Trains, Planes, and Automobiles

This morning started a little...let's say...rough for me.

I was tired and not ready for my impending trip back to school. Our Easter service at my church was wonderful, as always, and it was great to be able to see some people and give hugs before I headed back. After church, I checked my e-mails, perused facebook and twitter, and I finally decided it was time to book my flight: my costly, well researched, perfect flight plan to Lilongwe, Malawi. I had spent days, weeks even, researching and asking around and finally ended up with what I thought would be the best plan in the entire world. I was proud. I checked on it almost everyday. This morning, though, my love affair with my itinerary that was saved to Expedia.com took a deadly turn. It was unavailable! I was on the verge of a panic attack when I called customer service and it really sent me over the edge when the not-so-friendly guy with an attitude problem told me that I simply needed to book something else.
And that's when the tears started rolling. I had come to a breaking point and this flight being unavailable was the straw that broke this camel's back. Pretty much since the beginning of January I had been stressing about what flight to choose; whether it be the safest path, the shortest path, and/or the cheapest path.
After my dad had stopped laughing at me and I had stopped crying, my dad and I both hit the interwebs on different computers to try to find a solution to my problem. Luckily, I was able to find a VERY similar flight plan that just added one more layover and it was the same cost. *wipes sweat from brow* Crisis (somewhat) averted.

 I am now the proud owner of plane tickets to and from Lilongwe, Malawi. Along the way I will be making stops in Washington, D.C; Rome, Italy; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. I've chosen my seats (aisle, of course) and I've been looking at the itinerary every chance I get. I'm pretty sure I have it memorized already. This trip is a little over three months away and I can check purchasing my tickets, renewing my passport, and putting the down payment on the trip expenses off my list. All I need to do now is get one more vaccination, a malaria prescription, and to finish paying off the rest of the trip fees. That light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter and brighter every day.

Countdown to Malawi: 100 days!!!!!

Random Malawi fact: The languages spoken in Malawi are English and Chichewa according to the national Geographic Travel website.

PCV Dorothy

This past summer I worked as an Americorps volunteer at the Dayton YMCA and met some...well...interesting people. A couple of these people were actually pretty awesome and I still keep in touch with a few.

One of my coworkers however, I've been kind of lacking in keeping in touch. Mainly because she's living in Madagascar. Dorothy is a Peace Corps volunteer in Ambanja, Madagascar. She arrived in South Africa in June 2008 for training and was soon shipped to Madagascar. In Spring of 2009 she was evacuated, and sent back to Dayton because of some reason I'm not that really sure about. Something to do with the government blah blah blah. That's how she was able to work at the YMCA with me last summer. Around the time of Thanksgiving 2009, she was able to return to Madagascar and serve the remainder of her term as a volunteer. Dorothy teaches English as a second language.

Dorothy LOVES getting mail and will definitely write you back. Even if she doesn't know who you are or what you're talking about in your letter. Getting mail is really exciting for her. I just wrote her a letter today and plan on putting a couple of hair ties, bobby pins, a sandwich bag, and a bread bag twistie in the envelope to send along with the letter. She told me over the summer that her time in Madagascar has her turned her into a savvy McGyver type that can fandangle just about anything from what she is given.
If you'd like to write her a letter, her address is:
Dorothy Mayne
Voluntera Corps de la Paix
CISCO Ambanja
Ambanja 203
Madagascar

She also writes a blog and updates it every so often with some of her observations and interactions with the culture. You can read it here.

A Rock and a Hard Post

Get it? You see what I did there? I crack myself up!

It's been a while since I last wrote a post and since I'm procrastinating working on an assignment (story of my life!) I thought I'd fill you in on...stuff.

Recently, I interviewed and was accepted into Advanced Study in the the education college here at Kent State. That translates into me being accepted into the actual education program. I'm no longer just an education student....I'm a real live teacher applicant. Next fall I start observing and I can't wait! This process has prompted me to think a lot about where I want to do my student teaching and it's kind of created a little bit of an issue for me.

If you know me, you know that I'm a very decisive person. I usually make decisions pretty quickly and stick to what I say. This decision of where I want to do my student teaching, and where I want to teach for that matter, is making me a little nervous because at the moment I'm caught between three very different scenarios.

Scenario 1: Student teach in a local school here in NE Ohio, be an RA, and finish up school like a normal kid.
Scenario 2: Student Teach abroad in a developed country (I'm thinking Switzerland or England) and have the experience of living in another culture than mine but still be able to have most of the amenities of life in the US.
Scenario 3: Student teach in a developing country and have the experience of a lifetime.

I think you can tell which one I like the sound of most. These are all valid choices that will could give me amazing opportunities, but which do I choose? I guess I have some time...I won't student teach until Spring semester of 2012 but also if you know me well you know that I like to plan ahead.


Countdown to Malawi: 122 days

Malawi fact of the day: Malawi's motto is "Unity and Freedom."

Also: Beware the Ides of March!!!

Also Also: follow me on twitter? "abbsnicole"

One for One

I lurve shoes. Shoes just make me happy. They take any outfit and complete them. Your wedding, the first day of your new job, your graduation day are all days where (hopefully) you've worn shoes. Pumps, flats, chucks, peep-toes, boots, sneakers, crocs, flip-flops, you name it I've got 'em. Why am I writing a post about shoes when I'm trying raise money to go on a trip to Africa you ask? Well my favorite pair of shoes, TOMS, are also a great way to give back.

