Welll, I'm not good enough. You know those tiny envelopes that colleges send you saying that you didn't get into their school? Turns out the Peace Corps uses the same format. I didn't get accepted. I can't believe they actually turn people away from trying to help. Can you really have enough volunteers? I mean this world is starving and hurting and needs help and they actually turn people away that want to help. I don't understand. Depression has now sunk in so I don't feel like talking anymore. See ya.

I said I would try to blog every day. Sohere I am, trying to fulfill that promise.

Today started out like any other day. I wentto school for my lessons. One of mylessons was canceled. There is one teacher, who I work with, let’s call her L,who I don’t particularly like. And I have triedto like her. Really, I have. And I like to think I’m a fairly good person,but working with L is just so difficult. We never plan lessons. She hasroutinely said things that at best are overly honest, and at worst, just mean. Shetold me to comb my hair one day at school. Now I have curly hair. I haven’tcombed my hair since my pre middle school days. Most people with curly hairknow what a comb will do it. But I don’t have much hair anymore, so she can’tcomment on it, but that’s another story… Anyway,this teacher has it in with my director. This means that basically L can breakall the rules she wants, cancels all the lessons she has, and it doesn’tmatter. I had four lessons with her this week. Out of these four, two werecanceled, one ended about ten minutes in, and the other ended five minutesearly. In America, I wouldn’t have minded the occasional break. I was astressed out college kid taking too many courses and trying to have a good timeat the same time. But now, I am ateacher. At the end of the day, I just feel like the kids are getting gipped. Oneor two lessons might not seem like much, but it is. Language is a habit. If thekids don’t practice, their skills will not improve. But that’s school politics Iguess. Somegood things about today include my inaugural happy hour Wednesday with my sitemate and an email. A while back, I applied to something that could lead togetting myself back on track. It would mean leaving early, but I think it wouldmake me happier. I don’t know what will come of it, and the process isn’t over,but I am hopeful. Today I am hopeful and a bit happy. I haven’t felt this wayin a while, so enjoy the good vibes for now readers, wherever you may be.

Today I have my last medical appointments (annual, and HIV and TB tests). After this, I still have to meet with the Dr. who filled out the first portion of my kit, and have him complete the paper work. I have done all of my testing through my college's medical clinic and fees have been minimal. However, I did have to get a polio booster at a local clinic which cost me 50 dollars. Also, I have one more dental appointment before I am done which is scheduled for the 29th of February. So I am getting very close to having this finished! Overall, the medical has not been too costly, but the dental has been (about 1000 total). So take care of those pearly whites!

As a Youth Development PCV here in Morocco, I do most of my volunteering in a dar chebab (Darija, or Moroccan Arabic, for "youth center"). Mostly I teach and tutor boys and girls in English there.

Since I want them to learn English well, I try to reinforce and otherwise complement the English lessons they have in school. Rather than overloading them with too much information to learn by introducing new vocabulary and grammatical rules in addition to the ones they're learning in school, I teach them about the same material they're studying in school.

Yesterday, I was teaching a small group of four girls. They asked me to teach them about the rooms of a house and what is often found in each room, since they're studying those words in school. In addition to reviewing relevant vocabulary with them, I was showing them how to use some of the words in sentences. So, I was writing sentences such as "He is making couscous" and "She was hungry, so she asked me to make couscous" on the board.

At one point, one of the girls asked me a question, but she was covering her mouth with her hand. Recently I was reading a Peace Corps publication about doing activities with girls. In it, I read about how a girl who is not confident at times will speak with a hand over her mouth. I also read in that book that by asking a girl to pose her question without her hand over her mouth, you're encouraging her to speak with more confidence. Before I'd read that part of that book, I would ask a girl who had posed a question with her hand over her mouth to repeat her question with her mouth uncovered so I could better hear and thus understand the question. However, having recently read this book, last night I asked this particular girl to restate her question while not covering her mouth, for the added purpose of trying to help her to speak with more confidence. Last night, I left the youth center once again reminded that we can encourage and support others in so many ways, some of which are so simple, that often we don't even think of them. However, if we try to be more conscious, alert and sensitive, we will see that in every interaction that we have, we have a chance to show how we believe we should treat others.

So tonight was probably one of the best nights I have had in quite awhile. I still feel like I am on a bit of a high, despite the fact that I have been awake for over 19 hours, worked a 9-hour day, and drove for close to 6 hours. Tonight I went to hear Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams speak at UF in Gainesville, and I have to say that it greatly exceeded my expectations. I'd been debating whether or not to go for the past week, seeing as how Gainesville is about 3 hours from where I live, but considering I already had to be in Orlando for work today I decided to suck it up and haul my butt up to Gator country. The turnout was pretty impressive with a number of people having to stand in the aisles. I was glad to see quite a mix of people including UF students, recent RPCVs, current nominees/invitees, older RPCVs, PC Staff, and other future PC hopefuls. I was incredibly impressed by how great a speaker Director Williams is. He was very articulate and I very much enjoyed his lighthearted demeanor and his sense of humor. I was thoroughly excited and a bit surprised to hear when he stated that the one thing he would change right now is the time it takes for an applicant to go through the PC process from recruitment to actually serving, and I am very interested to see how/when he and PC are able to trim down the application process timeline. Ultimately, the thing that made the night so special for me was getting the chance to speak with RPCVs that served many years ago. I was lucky to have sat next to 2 volunteers that served in the mid-1970s, and it was just so amazing to hear about their experiences and stories. They were full of such wisdom and encouragement! It was just the inspiration and motivation that I needed to put all anxieties, doubts, and frustrations I've been having to rest. So as I continue to wait to be contacted by Placement about a final interview, I just feel very optimistic and fortunate that I will be able to join the PC family, and hopefully someday I will get to attend an event and inspire a future volunteer like those RPCVs did for me tonight.

Todd

a different PC -host country relationship and working organization for me to experience (if my selection process continues successfully in Mexico)

© 2012 Peace Corps. (selected portions from PC Mexico; general and environment-specific)

-----

Coming from different regions of the United States and representing the great diversity of the country; the Volunteers in Mexico currently have an average age of 48. Of these Volunteers, most have Masters or Doctorate degrees and a minimum of three years of professional experience, many with over 30 years of experience.

The support they provide to their host institutions is also diverse and ranges from helping a small community to develop a useful project, to promoting environmental education, or working with a center for scientific and technological development.

Volunteering: Working Conditions

All Volunteers will be assigned one or more counterparts. A counterpart's role, in addition to being the primary person with whom a Volunteer works, is to help the Volunteer to become oriented to his/her new environment and to get acquainted with office staff and the community. The counterpart and/or supervisor may also mentor the Volunteer on specific topics.

Depending on your skill level, you might also be expected to work closely with, mentor, share, and provide training to your counterpart. Gradually you will promote, contribute to, and reinforce your Agency's network, as well as create your own network of contacts and resources for personal and professional support, including collaborations with other Peace Corps Volunteers.

Your fellow Volunteers will frequently be your best resources. Most Volunteers will be working closely with other Volunteers, in the same office, same projects, and/or in nearby communities. Larger cities may have up to ten Volunteers working in two to four offices. This is what Peace Corps Mexico calls "clustering", an important strategy that is used to ensure safety and support networks in a country that is very large. Clusters do not necessarily mean that Volunteers work together on a daily basis or in the same technical or project area, even when they work out of the same office. On rare occasions, however, they do. In the case of a rural assignment, a Volunteer may be placed in a small community, but he/she will communicate regularly with the "central" office, or with nearby communities, in which there are other Volunteers working.

