Estoy lista ya!

That means, I'm ready already! Seriously, I'm ready to go. I leave in 10 days and I'm not entirely finished with everything, but it's getting closer. So far I've:

1. Bought a killer backpack so I don't have to take a suitcase.
2. Bought a travel guide to Central America. I like to read it and pretend that I have time to go everywhere.
3. Cut my hair. Like, all of it. It's a little too Hillary Rodham Clinton meets suburban soccer mom, but I like that I don't even have to pull it back because it's so short. And I'm going to save so much money on shampoo and conditioner. I'll probably start a college fund for my future children or put a down payment on a new home with all that cash. Plus, I get to wear some sweet pigtails when I go running.
4. Got malaria pills. They gave me doxycycline at Redfern. I looked it up on wikipedia and apprently doxycycline is also used to treat chlamidia and syphilis. Hello, freedom!
5. Ordered 5 books off amazon.com. I feel like I might have some extra time to read while I'm there.

I have 6 days left of my public speaking class (which, by the way, is more terrifying to me than flying to a 3rd world country for 2 months) and one of my roommates said she'll take me to the Atlanta airport on June 1. I guess what I'm saying is, I've done almost everything I personally can to get ready, now it's just a waiting game.

On a more serious note, here's a list of things that could go wrong this summer.

• My bag gets lost on the flight. (Whatever.)
• I'm incredibly lonely all summer. (That one's pretty likely.)
• I get horribly sick while I'm down there or I break something. (I'm not prone to awful accidents, so I'm counting on my luck holding here.)
• My Spanish sucks. (I'm good at smiling and nodding.)
• Communist rebel forces have an uprising and take me as their prisoner. I pull a classic Patty Hearst move, identify with my captors and appear on communist propaganda all over the world. (I'm not sure if this belongs on my list of things that could go wrong, it sounds pretty awesome to me.)
  

If you're inclined to prayer, I'd appreciate it. If not, please send me kind words.

I have to go write an informative speech on why Austin, Tx is a kickin' place to visit and live. Thanks for reading, hopefully next time you hear from me I'll be in Granada!

my big fat disclaimer

Disclaimer: I secretly think blogs are stupid. Or at least, I think the idea of me having a blog is stupid, for the following reasons:

1. I hate the word "blog". It's dumb. Every time someone refers to themselves as a "blogger", I die a little inside.
2. I think it's mildly ridiculous to devote web space to talking about myself. I don't think I'm that interesting.
3. I already keep a private journal, why go public?

All that aside, I do want the people I care about to know what I'm up to this summer. More than that, I want to know what yall are up to. So, hopefully this blog (gross...) will fulfill both of those goals.

I've been realizing that I haven't actually told that many people what I'm doing this summer, so to catch everyone up: I'm going to be living in Granada, Nicaragua from June 1 -- July 14ish, where I'll be volunteering at a girls' orphanage called Misioneras de la Caridad. It's a home for girls who have been orphaned, abandoned, or taken out of bad home situations. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do on a daily basis, but my activities may include any or all of the following:

• English lessons (I'm not really qualified to teach but whatever)
• Health/hygiene classes for the older girls (I'm a health science major, that should be cool)
• Activities/games with the younger girls (I'm super immature. No problem.)
• "Other" activities, like cooking or dancing (I suck at both. I hope the nuns who run the place don't expect great things from me.)

I really don't know many details beyond that. I'll be living with a family in Granada until July 14, after which I've left myself about 2 weeks to travel before I come home on August 1. I think it will be nice to be back in the Hispanic world. I'd like to completely submerge myself in life there, so I requested not to be placed at a volunteer site where I would be surrounded by other English-speakers, and hopefully the company that placed me (ELI Abroad) will hold up their end of the bargain.

Until June comes, I'm just hanging around Clemson. Nearly all my friends are gone, which leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I'm taking public speaking at the local junior college, and I'll fill the rest of my days with waitressing, riding my friend Holly's loaner bike around the streets of Central/Clemson, running, making smoothies, stocking up on necessities for my trip (things like a backpack, and a travel guide, and immodium), reading, etc... Basically, preparing my mind and body for the next great adventure.

Test 1, 2

I haven't blogged since I was in high school.