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things i've learned from commuting on weekends: the only people going to work are nurses and illegal male immigrants. most people taking the train are tourists, or going to big events, like the pr day parade. at 8am it should be illegal to be loud and obnoxious. people film commercials at grand central at 8am on saturdays. things i've learned from being in the city again: i love new york unconditionally despite it being dirty, chaotic, and having a horrible subway system. gelato from ciao bella in grand central is the best thing ever. pedicures and 10 minute massages are the best way to pass time after class. and shopping in the village. after going out with julia last night, i realized i still really have no idea what i want to do with my life. i want to teach, i want to work with poor kids in poor countries, i want to do public health and social development, i want to work with ngos. i have no idea. but i do know what i DONT want to do: be stuck in a boring job that i get used to bc the pay is ok and i get too comfortable. or be stuck in an office, period. hm. i have to go tutor richie soon, and then fall asleep.
so i've emailed my resume to maybe 7 english schools in rio (no response yet). i get the impression i'm going to just have to show UP in person. at least i have one interview set up, with a british-owned school. love those efficient brits. i've started studying for the GREs, despite the fact I am taking them a week from today, but given my time constraints I'm not sure i'll ever be able to pour any more time than this into it. and i cant relearn math in a week so whatever. between me and eliseu, we have found two great apartments, one in copa, the other in botafogo. i haven't seen pictures of the one in bota but he insists its better, despite having some slight furniture issues. but hopefully we'll work everything out soon so i have a place to stay when i get there (and space for all my stuff). today i'm off to the dentist and i have two immunizations next week. i'm tutoring richie so extra cash= shopping! soon. here's another picture from the DR for good measure, since I wish I was still there.
good thing i forgot to even take any pictures at carolina's graduation party or our lunch party at luz's...go me.
so it's been a few days since i've been back but i haven't had the energy to write. i've been: job hunting, studying for the GREs, started my TESOL class, and was generally lazy. so let me work backwards. punta cana was amazing but aside from the occasional bartender or waiter who i chatted with in dominican spanish, we could have been anywhere, drinking and eating all day and hanging out on the beach. i'm not complaining; it was just what i needed. but it wasn't the dr. our first two days in santo domingo were wonderful but also equally painful, at least for me. it was amazing to see my host family and some of my friends and FLACSO staff but knowing i was there for so little time and that i didn't live there anymore (and wouldn't be back til god knows when) was hard. still, it felt like i had never left. after missing a place so much, going back was a catharsis (sp?) but also sad.
i got to see carolina and luz, anny and gloria (and tito and pitu), all the flacso staff, david, some of the atarazana crew and i think that's it. i was sad about not visiting escuela primaveral (i didn't work it out in time) but i also think it would have been too hard; too hard to leave and giv ethem something or leave something...or just awkward. well. i'll be back sometime.
while i was there, i was inspired to change my idea for my fulbright application to do a multi-country project, half in the DR, half in Brazil, doing public health. but my advisor hasn't responded to my idea yet, which is making me nervous, and i have so much other shit to do i haven't even looked at this stuff.
days til i leave for rio: 14
# of doctors/dentist appointments: 1 down, 3 to go
important things to do:
finish TESOL course
study for GREs, and then actually take them
apply for jobs
do fulbright stuff?
buy stuff for abroad, and pack it
see friends and actually go out
it's going to be a very busy two weeks.
so now, at 830pm, it has dawned on me that i am, in fact going back to the dr, a whole year and a half later. even though i'm worried it could be weird (and that my parents will hate sto dgo) i am insanely excited. so ridiculously so. i really want to go back to my escuela but that might be weird (and really awkward) and i never know if they're going to be there. but to see some of my friends and my host family will be so great. and weird. but i can't wait. it's been so long and i've wanted to go back so badly, it seems unreal.
what a lovely time...to do whatever.i've watched a bizillion movies lately, including: El Laberinto del fauno, Children of Men, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland. All incredibly violent, and all pretty depressing. but good.last night i went out with julia, meg, and meg's friends to their apt in harlem and then to a club downtown. it was lots of fun and so ridiculously good to see meg. who might move out to the east coast if she remembers declaring that she will. pictures to follow.today mom and i went to see Waitress which was suprisingly good and i bawled my way through. today and tomorrow eli is looking at apartments (hallelujah) so that's nice too. now i have to go make dinner, apparently.
things that are fun about real life.not having health insurance. or dental. and having to figure out how to get a year's worth of medications. without insurance.finding apartments when you're not in the country.
visas.
today randomly i found a posting for an assistant job at the American Consulate in Rio and though they probably already hired and I probably won't even get a chance to apply it made me really excited. it would be such a perfect job but knowing how these things work with govt bureaucracy and whatnot i'm not getting my hopes up.
in the end though i wouldn't mind teaching english because if i can't do my fellowship i'd rather do something low-key for awhile and enjoy life while i'm abroad, and then worry about high-tech jobs when i come back. whenever that will be.
i woke up at 1 today. what a waste of space. this adorable hamster resembles me today.
so i talked to carolina, my dominican host sister, and it turns out she is graduating on wednesday, so we might stop by her grad party on wed afternoon. how ridiculous and awkward and awesome might that be! oh man i can't believe i'm finally going back to the dr....i missed it so much for so long and now it's just weird that i'm going back...with my parents! i wonder how i'll feel after, if i feel horrible regret that i'm not going back to try to live there for awhile, or if i'll just feel...weird.
anyway. another day of absolute slobliness.
i like making lists. it makes me feel productive.things i need to do:- call my dominican host family to remind them i'm coming
- finish sending thank you notes
- sign up for GREs
- get various doctor/dentist apts set up
- re-do and update resume
- start and get moving on fulbright application
- continue job and apartment search
- get TEFL course & training stuff straightened out
however, i sense that i will wind up watching movies and stalking my new favorite site, thesuperficial.com, which are both very addictive. oh the joys of summer.
so apparently i have graduated....it all flew by so fast that it's a bit hard to believe. and now i'm back home where i started, like dc is millions of miles away and the prospect of having to pay june rent due to an obnoxious clause on my lease part of a bad dream. and now a month looms ahead of me where i actually have tons of things to deal with, but for now am contenting myself with doing absolutely nothing. but the uncertainty is what is really scaring me.