Programs: Environment

Mexico is faced with a tremendous challenge to manage and conserve globally important natural resources in a country where almost 50% of the country lives in poverty and pressure increasing on all natural resources. SEMARNAT, the Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, is made up of a number of smaller agencies that are charged with all aspects of this work, including protection, regulation, protected area management (national parks), wildlife conservation and monitoring, biodiversity, and sustainable income generation. They have few human and financial resources, and Peace Corps has played an important role in strengthening three agencies, CONANP (National Park Service/USFWS equivalent), the state delegations, and CONAFOR (Forest Service).

In its second year of implementation, we conducted a Project review, which has resulted on a focus in building technical and organizational capacity in the planning, management and evaluation processes for projects in four key areas: Environmental Education, Sustainable Livelihoods, Natural Resource and Environment Management and Administration, Information, Communication and Technology.

We continue to refine our site placement and development processes with these organizations and anticipate increasing our numbers in particular with CONANP where most community projects are implemented. This project is the major growth area for Peace Corps Mexico. Our Environment Project's purpose statement is: "Mexican organizations and communities will improve their capacity to advance the sustainable management of Mexico's environment through strengthened environmental education, sustainable livelihoods and protected areas management programs".

Program Goals:

Environmental Education: Organizations and communities will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of environmental education and awareness programsSustainable Livelihoods: Organizations, CBOs and small businesses will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of sustainable livelihood programsNatural Resource & Environment Management: Organizations, CBOs and communities will strengthen their performance, planning and implementation of recommended protected area, natural resources and environment management programsAdministration, Information, Communication & Technology: Organizations will improve their performance, planning, implementation of administrative, information, and communication processes, tools and technology to manage Mexico's environment

How is the recruitment/placement process for Mexico different?

For applicants who meet a "unique skill" request from the Mexican government, yes.

Applicants who have been interviewed by a Peace Corps recruiter and assessed to have skills that may match the Mexico program have their resume forwarded to the Mexico staff for review. If there is a potential fit, the Peace Corps Mexico staff will call the applicant and set up a 30 minute telephone interview. Following this interview, if Peace Corps Mexico feel there is a good match of an applicants skills with a specific job assignment, the applicants resume and bio is sent to the Mexican Host Country Agencies. The Mexican Host Country Agencies must issue an invitation and request directly for each applicant in order for them to serve in Peace Corps.

In addition to approval from the Mexican government, all applicants must receive medical clearance from the Office of Medical Services in Washington DC and pass a final suitability and legal review.

All applicants will be advised within 2-4 weeks of their resume submission to Peace Corps Mexico is their application was accepted, applicants not accepted to the Mexico program are returned to the larger pool of Peace Corps candidates and undergo the normal application and recruitment process. This process does not include receiving prior information about or from potential countries, any specific work assignments, nor holding interviews.

What is the average age range of a PC-Mexico volunteer?

Mexico's program is made up largely of mid to late career professionals or retirees. Approximately 50% of the Volunteers are over 50 in Peace Corps Mexico, and include many couples.

Director Williams came to speak at UF tonight; it was a nice talk, and people asked a lot of good questions about the Peace Corps. The UF Peace Corps office held a reception afterwards for RPCVs/PCVs/applicants and their families afterward, and they gave out 3 invitations! It was pretty awesome, and one of the kids is going to be in the first group back to Nepal. :)

"Dear Future Diplomat: We have reviewed your application materials and would like to move forward in inviting you to interview with [Peace Corps Recruiter] at [State School]".

Sweeeet! :)

I am trying to actually update this blog. My new goal is a post a day, but that may be too ambitious. We shall see. The main reason for this is that I haven't written for an audience in quite a while. I got stuck in a place where all I was really writing were term papers, emails, and lists. Not anything worth commenting on.

So today marks 5 months in country and a little more than 2 months at site. I should feel like this is a big accomplishment, but I don't.

There is quite a bit I could write about, but I have kind of lost perspective. I hope it comes back soon.

The good things about today are that I have peanut butter, hot chocolate, and the water is back in my apartment. All things to celebrate. I am trying to put myself on a path to good feelings, it may take a while, so bear with me. Things may be kind of dark here for a while.

Before I started my application, and throughout this whole process, I've heard about how much waiting there is in the Peace Corps application process. I've been very lucky through this whole thing; I had to wait less than 3 months from the time I submitted my application to when I was first contacted by the pre-placement assistant. However, now it seems like I'm getting a taste of what I missed out on before.

This is what I've seen every time I log into my Toolkit for the past two+ months...though, it could be worse, at least I'm not waiting on medical! I am mailing another updated Skills Addendum (I feel like this happens a lot) to the pre-placement assistant, so hopefully that will help my PO. As much as I want to find out where I'm going/what I'm doing/when I'm leaving, I'm okay waiting to get an invite for a little while...I just want to hear something (they're looking at my file, they're waiting for me to get more experience, they're totally backed up because of the CA reassignments - something).

Restless Applicant Syndrome? Check! ;)

Dear Future Diplomat,

Please excuse the short notice...

You have been selected for a Skype interview for a position in the BEDA Program 2012 on Wednesday, 22nd February at 6:40pm (Spanish Time).

I am so excited. Wish me luck!

The Head Security Guard at my building stopped me as I rushed to my office.

"Wow, you walk fast," he said. "I've never seen anyone walk so fast in my life!"

He shook his head at me as we both laughed, then he shooed me out of the lobby and toward my door.

As I sat at my desk, I had to agree.

I am a fast walker.

I can't count how many times friends have physically pulled my arm back to get me to keep in line with our intentions of having a leisurely stroll, how people have planted themselves against walls to let me by when they see me walking brusquely down the hall, and how my sister (who walks fast herself) just plain stops walking and waits for me to notice my rushed pace.

I walk fast, but half the time, I'm not going anywhere. I don't have anything to do. I'm not rushed to get anything. I don't eat fast. I don't speak fast. I rarely wear a watch, and I can sit still and meditate for hours. I don't know why, but fast-walking is something that was bred into me from childhood.

My walking is very typical of my working style. I'll take the entire morning, and blast through, getting everything done in a clean, precise (but very fast) manner. My supervisor has actually pulled me aside once to tell me "we're not that kind of office" and that I "don't need to stress myself out".

I'm not stressed. I'm just working quickly (maybe too quickly). But if you're like me, someone who leaps and bounds when it's "go time", I've got the perfect remedy:

Apply for the Peace Corps. That'll slow you right down.

I'm only in phase one of the application process, but I am itching to break from this slow, steady pace into a all-out run.

When I received my first packet of information in the mail, I was excited, until I opened it and realized it was just my log-in information. Guess they really, really gotta confirm my identity.

The next packet arrived ten days later, which was good because I think I was nearly about to crawl out of my skin checking the mailbox each day.

Fingerprint cards. Check. NAC forms. Check. Addendums. Chek. Check. Check.

I completed them all in a day and mailed them off.

Now, for the long wait. Again. It can get a little annoying (oh man, I have to fill out which adendum form now?), but it has also allowed me to really calm it down and just move slowly.

Joining the Peace Corps cannot be a accomplished in just one day...

For more on this topic, check out Brittany's blog post, "Why the Peace Corps is Worth the Wait".

