, I got a gut feeling. Again. I walked up the stairs, knocked on Jenny's door and said "Jen, you have to go overseas." And after a short stint in Ukraine and the Czeck Republic, she will now be calling Kunming, China her home.

I'm so thrilled for Jenny! I truly feel that this is what she needs to do during this time of her life. She is going to be incredible as a teacher and I can't wait to hear about all the fascinating things she is going to learn and do in her new home. Jen, all I ask is for a Coach purse...don't care what kind of secret, back corner place you get it from! Okay? Thanks! Moving on...

I'm not going to lie, though. It brings a tear to my eye every time I think about how it will probably be a very long time before I get to see her again. Insert major sad face. The last time I was having some ridiculous, girlie, emotional breakdown - one only JFey could cure - I could just fly her down here and life would soon return to its normal state of bliss. That, however, probably won't be happening anytime soon as I have a feeling the flight from China to Boone would set me back a little more.

Yay for best friends!

Nonetheless, I'm very proud of my little Jenny Fey! J- thank you for being such an awesome friend over the years. You are a remarkable woman and I have been blessed to learn so much from you. I know that you are going to do great things over in China and although we are worlds away from each other, I am certain that our friendship is bound to only grow stronger and deeper. Who knows, maybe I will be able to come visit you in Kunming?! Fingers crossed!

I love you, Jenny Fey.