Train to Chicago!

Hello everyone!

After an adventurous 48 hours on an Amtrak train, my friend Shaimaa and I made it to Chicago on Tuesday. We leave for another 27 hour train ride to New Jersey later today. I'm going to be sick of trains after all of this!

But in all honesty, it has been quite a ride, and quite a fun adventure for two 20-somethings. The train ride itself provided enough fodder for one blog post!

First, before even getting on the train, checking my bags turned into an adventure. It took me half an hour to get everything settled and paid for, and luckily, the train people are so much nicer than the airline people, because the first 3 bags are free, and then each bag after that costs $10, with up to three additional bags. This is a great policy for somebody who is moving her entire life from one coast to another! Well, in the process of checking them, I had to rearrange one piece of luggage (only one! I have definitely been stuck in airports before doing the juggling-weight-between-bags thing, and it is never fun), and the rest barely made it the under 50 lb range, but that was okay. The biggest thing was that I forgot to label the bags... all of them! And my grandparents had specifically reminded me to do so. Luckily, the woman gave me some tags, and everything worked out pleasantly, although the people behind me in line sure got a wonderful show! I even had somebody comment on it later when I was waiting in the Starbucks that is located within Union Station in Los Angeles. Life is funny.

Second, the train itself was causing a few problems throughout the trip. The train was 20 minutes late arriving to the station, which really wasn't too big of a deal to me, but then, about 20 hours into the trip, in Albuquerque, NM, we had to wait over an hour and a half to have the dining car removed from the train because there were some technical difficulties with it. The bright side of that is everybody received free breakfast, lunch, and dinner until the train arrived in Chicago because they had no way of properly feeding us.

Third, the people on the train were fascinating. There was a guy who kept talking about being a missionary in Mexico, and the police suspected him of being a drug smuggler, and the line "You can check my bags all you want, but all you will find is Bibles," may have been said by this gentleman at one point. He then detailed to a guy sitting near us how he illegally smoked cigarettes on the train by illegally cracking open a window so nobody is the wiser. The two men sitting behind Shaimaa and I also spent a good hour and a half bashing California. The conductor was pretty funny, always making silly remarks are engaging us in conversation or banter, so that made the time pass pretty quickly. Overall, the staff on the train were quirky, memorable, and altogether made the trip a lot more fun!

The worst part about the train was trying to sleep. It was uncomfortable the first night, where we were each confined to a seat, but the second night, I managed to score the set of seats in front of us, so we each had our own two seats to ourselves, and we slept much better. The seats went back by a 45 degree angle and had leg rests under the seat that came up with a button, making it almost like a bed. It was pretty cool and definitely a good thing when you are confined to a train for so long.

The best part of the ride, by far, was the scenery. We traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago, so on the way we hit California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. There were so many different types of nature that floated past the windows of the train car as we made our journey: tall trees, desert lands with no trees, exposed rock on cliff faces, mountains, the Missouri River, the Mississippi River, and lots of rain. It was rather interesting to take a train through what are usually called the "fly-over states," and if I have the time, I think it would be fun to do again.

Yesterday, we explored almost everything the both of us wanted to see in Chicago. We are exhausted! While on the train I will type up on entry, and I will post it when I get home, with pictures.

Also, keep your eye out for my new "Picture of the Month" feature, starting this month.

Hope everybody has an absolutely wonderful weekend!

Question for all of you!

Would you like a monthly feature where I upload a picture from my travels, and then explain the story behind the image? This has the potential to be pretty awesome, but I'm not sure if enough people have interest (not that a lot of people follow this blog anyway).

So let me know in the comments! Thanks!

Moving On...

Two posts in two days?! Can it be?!

Actually, yes. I have a lot on my mind, and a lot planned for the next few weeks. What is a nice way to say that I am a really anxious person? But honestly, I'm always looking toward the future, always planning, always crossing my fingers that things will work out, willing things to fall into place just the way I want them... this is not conducive at all to the kind of lifestyle I enjoy, or want to live.

When I am thinking about it, I can live in the moment. Every other time, though, I'm always thinking, thinking, thinking about the future. About my journey through life. About money. About paying back student loans. About finding a job. About the people in my life, and if they are proud of me. If I am okay with my actions... and on and on and on. It is crazy-making sometimes.