TOMS is company that takes giving back to heart. Their business model is set up with a One to One theme. You buy one pair of shoes and they donate a pair to a person in need. The founder of this movement and Chief Shoe Giver, Blake Mycoskie, is a young entrepreneur who saw the need for shoes on a trip to Argentina. Their offices are set up in Santa Monica, CA and they go on Shoe Drops all over the world. Here's a video clip from their documentary:



I have three pairs and I LOVE them (pictured below). I wear them everywhere. They are comfortable and stylish. You can wear them with anything. Most of them have a canvas outer layer with a leather insole. TOMS has many different styles that include vegan varieties, boots, wool lined, and even styles that lace. I've got my eye on a pair of their cordones (the kind that lace) at the moment.

Count down to Malawi: 159 days

*Sorry for the bad grammar...it's been a long weekend.

Personal Update Time!

This post is dedicated to a personal update! An update solely about ME!

It's been a whirlwind week to say the least. Last Wednesday I moved back to Kent State. By myself. It was hard work, readers. I moved all the things I had brought back from home into my very new room in a different hall. Then I moved all the things from my old room into my car and then from my car to the new room across campus. It was a long day. Why did I have to move, you ask? Well, this little lady got herself a JOB! I'm the new Resident Assistant on the 4th floor of Koonce Hall. I'm in the big leagues. I'm in control of 60 or so girls with the median age of 19 (I think my eye just twitched from typing that).
The weekend that followed my move-in day was filled to the brim with endless training on how to be a new RA. It wasn't as bad as it sounds and I went though the process with some great people. I'm working with a wonderful staff...and not just because they could possibly be reading this. After that weekend was over it was time for classes to start. I took a step back this semester and decided not to take more than 18 credit hours like normal. I'm in calc 3, linear algebra, ed psych, ed tech, and a religion class. So far so good on that end! Soon I will have a major life changing interview that will decide if I get into the actual program and can start observing in the classroom or not. I just broke into a sweat thinking about it. I'll be sure to keep you posted on that.


Another note: I've raised over $1100 in the past couple of months! I've had some amazing support from a lot of different people. Thanks!

Days until Malawi: 176

Proper Documentation

Today I received my renewed passport. It's my first big person passport and, unlike my minor passport, this one doesn't expire for another ten years! Ten years! The world is at my fingertips!

It's THE Year!

It's the year I'll be traveling to Africa! 2010 is the start of not only an amazing year but an amazing decade! I can just feel it. At this time in 10 years I will have just turned 30 years old and who knows where I'll be. Currently, I'm writing this post from the living room of my parents house and watching my brother play our Wii Fit Plus. In 2020, I could be on a different continent (or a different planet) or married with kids or in the same place or in a box with a fox, ya never know!

This past decade was pretty incredible. I've been pretty lucky!
Here's a list to recap my decade (in no particular order):

• Competed in Math Counts :)
• Traveled without my parents for the first time. I went to Texas with my cousin Kali to visit with our Aunt and Uncle, cousin Madelyn, and Grandpa Bill.
• Conquered Middle School!
  
• Traveled to Australia in 2004 as a People to People Student Ambassador.
  
• Joined every club imaginable at VVHS.
• Became the Class of 2008's VP.
• Tried out the Track team for a couple of years.
  
• Learned how to play golf.
• Joined the Golf team.
• Traveled to Honduras in 2006 with the Rotary Club. 
• Attended the 2006 HOBY seminar and met some Outstanding people.
• Volunteered as a staff member for HOBY 2007 and 2008.
  
• Got braces...got them taken off...then put back on...then taken back off
• Learned to "play" the oboe.
• Got all four wisdom teeth cut out. Watched National Treasure approximately 4 times in a row while being on painkillers.
  
• Picked up the bass clarinet.
• Marched in Disney World's Magic Kingdom.
  
• Played in four pit orchestras for the HS musicals (The Wizard of Oz was by far my favorite!).
• Went on tour in Europe for a couple of weeks with a youth wind ensemble, The Ohio Ambassadors of Music. (3rd chair!)
• Saw Wicked in London, England.
  
• Became NHS president
• Got implants...of the dental variety. (2 surgeries, learned how to swallow pills, lots of pudding)
  
• Joined the Academic Team. Or the A-team, if you will.
• Made first chair bass clarinet in the Tri-State Honor Band.
• Ice-skated for the fist time in the middle of a mall in Houston, TX.
• Went on a couple of mission trips with my youth group.
• Gained a sister-in-law in the summer of 2008.
•  Worked at Brown's Run Country Club for three summers. Got hit in the face with a steel hand ball picker, drove the ball picker on the range, and cleaned about a bajillion golf clubs.
• Got accepted to Kent State University's Honors College.
  
• Lived (and still do) in a dorm and learned that I hate living in a dorm.
• Got my first C and D ever (besides freshman gym in HS haha)...and on the same report card to boot!
• Saw, and got paid to see, Flight of the Concords.
  
• Got two speeding tickets and pulled over approximately five times.
• Spent a summer as an Americorps volunteer.

It's not a long list but it's a good list. I can't wait to get started on this new decade!

Speaking of which, I've got some plans in store:

• Make it on to the Amazing Race with my dad.
• Do a couple years of service.
• Get a big person job.
• Buy a home.
• Get married.
•  Meet someone from my favorite famous people list.

That's all I have for now! Happy New Year!




Days until I land in Africa: 196