She explains it way better that I!

Well, I suppose that the application process is sufficiently along the time line for blogs to be drafted. Any interesting comments are on the Time Line page...............but as soon as possible actual information will be presented here. At the moment, I am still tweaking the design of the web site and tying up loose ends at work and home.

Too legit to quit! It's not much, just my toolkit information, but I love the fancy paper and the "officialness" of it all :D

One thing about being in a "Corps" (any corps -- AmeriCorps, Army Corps, Peace Corps) is that you have to get used to completing a TON of paperwork during the application process.

I got my first taste of the paperwork barrage when I thought I was finished with my first leg of the application process, only to be inundated with nearly 7 pages of extra questions about my health.

"It should only take 10 minutes," Peace Corps said.

Yeah. Right. 20 minutes later...lol

In other news, two of my references submitted their recommendations, and my good friend will submit on Friday, so at least that's something, right?!

I feel like Lao-tzu; the thousand mile journey begins with a single step...

One of my recent Peace Corps essays mentioned Whitney Houston, and how little kids in Southern Chile would shout her name at me as I walked down the street. Little Chilean kids, sometimes not much older than 10, knew who she was. What a legacy she had.

I leave you with my favorite performance by Whitney. I was just a child when she sang it, but it rocked my world. In fact, me and my sister play her version every 4th of July.

I don’t give advice. I’m not wise. But I thinkthis will help you.

Unpack once you get to site. If you don’t,you will always feel as though you are in transit. Unpacking will make thingsfeel permanent, even if they aren’t. You will need this when everything feelscrazy.

Drink tea. Eastern Europe is cold. Tea willkeep you warm. Plus, apparently peeing makes you warmer. The logic behind thisis that contracting bladder muscles uses energy that could otherwise be keepingyou warm.

Talk to strangers. This is pretty commonlyaccepted Peace Corps wisdom. Strangers can and will become your friends.

Go with the flow. People aren’t punctualand pretty much anything that can getcanceled will.

This last piece of advice is a bitcontroversial but I’ll tell you anyway. Knowwhen to say when. Early termination isn’t so much talked about as is itgossiped about. Have your values beforeyou ever set foot in country and know when enough is enough.

Edit: I realized this all probably sounds glib and trite.

(Some) Friends and Family's Reactions to Me...

...moving to Chile (July, 2002; age 17):

"Be safe!"

"Have fun!"

"Call us often!"

"I'm so jealous!"

"You're going to be a world citizen!"

...moving to Germany (March, 2004; age 19):

"Have fun!"

"Isn't it good to be young?"

"You're going to learn so much!"

"Aren't you...scared to be in Eastern Europe?"

"Be safe!"

...moving (back) to Chile (Jan, 2005; age 20):

"Is that where your boyfriends are?"

"Bring back more Pisco!"

"Keep traveling!"

"You're like, fluent now, right?"

"You're going to live in Chile forever!"

...moving to Mexico (Aug, 2006; age 21):

"Oooh, you're going to meet so many cute guys!"

"I've always wanted to go there!"

"You're so smart -- keep your Spanish strong!"

"You young people are so carefree!"

"Have fun!"

...moving to Japan (Aug, 2008; age 23):

"Make that money, girl!"

"How long is the flight?"

"Can I come with you?"

"Bring me back some sushi!"

"Good career move -- get some experience before joining the American job market!"

...applying to the NALC Program in Spain (Nov, 2011; Age 27):

"Is that really a good idea?"

"You can't travel forever"

"You're such a world traveler!"

"What about a boyfriend?"

"You've got until you're 35 to settle down and get a family"

...submitting my application to the Peace Corps (Jan, 2012; age 27):

"Awkward silence"

"You can't travel forever"

"When are you going to settle down?"

"What about a career?"

"I knew it!" (This one made me smile)

--

Only 10 years later, and peoples' reactions to my travels have changed so very much. Is it my age? Are folks worried about me? Hmm. Just a little bit of food for thought.

...beep, beep, beep! Peace Corps application is almost done. Amazing how it's taken me 5 years to get to this point! Wish me luck!

There has been much contention on Facebook, the forums, and in many other online arenas regarding the lack of pay for auxiliares (namely in Andalucia, La Rioja, and Catalunya), so much so that many people who were excited to head for Spain are now rethinking their plans.

Though I am still excited for Spain, I decided I needed a Plan B.

Much to my suprise, a random Facebook link gave me that option!

There is another program in Spain, very similar to the Ministry program, that has caught my interest. It's called the BEDA Language and Culture Assistant Program. The acronym stands for Bilingual English Development and Assessment, and is located in Madrid (and some parts of Andalucia).

What attracted me to this program was it's location, the attention paid to its own mission, and the opportunity the program affords auxiliares to take on more hours (and make more than 700e/month).

I only applied last week, and hours (between 24 and 16) come on a first-come, first-served basis. I hope that I can get something smack dab in the middle (20 hours gets me 866 euros, which is nothing to scoff at, lol).

The application process is a bit different from the Minstry program, in that you actually have to describe your history with Spanish, teaching, and your foreign travel. You must also sit for an interview, done via Skype. That should be interesting!

If you'd like to have more information, here is a link to the BEDA Program's .pdf FAQ document!

Work has been killer this week -- thank goodness it's almost over!

On a high note, I trained at the state EMA building these past few days. It was pretty cool!

Our exit examinations were in the DOC, so we got to sit at the desks of all the "important people". We all thought it was funny to look up at the wooden namecards and pretend we were those people; some folks got really cool seats, like "governor" and "director of homeland security", but when I realized where I was sitting, I could only shake my head: I'd somehow managed to sit in the "youth coordinator" seat.

Sigh. As if I don't seem young enough :) !

PS - Please ignore the structure and grammar of this post, haha. I'm too sleepy to write clearly! ;)

Spent the better half of the afternoon watching NOVA's entire "The Fabric of the Cosmos" series. I just have to say, the universe(s???) is so utterly, awesomely, gorgeously, beautifully AMAZING.

I just got one of my best friends on board for Spain...as well as my younger sister and her boyfriend. Besides my twin, that makes 3 new folks. Will I have a whole crew riding with me to Spain? Maybe, but only if the program is still running come September...

(fingers crossed).

I've become vegetarian again. A vegetarian who ferociously consumes fish. Who...wouldn't shy away from eating that "please enjoy and appreciate our culture" meat-infused dish (that somehow is always dripping with blood).

I surmise neither buying nor cooking meat makes me something, right? Let's just say I wouldn't go out of my way to grab a burger from the fast food chain down the block.

My mother would be semi-proud, though she eats fish now; meat (any type of meat) used to be FORBIDDEN. No, it wasn't haram. It just wasn't done in our home.

I must chuckle, because my younger self would be astonished. Future Me? Eating meat? NEVER!

Times do change ;)

A pretty uneventful New Year's Eve came and went for me...it was pretty relaxed compared to year's past in Tokyo, Korea and Cleveland...but it was still very fulfilling.

Have a happy winter season and a prosperous New Year!

I've been admitida in the North American Language and Culture Program for a couple of weeks now, but this is the first time it actually feels real. I have a laundry list of things I need to get done, but the most important things on my list are getting my passport renewed and getting my BCI (thank goodness Chicago does not require all the buereacratic nonsense of Miami or New York).