Anyway, I'm writing this because I realized it all at once. It hit me as I was going through notebooks from my freshman year of college. First, I can't believe that was four years ago. Whoa. But yes, I came across a note that just stopped in the middle of the story, and I was so anxious, racking my brain, trying to remember this insignificant moment so that I could satisfy the resolution of the story in my imagination. Not such luck. I'm not the kind of person who looks for signs, but the realization just dawned on me that, hey, this is what my life is right now. I'm in the middle, I can choose how to end it and where it goes and how well I live it and tell it. It was a very writer-y life realization, but a big one nonetheless.

So yes, I am moving across the country. I am leaving in 4 days and I am downright, absolutely, completely, and utterly terrified. I do not want to leave Southern California in the slightest. I'm focusing on my plans for New Jersey, so that I don't have to think about actually living in NJ. Yes, I love my family and my friends that I left behind four years ago, and have sporadically visited since then, but I just feel right in SoCal, like I never, ever felt right in Bergen County.

It's funny, because it was the same feeling leaving Ireland. I didn't want to, because it just felt like the right place to be for me... but I did leave, and it ended up being a great year, for the most part. I'm excited for what NJ will bring, but I don't know. I think, for the most part, I will just be counting down the days as more and more Peace Corps information comes in. I think that's why I'm taking 4 classes at 2 different colleges, and interning in NYC, and hopefully (if this job I heard back on yesterday works out) working in NY state; doing all of this, so I can make the time go by faster. It was the reason I volunteered this summer; I am unbearable to even myself when I have my mind completely set on something that is out of my control. Thinking about it all day, with nothing else to occupy me, it's crazy-making.

So this blog ended up being more personal than anything else, but hey, hopefully a few people can relate to all of these wonderful feelings associated with traveling.

Have a great weekend!

Peace Corps Application Process = Terrifying

Going through the entire Peace Corps application process is terrifying, exhilarating, and a true test of patience. In the past month, I have read quite a few blogs where things didn't work out well for Nominees or Invitees.

One guy, who made it all the way to his placement, was sent home after 22 days because of a rumor. A woman who was nominated twice just found out that she doesn't have enough experience in both of the areas that she was qualified for. A couple, 2 weeks before they were supposed to leave, had their invitation revoked because the husband accidentally forgot to include a small piece of medical information. A woman who had been serving in the Peace Corps for a few months was moved to a new location because of a tragedy, was only there for 3 months, decided that it just wasn't for her, left, reapplied to be put back where she originally was, and was denied.

And then there are those who get all the way through the process, only to drop out within the first few months. This process can take months upon months, sometimes years, and some people decide to get the invitation, accept, and then one or two weeks beforehand, decide that they don't want to do it. Or they can't get in to the service, or the people around them aren't cooperating or any number of things.

I'm not saying that these people are not entitled to leave at any point, especially if they are in a difficult position for themselves, and it does take a lot of courage to actually leave instead of coasting through however many months are left until their COS, but it is still frustrating as an applicant who just wants to be invited.

Sorry for just an entry full of complaint. Next week, I am going on a cross-country train adventure, so I should have some awesome stories to post after that. Until then, have a great weekend!

PC Timeline Update

Hey everyone! If any of you are remotely interested in how my Peace Corps journey is going, I have updated my timeline. Just click here and you can look and read to your heart's content.

My timeline page consists of a short timeline of the major things, a (much) longer timeline of all the little steps I have taken so far, and a summary of the cost to me so far. Feel free to comment (or not).

Have a great weekend!

Sorry! And A Great Documentary

I know I have been away for a while, but I have been trying to get my life together for the big move home to the other side of the country! I promise I will write more before the end of the month, however, I'm leaving you with a documentary about Fistulas that aired on PBS. It's under an hour long, very informative, and is an explanation of one of the reasons why I would like to be a midwife in developing countries.

It is called "A Walk to Beautiful" and it is a great look at one woman's journey.

I first heart about fistulas this past January when reading "Half the Sky." I was both surprised and appalled that they are rarely treated and instead many women are left to die because of the stench. I was also surprised that I had not heard of them before then, but you live and you learn!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

PS - Peace Corps Update: I'm sending my appeal paperwork by the end of this week. Wish me luck!

