update?
so obviously i can't go over everything that's happened since my last post. i'm really not good at keeping this thing up, although i guess it's good for the occasional introspective moment. emphasis on occasional. anyway, i guess my most recent shenanigans have been going to ecuador for 6 weeks this summer and jeff coming to visit. both very rare (although one obviously more so than the other) and both highly enjoyable.
i will not attempt to capture everything about ecuador, nor will i give a play-by-play of everything we did, partly because i don't want this post to be 8340597308597 pages long, and partly because i've already begun to forget some of the finer details of the trip. but basically it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, for more reasons than i can list. we stayed in a university in quito, which was cool. at the beginning of the trip we were told that this trip was a little more difficult than the others because it's easier to just stay within your group (speaking english) and more difficult to interact and get the full "cultural experience". although one of the biggest things that i learned while in ecuador is that i have no idea really what culture means. but i digress. we went all around the country, seeing beautiful scenery and people that i may never get to see again. i love heights, and being in mountainous country is something that i absolutely loved, and probably the thing i miss most about being back in tejas. being able to look out of my window and see a giant peak in the distance is something that i never got over, and i could probably be in that country for 6 months rather than 6 weeks and still love that. going to ecuador has definitely gotten me more into travel, which is something that i honestly never really thought about before. like i was never that kid who wanted to graduate and backpack across europe, or go on a cruise around the world. but now i certainly want to explore south america more, if nowhere else. there was so much about ecuador that was different, but what truly surprised me was how many things were exactly the same.
and about jeff's visit, it was pretty amazing. i wasn't working this time, and didn't have school work (obviously), so we got to spend more time actually being together than we have in his last few visits, since those were when i was at school. i missed him so much, especially since we weren't able to talk that often at all while i was away for six weeks. we talked on the phone twice, on aim a few times, and emailed a little bit as well. but clearly there's no substitute for seeing someone face to face, and there are so many things that i think we appreciate about one another because we only get to see one another every three months. but oddly enough, i've thought about how our relationship will change if/when we get to see one another every day again. anyway, we did something pretty much everyday, and i had fun doing it all. honestly there's not much to say about it that anyone but myself would be interested in, so i'll spare you all the details. although i can say that it's almost definitely that lydia (the mom) likes jeff, which makes life alot easier. we had lunch with her one day, and she even asked his opinion about curtains for our living room. if that's not proof that she's taken a liking to him, then i really don't know what is. now if i can only get her to let me visit him in california... but i guess i'll take my battles one at a time.
other than that, i just started volunteering at a pet animal shelter and it's pretty much the best and worst time ever. luckily i get the worst part out of the way when i get there (at 8 a.m.) because right when i arrive i get to clean up a TON of dog poo. doing that and cleaning kennels takes about an hour, but then for the next two i get to basically just play with dogs. which is AWESOME. seriously i can't imagine a better place to volunteer. i am in love with pretty much all of the puppies and want to bring most of them home. but apparently doug and lydia would frown on that. but no worries, i'll keep working on it. i keep telling them that when i grow up and become the insane dog lady it's all due to my child life experiences. but then again, what isn't?
i can't believe that i'll be driving back up to st. louis in a few weeks to start year three at washU. i don't know why the beginning of this year seems so strange for me, but it really does and i can't seem to get over it. hopefully that's not a sign of anything bad to come. but then again, i guess there's not very much time before i can find out.
i will not attempt to capture everything about ecuador, nor will i give a play-by-play of everything we did, partly because i don't want this post to be 8340597308597 pages long, and partly because i've already begun to forget some of the finer details of the trip. but basically it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, for more reasons than i can list. we stayed in a university in quito, which was cool. at the beginning of the trip we were told that this trip was a little more difficult than the others because it's easier to just stay within your group (speaking english) and more difficult to interact and get the full "cultural experience". although one of the biggest things that i learned while in ecuador is that i have no idea really what culture means. but i digress. we went all around the country, seeing beautiful scenery and people that i may never get to see again. i love heights, and being in mountainous country is something that i absolutely loved, and probably the thing i miss most about being back in tejas. being able to look out of my window and see a giant peak in the distance is something that i never got over, and i could probably be in that country for 6 months rather than 6 weeks and still love that. going to ecuador has definitely gotten me more into travel, which is something that i honestly never really thought about before. like i was never that kid who wanted to graduate and backpack across europe, or go on a cruise around the world. but now i certainly want to explore south america more, if nowhere else. there was so much about ecuador that was different, but what truly surprised me was how many things were exactly the same.
and about jeff's visit, it was pretty amazing. i wasn't working this time, and didn't have school work (obviously), so we got to spend more time actually being together than we have in his last few visits, since those were when i was at school. i missed him so much, especially since we weren't able to talk that often at all while i was away for six weeks. we talked on the phone twice, on aim a few times, and emailed a little bit as well. but clearly there's no substitute for seeing someone face to face, and there are so many things that i think we appreciate about one another because we only get to see one another every three months. but oddly enough, i've thought about how our relationship will change if/when we get to see one another every day again. anyway, we did something pretty much everyday, and i had fun doing it all. honestly there's not much to say about it that anyone but myself would be interested in, so i'll spare you all the details. although i can say that it's almost definitely that lydia (the mom) likes jeff, which makes life alot easier. we had lunch with her one day, and she even asked his opinion about curtains for our living room. if that's not proof that she's taken a liking to him, then i really don't know what is. now if i can only get her to let me visit him in california... but i guess i'll take my battles one at a time.
other than that, i just started volunteering at a pet animal shelter and it's pretty much the best and worst time ever. luckily i get the worst part out of the way when i get there (at 8 a.m.) because right when i arrive i get to clean up a TON of dog poo. doing that and cleaning kennels takes about an hour, but then for the next two i get to basically just play with dogs. which is AWESOME. seriously i can't imagine a better place to volunteer. i am in love with pretty much all of the puppies and want to bring most of them home. but apparently doug and lydia would frown on that. but no worries, i'll keep working on it. i keep telling them that when i grow up and become the insane dog lady it's all due to my child life experiences. but then again, what isn't?
i can't believe that i'll be driving back up to st. louis in a few weeks to start year three at washU. i don't know why the beginning of this year seems so strange for me, but it really does and i can't seem to get over it. hopefully that's not a sign of anything bad to come. but then again, i guess there's not very much time before i can find out.