One thing I am dreading is my international police certification. I have to get one for countries I have lived in for six months or more in the past five years...unfortunately for me, this means I do have to jump through some logistical hoops. I need to get a police certificate of good record from the consulate in Tokyo, have that verified at the Spanish consulate in Tokyo, and then get that sent back to Chicago with my visa application.

Sigh. Luckily my friends back in Tokyo can help...hopefully!

I just hope this doesn't turn into a bureaucratic nightmare!

There are two tiers on the paternal side of my family, consisting of the "younger" and the "older" cousins. 13 years separate the youngest/oldest of the cousins.

Unfortunately for me, I reside in the elder group. That means my Christmases consisted of overalls, bookmarks, gift cards and "practical" stuff.

Now that the grandparents and uncles and aunts have gotten used to "gift-giving" to children, my younger cousins have hit the jackpot: tell me again why ten and thirteen-year-olds need iPads, iPhones, video games, light sabers AND gift cards?

Am I jealous? Yeah...but, watever ;)

Hope your holiday season has been as interesting as mine!

Eve Richer, a filmmaker and assistant in Spain, put together this short video in order to illustrate, in small part, how the Spanish economic dowturn has hit language assistants in Catalunya.

Around 100 assistants have not been paid, so many decided to protest what they believe is an extremely unfair situation.

If you are planning to participate in the program this upcoming year, I would definitely watch the video just to put a face to what's going on in Catalunya:

http://vimeo.com/34014213

I didn't know if I had the heart to comment on it, but I must, if only to make it real in my mind:

Around 100 auxiliares in Catalunya have not been paid their wages for three months.

First, they were told they would be paid around November 15th, then December 1st, then before December 10th. Now their pay has been pushed back again to December 31st.

Many of the auxiliares do not believe they will be paid on December 31st.

And then there is this article. If you can't read Spanish or Catala, the most important part of this article (discussing the debt the general Spanish governemnt owes to Catalunya):

"Homs ha avançat que aquest impagament tindrà com a conseqüència “problemes de tresoreria molt greus”. De fet, el portaveu del Govern ja ha apuntat que una de les repercussions podria ser el retard del pagament de les nòmines dels funcionaris."

Homs has announced that non-payment will result in "serious cash flow problems." In fact, the government spokesman has said that the repercussions could delay payment of the salaries of civil servants.

Though auxiliares are not considered "civil servants", if Barcelona can't pay its civil servants, how can they afford to suppliment the stipend of the auxiliares?

Ridiculous.

I was just admitida officially to the program yesterday, and I am more than a little nervous about the possibility that I may not be paid for my work next year (will there even be a next year?). I so want to go to Spain, but at the risk of being even poorer than I am now? No, gracias.

I feel bad for the auxiliares currently in Spain, though. What a low way to be treated. How could they be strung along like that? The facebook messages, between the "I don't have any food" and "I only have 3 euros in my account" comments, are just upsetting.

Sigh. Part of me just hopes they pack up the program in Catalunya and push everyone that applied to Catalunya down to their second choice. Mine is Madrid.

Fingers are definitely crossed that everything works out...but if it doesn't, I suppose graduate school is in the stars ;)

I couldn't manage any pics.

Turns out my friend took us to the wrong restaurant, haha. So sad. Anyway, the food was great. I hadn't had fufu since I was a little kid -- and it's a mouthful as I remembered it, lol. Goat meat in peanut soup was also delicious, as was the rice and chicken. I ended up pretty satisfied, and we all had to sit and wait a bit for the food to digest before we finally left.

Good eatin' times!

Going out to eat at a local West African restaurant in t-minus one hour. I am so excited! I haven't had West African food since Thanksgiving (well, the African American version of West African food) --- can't wait for the deliciousness!

Pics and deets to come later.

I spent all day yesterday preparing for my organization's chili cook-off today. I must say, our committee did an excellent job. We had ten fabulous entries, tons of prizes, a trivia session and a raffle.

And, might I add, I won for "Best Vegetarian Chili", though it's not as cool as you might think: I was the only one who made a vegetarian dish. Ha.

Behold our prizes and decorations...all either handmade, donated or purchased with a snazzy company card.

(source of image)

Deciding what is racist, and what is not racist isn't as hard as one might think. In the case of blackface in Spain, all you need to do is ask yourself these two simple questions and the answer to "is it racist?" will become glaringly apparent.

Simply ask yourself:

1. Have I ever, ever in my life seen a Black man or woman who had naturally pitch black skin, hair always cropped in a wooly afro, and bright red lips...all at once?

2. Is it just a coincidence that all the powerful nations of the world (from Europe to North America down to Latin America) created this image of "the jolly/helper Black person" at the exact same time?

If you can answer "no", to these questions, then blackface in Spain is racist. If you can't, then I call bullshit on your critical thinking skills.

You know what would be really exceptional? If these people actually took off all that red lipstick and black paint, and INVITED African and Middle Eastern people who actually live in Spain to participate in these Christmas parades and celebrations.

I have yet to see a person of Middle Eastern/African decent even have the chance to represent himself as a mago.

And for those of you who honestly believe this is for the most part innocent, and "just another inherent Spanish celebration", please research the history of blackface in Europe (no, not in the United States, Europe). Don't forget to read the part where early costumes did not call for these people to wear wooly wigs and bright red lips, that these were added traditions that coincided with the end of the slave trade and the begining of *gasp* the popular blackface caricature.

This is why you can see this same blackface image represented over and over again all over the world.

Black people don't look like this.

Be keen, my auxiliares in Spain. Examine your surroundings. Ask for or read the opinions of Arab/Afro-Spaniards (no, they won't all agree) about blackface in their country and how it makes them feel.

Really listen to their words, and learn from them.

The man fixing my kebab has a slight smile on his face. He turns to his friend, saying something in rushed Farsi. He looks back at me, slapping a bit of sauce over the meat.

“So, tell me,” he says, “how can I get a black girlfriend?”

He says it so matter-of-fact. It doesn’t really even sound that much like a question. Is this his way of asking me out? I look past his face over to his friend, who gives me a small shrug.

I don’t hesitate, as much stop a moment to contemplate my current situation. I’m not really too shocked. More annoyed. He’s trying to be nice, I can tell, but it hasn’t worked well. Is it a compliment? Or am I just an easy target? A black girl in Seoul? I must be desperate or something, right?

He’s waiting for an answer now.

“Well,” I say, “you can go to Africa.”

He looks a bit shocked, now. I hadn’t meant for it to sound so snide, but as the words come out, I realize I’ve offended him.

“Yeah,” he says, sheepishly,”that sounds like a good suggestion.”

He hands me the kebab and I turn to look for my new friends. Had they seen this exchange? Am I now a pariah? I mean, I did just tell a man to “go to Africa”, that’s gotta count against me in some way, right?

The lone male of the group is outside, having already eaten his kebab. He leans against the wall, people-watching and probably thinking more about his next beer than my personal woes. Next to him is a tiny girl, bobbed-hair and killer shoes. She is standing in the street, kebab in one hand, bottle of beer in the other. She’s got on a frilly little skirt, and each time the wind blows, it flutters about her.

The last girl is leaning against the wall behind me, nonchalant. Typical East Coast style, long hair parted to the side, over her shoulder. She reminds me of the girls from my own neighborhood. Relaxed and reflective.

No one’s really noticed how standoffish I’ve been…and no one really cares. They’re a live and let live type of group. Chill.