Travel Injuries

I am an expert on injuries. I have been broken, sprained, concussed, burned, cut, and caught. I have never broken my nose, but I have been hit so hard on multiple occasions that it bleeds. I broke my foot playing basketball in inappropriate shoes. I tore a ligament in my knee when I was younger when my soccer cleat got stuck in the mud. I got my head stuck between two bars of a railing when I was 3-ish (you can blame my Dumbo ears). We had to call 911 when I got my knee stuck between two planks on a swing set when I was in middle school. I have slipped down wooden stairs from the top step in socks with a baby in arms. I am clumsy, but I try to take precautions as best as I can.

My worst travel injury by far has to be the one that I am still recovering from. This story is so cool that it does not sound real, but this is 100% fact.

When I was in Tanzania, we had a one week break towards the middle of our 2 months of teaching/volunteering. It was at this point that we were allowed to travel or just rest or whatever we wanted to do. A group of 8 of us took the first part of our week off and traveled to Uganda to raft in the Nile River. (Yes, the one that is located in Egypt, but also flows through Sudan [and at this point in time, South Sudan] and Uganda). I tend to be adventurous, but I have never been rafting before, unless you count drifting lazily down the Delaware River (which I don’t).

It was pretty intense for somebody who has no experience rafting, however, it was absolutely amazing, and really, the best choice between it and the alternative, a safari. I can safari when I’m old!

As we are moving along, we come to a pretty intense rapid with a 7-foot drop on one side and a nice way down on the other. Our guide asks us if we want to take the nice way down or the other way down. Obviously, we are all young and reckless (not really), so we decide to try for the 7 foot drop. Our guide specifically tells us how to handle this drop, by tucking our heads once we start to go over so we don’t hurt ourselves.

I tucked my head, but when we dropped, it went up and straight into the helmet of the girl in front of me. I blacked out for a few seconds and my face hurt, a lot. I thought I broke my cheek, the pain was so intense, but I seemed fine after some Advil. I didn’t really think about much until I realize the entire right side of my face became really sensitive to touch and I started getting headaches.

I had to go see a doctor and apparently I was concussed and didn’t realize it, and because of the impact, I have some nerve damage that is still there, although not as bad as it used to be. At one point, I couldn’t even brush my hair on that side. Now, it just a small portion of how much it used to be damaged, and it no longer hurts, just tingles, which I presume to mean that it is almost done healing.

Here’s to hoping!

So tell me, what is your worst travel injury? Or your worst travel illness?

I Promise

I will update soon. I have just been a little busy.

Expect an update in the next 2 or 3 days, as I am taking a mini-vacation from my summer vacation.

I am in San Diego at the moment, with my grandparents. They are lovely. Life is lovely.

Peace Corps Update

So, I'm Medically Deferred until December. This means that I will most definitely not be leaving in January, however, by some miracle, I may make it to my original original nomination of April. Maybe.

The reason I have been hesitant to write before now is because of this. This is a really important event, and I didn't want to update anything until I revealed this, however, it didn't really sink in until today. I received the letter on Thursday. I knew that I was not cleared the moment I saw it, because it was in a normal-sized envelope, rather than in a large, thick envelope, which usually indicates the Medical Kit.

I am deferred because the last time I saw a therapist was in December, which was for various reasons, most having to do with the amount of time I commit myself to without thinking about sleep or alone time or studying for finals.

I am so upset by this news that, at this point, thinking about it makes me queasy. I realize that it is a very good policy for the Peace Corps to have, not to send anybody until it has been a year since their last whatever diagnosis, however, it is just sad for me because I wasn't supposed to leave until January anyway, but this is more than definitely going to push back the departure date, since I still have to get the forms and make the appointments and send in the forms and make sure that I did them right.

I spent a lot of time this weekend crying. I am not even going to lie. I am doing my best to look on the bright side of things but at this moment I feel like a failure. I internalize things too much. However, I am not going to let a deferment of five months deter me. This has been my dream for a long time, what is a wait of another few months?

It means I get to stay with my family longer, make a little bit more money to help pay off my loans, and take more classes to see what I could possibly do. I was looking into Master's International programs, however, I would really like to enter the Peace Corps as soon as possible, rather than put it off for more schooling.

The Peace Corps gives you sixty days to repeal a deferral. At this point, I'm not sure if I want to, because it is such a short deferral and I do not want to make more work for them... However, I would really like to get all of my medical forms done as soon as I can, especially because some of my doctors are in LA, and I am leaving for good at the end of August, which is going to make getting paperwork a lot more difficult.

Sometimes, I wish I had lied on the original medical forms. But I know that's wrong. We'll see what happens...

Keep your fingers crossed for me!