I smile to myself. Chill. I think I’m going to like this.

I love Chile. I consider the country to be my second home. When I was seventeen, I lived there for six months as an exchange student. Though not my first time abroad (what's up, Canada?!), it was the first time I was without my family and friends. When I arrived in Chile, I didn't know what to expect...but after six months of living in an entirely different culture (and not without lots of ups and downs), I felt I gained a second family, an entire group of friends, and another home.

Because I had such an awesome high school experience, I decided to come back for university. I was three years older, more confident and had "big plans". Though still living with a host family, it was in an apartment in a swanky neighborhood and several other young people in my program lived nearby. It was so on.

I was young and carefree. I really didn't pay attention to my surrounding and just "went with the flow" many times. When I look back on my attitude at the time, I sometimes wonder how I managed to get robbed only once...

"Look at the meter!"

I'm sitting in the backseat of the taxi, squished between someone's leg and someone's back. I think there's a girl on my lap, but I'm not sure. We've definitely overcrowded this small cab, but the taxista doesn't seem to mind. The more stops we go to, the more money he gets.

But now we're looking at the meter. Didn't it just say 4,000 pesos? Why is it now 6,000 pesos? We haven't been parked here for that long. How's the meter going up like that?

But we're happy, and we've been drinking, and no one really cares about the meter because we've just had so much fun at insert-name bar and we feel really lucky to be in our big group of friends.

J and C hop out of the taxi and slip me some cash for their portion of the fare.

I can move now, I'm unsquished. The taxista is friendly, driving around. He's practicing his English. Some rock-ish band is playing on the radio, and I fake like I know the words. Am I even singing in Spanish?

We make another stop, and soon it's just me and T., who lives a couple blocks from me. We pull up to his apartment, and he jumps out quickly.

"It's March," He says, "why's it getting so cold?"

I laugh, partly because I'm tipsy, but mostly because I love how gringos always forget the seasons are the other way 'round down here. I'm prepared. Six months living in Temuco trained me.

We both look over at the meter, and somehow it's at 9,000 pesos. The meter just read 6,000 pesos a few minutes ago -- it should only be 8,000 pesos at most!

"That's weird," I say. But we shrug and he waves goodbye, and now I'm alone.

Since I live on the Andes side of town, past the metro, past the bus stop, I'm always the last one to get dropped off.

The taxista is laughing loudly, and another rock band is playing on the radio. I'm so sleepy, a mix of the alcohol and the late night carrette.

Just a few more blocks and I'll be in my bed.

We arrive at my apartment. And then I look at the meter. 11,000 pesos. What in the-? Either his meter is broken or something is up.

But I don't say anything because, again, I'm tired, tipsy and just wanting to crawl into bed.

"Can you pull in the light?"

He's parked off under some trees. It's so dark I can barely see. He moves the car, but only a little. There's this bizarre half-cast shadow across everything. But at least I can see my purse.

I pull out a clean, crisp 10,000 peso banknote and a 1,000 peso banknote.

"Gracias."

The taxista takes the money. There's some shuffling as I reach for the door, then -

"Señorita! Wait-!"

He's smiling, and he starts laughing. He's handing my money back to me, still smiling broadly, friendly. He's holding two 1,000 bills. He winks at me, as if to say "oopsie, look what ya did!"

Realizing my mistake, I laugh and like a complete fool, I reach back into my purse for a second 10,000 bill. I hand it to him.

My hand is on the door, but then...

"Señorita!"

The taxista is smiling again, and he's trying to give me that same wink, but something is wrong. He's holding up two 1,000 bills. Again.

My heart sinks down and settles really low into my stomach as I realize what's happening. I may have just come from partying, but I know, I know I handed him the correct bills. Like an idiot, I start trying to reason with him to give me my money back. I'm pulling out all my ace cards, my "I'm not a rich gringa!" rationalizations.

And this pendejo has the nerve, the nerve to get pissed at me. He really just wants all my money. It's disgusting.

I make a mistake. I pull out my phone and start dialing the number for the police. I tell him I'm calling the cops.

And he freaks out. And he starts driving away. And I'm still inside the taxi.

I just go into stealth mode. I don't even remember if I say anything, but I open the door and roll out, Laura Croft style. I must look like a madwoman, tumbling out a moving vehicle...maybe even some passersby thinkI'm hammered. But there was no way I am going to stay in some irate man's taxi.

In an instant, I'm on the phone and T. says he's on his way. He keeps asking if I'm okay -- and I am. I have my purse and I'm close to my house. But I've just been robbed, taken on a tiny joy-ride, and I feel like crap. I'm not tipsy anymore.

Weeks later, the story of me literally rolling in the deep is the talk of our group. We chalk it up to just "another night in the life of a gringa", but I can't help thinking on it. I know it wasn't about me in particular but, really? What the fuck did that taxista really know about me?

He probably pulled up to my Las Condes apartment and said, "Wow, this chick is just begging to get robbed". What he probably didn't realize (or even give a shit about) was the fact that I maxed out my credit card to come to Chile, that I paid a host family to house me in their apartment, and that I painstakingly counted every dime to make sure I could afford to eat day-to-day, because my Chilean family was only required to feed me dinner (and if you've ever lived in South America, you realize that lunch, not dinner, is the biggest and most expensive meal of the day).

It's the first and last time I've ever been robbed in this way, but the experience doesn't shake my love for Chile.

Yet, nearly 7 years later, I still find myself thinking back on that taxista, and I wonder how he spent that money. Sometimes I find myself asking him, "was it really worth it?"

Maybe it was, but I doubt it.

Day 16 (Jan 4) - Madison

Monday was another slow day. The kids are back at school, her husband was at work, and Becky has a lot of research to do for her upcoming trip to UK, so she's busy as well. Midday, we started working on kid #3's new dresser. I was sanding it while Becky went out to buy paints for it. When she got back we did the primer for it.

A couple days ago, someone mentioned a musical genre that was new to me, dubstep. I found some songs on youtube such as stuff from Mt Eden Dubstep and Snoop Dogg Millionaire. Officially loving the sound of this stuff!

Day 17 (Jan 5) - Madison

Same deal as the day before. Becky had to work and the kids were at school. Becky went to the mall to take care of some stuff, so I went to pick up the kids from school when they were done. Their school was small and friendly. It's been so long before I'd been in an elementary school before. They wanted to show me off to their teachers and stuff. It's so cute when they introduce me to people "This is our couchsurfer!". I love that.

At night, Becky and I went to a Couchsurfing meetup at the restaurant Africana. Only two other guys showed up, Jason and Mo, but that was fine. They were cool guys. At some point during dinner, I must have had an allergic reaction to the sauce my chicken was in, because my throat started closing up. It wasn't that bad, but I was still worried because we were going to karaoke afterwards, and I was really excited to get up and sing my song.

We got to GOMERoke right around 9pm, and I signed up for my song "Baby Got Back". The girl at the sign up table told me to ask them if they could do it because it wasn't on the band's songlist. So I went up to the keyboardist, who's quite literally insane, of the Gomers, and asked him if it was cool. He said it was fine, and they'd add some riffs to my rapping. The band is really great, but from what I saw last time, the keyboardist is definitely my favorite. He's so funny on stage, and knows how to give a really great show.

I was up 4th. I was really excited to go because "Baby Got Back" is a song I know like the back of my hand and I could kill it. The only thing was that I was performing in front of the rock and country crowd, and there isn't a single hip hop song on their entire playlist. As soon as I started, people began coming to the dancefloor and it pumped me up even more. After I finished, I came down and got my free drink ticket because everyone who sings got a free drink. A bunch of people shook my hand, and one girl even gave me a hug. I felt great!

Also, I started my 2010 travels map. A little bare now, but I'm still only one week into January! Here's 2010. Save it to follow along with my travels =) Oh, and here's 2009 for those who wonder what I was up to then.

Day 14 (Jan 2) - Madison

Yesterday was frigid and cold. Perfectly fine if we were sitting inside, but we weren't. Becky's husband and the kids went to visit his family, so we saw this as a perfect opportunity to see some of downtown Madison. We didn't realize it was SIX DEGREES OUT! Anyways, we went to the Capitol building, which is modeled after the Washington DC Capitol. It was beautiful inside, and there was even a liberty bell inside. This was my first time inside any state capitol building even though I've been in 25 states now.

After that, we went to see Lake Monona. It was frozen, but quiet on the water. Becky told me usually people are ice skating or fishing or ice boating on the lake, but I guess everyone was still recovering from New Years Eve because the lake was empty.

At night, we went to the Club Tavern in Middleton to see Pat McCurdy. I heard his name tossed around a few times since I got her, and I heard he's a bit of a legend in the Midwest, so I was excited to see his show. He does mostly comedy songs, including Irish songs, Country, camp fire songs, and other people's music done in different genres. There was a section of his show where he was asking people what were their names and hometowns, and sang a song about them. I was chosen, and he made a little pass at the Phillies for losing the World Series, then continued on about how I hooked up with most of the star athletes in Philadelphia.

Towards the end he did a few of his popular songs that have dances along with them. A lot of the people in the crowds seemed to be regular, because most people did the moves as he sang. A bunch of girls got up on stage to dance to this one song, and the moves seemed simple enough, so I jumped up there too. I had so much fun at the show. I tried to convince Becky to get up there too, but it wasn't her thing.

Day 15 (Jan 3) - Madison

The day was pretty lazy. We slept in late, and in the afternoon we took down the Christmas tree. The family came home around noon, and the kids played with their new toys they got from their grandma. It was pretty quiet until they arrived, so my ears were not accustomed to the noise at that point. Eventually they left to go buy a new beta fish, and I finished watching my movie.

Day 12 (Dec 31) - Chicago

Becky and the kids were heading back to Madison, so we went to have brunch at Pauline's, a small diner with a real nice feel to it. The kids and I already had breakfast, but Becky and her sister hadn't yet so they were calling it breakfast. Everyone ordered breakfast food except for me. I got a burger, and the oldest kid asked me "Danni, why are you eating a hamburger for breakfast?" and I responded because it's 2pm and we've already eaten breakfast.

After that, I went to Jessie's place, and sat around waiting for her to get ready for her art showing at First Friday the next day. While I waited, I worked on a collage bookmark. We rounded up her stuff, and went back to the Flat Iron to see what she had to work with and how she would display her stuff.

Jessie was not feeling well, and decided not to do anything for New Years. This suddenly meant that I had nothing to do and nowhere to sleep for NYE. I sent out an SOS on Couchsurfing to this woman Lorie who was organizing a get together for Couchsurfers at a bar walking distance from the Flat Iron and she mentioned her surfer was snowed-in in Fargo. 15 MINUTES LATER.... Lorie texted me and said it would be fine, to just come down to the bar and we'd figure out sleeping arangements.

So Jessie dropped me off at Danny's Bar, promising that if she was feeling better she'd come down for a bit close to midnight. I had lots of fun there, dancing to great music with the Chicago CSers, and a bunch of out-of-towners who also wanted to spend NYE there. Lorie was on the dance floor all night long, constantly pulling us back if we stopped. I was really happy when Jessie finally called back around 11:30 saying she was coming. She showed up a few minutes before midnight, and we rang in the New Year together dancing. Overall, NYE set a good tone for how I'd like the rest of the year to be.

Around 2am, we finally got back to Lorie's place. Another Couchsurfer, Susan, was staying there as well. I spent the entire ride home trying to convince them to do the plunge with me the next morning.

Day 13 (Jan 1) - Chicago - Madison

Woke up bright and early and put my bathing suit on. Why, you ask? Because I was on my way to Lake Michigan in 13 degree weather to do the POLAR BEAR PLUNGE!! Lorie, Susan, and I got to the beach at 11am so that we could get a good parking spot. Luckily the parking was free for the day. When we got to the beach, Susan decided she was going to plunge as well! In total, there was about 15 Couchsurfers who showed up, and about 9 jumpers I think...

When I first plunged, all the air rushed out of me, and I thought I would pass out. I kept running to a place I felt comfortable to dunk my head in. There was no such thing as acclimating, because my body was already frozen at that point. When I got out, we all noticed that our legs were bleeding because of the chunks of ice all over the place. Luckily, we didn't feel it yet at that point. Jessie showed up a few minutes after I'd plunged, and because one of the other CSer's friends showed up to do it, Jessie agreed to plunge with this girl Julie.

Afterwards, Julie, her CS friend Joellen, and I went to lunch at R.J. Grunt's. A bunch of others were supposed to come, but couldn't find parking and just went home. I had a hot bowl of chili and they had the buffet. I then realized that my phone was dying, and I didn't have my charger, so Joellen offered to give me a ride all the way back to Lorie's house to get it. Joellen was really inspiring to talk to, and gave me some inspiration for how I should go about 2010. When I got to Lorie's, I put my phone on the charger, and Lorie let me take a hot shower.

I met Jessie at the Flat Iron for First Friday, and watched her set up a bit until Lorie showed up. We walked around a bit, and then my other friend Rae Jang, from the study abroad I did at Korea University in 2007, came up with her boyfriend. We all walked around for about an hour and saw the various galleries from the artists at the Flat Iron.

I said my goodbyes, and took the 8:30pm bus back to Madison from Union Station in Chicago. Becky met me at the bus, and took me back to her place.

Today we are probably going to see downtown Madison.

Day 11 (Dec 30) - Chicago

Becky, the kids (+ cousins), Becky's mom, and I went to Chinatown to check it out. It looks kind of like the one in Philly except it's got more pagodas and cooler architecture. Our arch is better though! We walked around buying little knick-knacks for the kids, then went to this restaurant that is popular in the area. You could tell, because the line was out the door. It took a bit to get seated since there was 8 of us, but lunch was really good.

On the way back to Becky's mom's place, I got a message from Jessie to come to Granville station which was only two stops past Becky's on the red line. She told me to meet her at Metropolis Cafe, which is supposed to be one of the best in Chicago. After some tea, we went to do some more house hunting!

__House#5: A and her roommate live in a place similar to the girls from the previous day, except this house was sort of perfect. Exactly what Jessie's been looking for, except a little out of her price range. A is a grad student, and does art in her free time. She converted the basement into a studio for art, and there's also a laundry in the house so she wouldn't have to run around trying to find one. Alas, they also wanted someone for January 1, which is too early for her.

__House#6: J's place was pretty cool, but seemed more like a chill pad, and not a live pad. They had 4 rooms and 2 living rooms, so it gave the illusion of having more room than it did. It was all guys who lived there, and the place didn't seem like it was being taken care of at all. The bathroom was filthy, and the toilet seat was even split in two. As we walked out, a rat ran past us on the street, and we knew this place was no good.

Afterwards, we returned to the Flat Iron for a little bit, and went to eat dinner at Earwax. They asked us if we wanted a booth or to sit under the monkey, so of course we chose under the monkey. Dinner was really delicious. On our way out, one of the waiters stopped us, and said "We have something for you", and handed us a container. Inside was the cutest cupcake ever! We went Myopic, a cool bookstore across the street and ate our cupcake while reading books.

Day 10

Yesterday, Tuesday, was tons of fun!

I got up bright and early myself, and went down to Hyde Park around the University of Chicago. I saw Obama's Chicago residence, or at least the tiny bit of it not covered by tall trees. There was security as well, so I couldn't get close to it. I went to the Oriental Institute Museum, which has an amazing collection of stuff from the ancient Near East (Babylonians, Persians, Nubians, Egyptians, etc..). Afterwards, I was just walking around campus and the parks around it when my friend Jessie called me back. I stayed with her last time I was in Chicago, and we had tons of fun, so I knew no matter what we did, it would be tons of fun again.

I took the train to where she lived, then we took her car to apartment hunting. She got these people off Craigslist, and was hoping to get something around Logan Square. All the houses we went to see were pretty "interesting" in their own ways.

__House #1: We went to see T first who was a single (not otherwise relevent, except he kept mentioning it in email to Jessie) man in his 30s, who had a super nice apartment that he designed himself. He was a bit intense and neurotic, and his laugh was ....... interesting. Jessie decided that she probably couldn't share a living space with someone like that, and we moved on to the next house.

__House #2: Next house was inhabited by P and T, two guys who promised that if they had a girl living with them, their place would be more clean. Both of them were stoners. The place was very bare, and the guys were more someone you'd want to party with than live with. The verdict was in: NO WAY.]

__House #3: This house gave out lots of bad vibes before we even went inside. Jessie's phone died, there was no free parking on the street, and there was a gate on the front that had no door bell so we had to scream hoping they would hear us. Somehow luckily, they did and came down and let us in. T and M were two girls who were still in college, but didn't want to live in dorms. Their place was very cute, and they seemed like two girls, but that place just called out NO to us for some reason. We moved on....

__House #4: This house had a SUPER CHEAP ROOM. It was very close to Logan Square. In fact, we were at a gas station charging our cellphones when they called Jessie, and we were ONLY A BLOCK AWAY. It was the first good sign. It was also very close to Jessie's friend's house, which was sign #2. The inside was a definite fixer upper, but for $215 a month before utilities, I would totally take that then go wild at Ikea if it were me. Before house #3, we went to this cafe on Logan Square, New Wave Coffee, and one of the roommates at house #4 was in one of the photos from the exhibit at the cafe. I asked if it was her, and she said yes! Sign #3 that it was good. They also had a roommate named "Release" who was Mexican as we were told, and lived in a space behind the fridge that was covered by some wood panels and a big lock on it. Everything we heard about this guy from the other roommates was pretty legendary. Seems they had 5 people living there, and 2 were moving out, so they needed 2 more. Basically, the only bad things were that the roommates seemed a little too dirty (not them personally, their living space), the place seemed a bit shady with the law, and she didn't know if she could trust her valuables there. Anyways, if it were me, I'd wanna live there for a few months, just for the experience!

After all that, we went to the exhibit opening at this one Japanese restaurant for an artist Jessie was interning for. We got some free sushi and free drinks, then after a few hours went back to their place. They live in this building that's full of art studios, and some people just rent studios and others live there. Jessie's friend was working on something in one of the other studios, so we visited him for a few hours. Jessie painted a bit, and I mixed her paints for her. I got back to Becky's parents' around 1:15am.

A GOOD DAY! Can't wait to see Jessie again today.

Day 8

Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early, but we weren't packed and out of the house til about 1pm. It's a little difficult with the kids too. So Becky, the kids, and I set off for Chicago via Milwaukee.

In Milwaukee we stopped at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The building (click here) itself is stunning, and has wings that open and close at various times of the day. We went there to see the Warhol exhibit, where they were showcasing his non-commercial stuff. I really loved his stuff, and rest of the museum had great pieces as well.

After that, we continued on and arrived in Highland Park, IL around 6pm. Every year, Becky and her family go to Fuddruckers in Highland Park for dinner. It was a bit awkward at first, but I'd met a lot of the family members before, so it was ok. After dinner, we went to her sister's in law's place for some refreshments, and got into Chicago around 11pm. We were staying at her parents' house in the Edgewater section of Chicago. Oddly enough, I RECOGNIZED THIS PLACE. I drive right past their house to get on the highway to leave Chicago back in October. What a coincidence! And crazy that I even noticed.

Day 9

Today morning, I went with Becky's mom to the Salvation Army where she donated a bunch of stuff. I bought a bathing suit that I will need later in the week (^_^). We spent most of the day waiting for Becky's sister to come down with her family. When we got there, we took the L down to Macy's downtown that is famous for its Walnut Room that has a huge tree. We went there for dessert, then back to her parents'. Becky went out with her sister, and I just stayed in with the kids.

Friday we played the kids' board games all day. Pikturika is lots of fun!

Saturday, Becky and I went to the local mall and just hung out for a bit. Afterwards, went back to the big steep hill for some more sledding. My butt is all bruised up now. Ouch! At night, Becky, Alex (neighbor's godson), and I went bar hopping for a bit.

Today........................ MILWAUKEE THEN CHICAGO!!! Can't wait =D

Day 4

On Wednesday, we were supposed to go to a museum in Milwaukee to see the Warhol exhibit there, but got snowed in. Spent the day with the kids instead. We watched YouTube videos for hours. The kids' friend came over for a sleepover and we made some peanut butter cookies.

Day 5

We were baking Christmas sugar cookies for Santa. In the oven, some sugar cookies fell off the pan, onto the coils, and started a small fire. We managed to put it out with baking soda, then finished the cookies. Afterwards, we decorated them into all cool designs. The kids got a bit carried away, and some of them looked really awesome! We also shoved a 3D snowman in there, but he melted. L'sad.

We went to Becky's friend's (Naomi) house. She's an awesome cook as I had been hearing for the past week. We hung out there for a few hours for some linner (lunch-dinner), then came back. The family went to church, and when they got back, Brett's brother came over and the family we went sledding with Monday morning. We had some drinks and then went to bed.

Day 6

CHRISTMAS MORNING!! The kids got tons of awesome gifts. I didn't expect to get anything, but I got a gift card from Becky and Brett. Also got a take-apart-eraser, which is meant to be said as one fast word. The kids love those things, and already have at least 30 of them! Now I do too!

Day 2

We got up early, and went out sledding in the snow with Becky's 3 kids, Ma (10), Au (8), and Ai (6). Some of Becky's neighbors went as well, and then we did that for a while so that Becky could get some chores done at home. Afterwards, we took the kids to the dentist, then went shopping.

After the dentist, we met Becky's sister and her family again in downtown Madison. After walking around for a bit, we had some dinner, and went back home. Some more of Becky's neighbors came over, and their godson who's my age. We talked for a bit, and he said he might be able to show me around a bit as well. That'd be cool. He has a car.

Day 3

There was even more snow on the ground. I went to go play in the snow with the kids, and I let them bury me under a big pile of snow. Meanwhile, Becky and her husband, Brett, went to do some more Christmas shopping. After we got sick of the snow, we started watching a Disney movie, and one of Ai's classmates stopped by for a play date, so she watched with us.

After lunch we all went sledding again, this time on a TALLER STEEPER hill. I overheard someone say that tomorrow there will be a blizzard. Great......... considering there's already over 2 feet on the ground!

At night, Becky and I went to this karaoke thing at a bar that has a live band, that is just sooo much fun to watch. I chose to sing Sugartown by Nancy Sinatra because of the movie (500) Days of Summer, where the main character sang it. She was from the Midwest, so I vowed if I ever went to the Midwest, I'D SING THAT SONG! Unfortunately when I got up on stage, it turned out they DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT, even though they picked their own songbook, which that song was on. I sang a bit to them and they decided to wing it, and it sounded quite good, but I was all confused by the arrangement, and it sounded more like Sugartown (Chopped'n'Screwed Remix). Everyone who sang gets a free drink, woot!

Well…. Day 1 of my post-graduate Midwest Adventure has commenced. Everyone's been looking at me weird for choosing Wisconsin, but personally I see no issues with it. Sure, it's cold this time of year. But 20 inches of snow just fell over my development, so I don't think my parents have a right to talk now about running off to a cold state. They gave me the same looks and criticisms when I told them I was going to Tennessee or West Virginia, and I've had amazing memorable experiences in both.

So let's start at the beginning. This morning I woke up to aforementioned 20 inches of snow on my driveway that my dad and I had to plow out. It's a good thing my dad drives what can almost be called a tank. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. All the flights around me were being delayed or cancelled, so I was so worried. My plane didn't even arrive to my terminal til 5 minutes before boarding for us, and the other people still had to get off the plane. Regardless, we left on time, and my layover in Chicago was no more stressful.

My host, Becky, picked me up from the airport and took me to her house where they were having a Christmas party. I originally was going to come the 21st, but she said it would be fun to come, so I did. She was super nice, and so was her family. They did that thing where families go in a circle unwrapping one gift at a time, except they didn't do it in a circle, they did it by youngest to oldest. I'm sure to some people that's pretty standard, but for me as a Jew, it was pretty interesting to watch. Since there was about 20-30 of them, it took quite a bit.

Afterwards, the party died down a bit, some people left, and we spent some time talking about travels and other stuff with Becky and a few of her family members. She has 3 kids, and they're all really sweet. She has some adventures planned, I'm sure! I can't wait to get out and see more of this state!!

Wednesday, mom and I flew out to Las Vegas!! We got a pretty good deal staying at Bally's. We had a good 4 days together overall, but with so much bickering I realize why it's not possible for me to stay at home any longer.

Wednesday, we took our first walk down Las Vegas Boulevard, stopped by the famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on the History Channel. Then we went and got delicious Ethiopian for dinner.

On Thursday, we went to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was simply breath taking! I took a lot of amazing pictures on the sides of edges. Mom almost had several heart attacks and kept begging me to come down from ledges. At night we went to Paris Hotel, and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Friday we walked around a few hotels, and then had dinner at P. F. Chang's. After dinner, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's KA. The show was phenomenal! Really beautiful and well done.

Saturday walked around a ton of casinos we hadn't covered yet. Mom gambled a ton and after a week of losing, she made a +$400 after 2 hours at the tables. I gambled $2, lost them both. Oh well, gambling's not my game and I've never been much interested in it.

Saturday night we flew back and arrived today morning in Philly.

Hotel/Casinos I checked out: Bally's, Paris, Planet Hollywood, MGM Grand, Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Rio, Wynn, Treasure Island, The Mirage, Flamingo, New York New York (rode the roller coaster!!), Luxor, and Mandalay Bay.

Overall a success!!

Finals coming up this week... Gotta finish a bunch of essays too.

P.S. I got a twitter! Follow me~ http://twitter.com/zaychiki

This month...

1 day of classes left to attend

1 class presentation left to present

2 final papers left to complete

2 final exams left to take

1 school left to graduate from

1 job left to get

November is FINALLY OVER!!! And December is here =D YAY!!!

December is the month in which I nail my senior portrait (today 1:45pm!!)

December is the month in which I finish all my super long papers x.X

December is the month in which I finish my last Temple classes EVER!

December is the month in which I have a bunch of really awesome job interviews and nail them, getting a great job (please!)

December is the month in which I see my best friend when she gets back from Wales =D

December is the month in which I celebrate Christmahanukwanzaa.

December is the month in which I go to Vegas and the Grand Canyon for the first time =)

December is the month in which my anchor (breast reduction) scars heal, and I no longer have a hole the size of a dime in my stitches.

December is the month in which I will finally breathe easy realizing I am not *complete* failure and things will be all right.

I haven't updated this since the end of August... oops!

But, not too many exciting things have happened because alas I am still in Philadelphia. I did travel this month a bit though because my parents went to Russia and Ukraine for a week and a half, so I had a free car to abuse. I spent one weekend driving to Chicago, and the other weekend driving to West Virginia. Had an amazing time in both places!!

Right now, I'm trying to scrounge up whatever money I can, cause I'm finished school in a little less than 2 months. To be precise, 7 1/2 weeks til my last final exam, but 12 actual days of class... I'm still doing some weekends at Rescue Tech, whatever Rita will give me. I'm also dogsitting again starting this weekend. It's a crazy little dog called Chi Chi. Four doors down, so it's really easy to do.

Can't wait to be done with this all >

I changed around my schedule to only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I don't have class today, but I'm gonna head down to Temple anyways. It's gonna be so lonely. A lot of my friends have graduated. On Saturday, I went to Jenn's going away party at Fado's. Manchester beat Arsenal, so of course Jenn was happy =) Unfortunately, I prolly won't be able to see her again until she leaves for the airport....

First class of the day at 11am to 12:20 will be Chinese Politics, or as the teacher has renamed the course, "The State and Globalization Reexamined: China, Global Power or Political Decay?". Gotta head over to Tuttleman for that one There are only 7 of us in this class, including Linh Chia and Lauren Tarnoski, so I already know about half the class. Woot. Should be fun.

Next up after that is Disasters: Geology Vs. Hollywood in Barton Hall from 2-3:20. I know Justin Fortmeier and Michelle Provencher in that one so once again it doesn't have to be an awkward first day.

Third up from 3:30-4:50 is also in Barton on the same floor, so I don't have to worry about switching buildings in my 10 minutes, and just relax. This one is my Poli Sci capstone. I don't know anyone in there yet, or at least I don't recognize any of the names, but there is one name that stuck out for me. Someone there has the name Liya Groysman. That's so weird, cause she's also a Russian Jew from my county, Bucks County, and she has the same name as my mom before she was married. Hmmmm.

Next on Tuesday I have Nationalism: Ethnic Politics in Anderson Hall from 5:30-8. There's this one girl Ivana in it from my Urban Politics class last semester. I don't know her that well, but oh well, better than nothing.

Same time slot on Thursday I have Psychology as a Social Science in Tuttleman Hall. It's a 75 person class, but I don't know anyone x.X

In Miles news... yesterday Nelly told me to be more stern with him and not take him out for walks so many times a day cause he keeps pestering me for walks. So I only took him out 3 times yesterday as opposed to 5 or 6 times. So to punish me... he walked into the room at 3:20am this morning and woke me up. Wouldn't let me go til I at least took him out back. Don't dogs sleep at nite? ._.