An American Dream

*so photos in this blog have been taken by a lot of different people, all of our mutual experiences, and shared with me. But yeah, just so you know.

I bet you thought that since I have successfully returned from Benin, you wouldn’t have any more blogs coming from my fingers. But I guess I have just come to love telling the stories of my adventures, and happily for me, the adventures have not stopped!

There…

I would first like to jump back to my former home. I hesitate in sharing this story, because I don’t want you to just chalk it up to Benin being the backwards, superstitious place you always assumed it was. So please, when you’re reading the following paragraphs, try to remember that ignorance, fear, and superstition (even in forms present in America) can breed a lot of terrible things.

I may have mentioned Corneille, Raili’s Beninese boyfriend, in previous entries. He is a primary school teacher, and a really great guy. He has been helpful to us personally (he helped coordinate some things for our camp).

Recently, his entire life was burned to the ground. He was caught up in a town’s eruption into a witchhunt.

Yes, you read that right a witchhunt. If you want a first-hand account, this is a blog written by another volunteer, Raili and I’s friend Ron: http://vraisvoyageurs.tumblr.com/post/100231535535/complications . And I beg that you read this with an aim to understand (but not to ever condone), rather than shrug it off as simply a backwards superstition.

In West Africa, you can see the drastic effects of global warming. The desert is encroaching. The seasons are getting worse. There was little rain this year. This means that people can’t go crops like they are used to. They can’t grow enough to feed their families. Or enough to have extra money. They can’t pay to treat medical conditions. Three children from the same family die in the same week from grave malaria.

And people need someone to blame. This world doesn’t make sense. In what world should your crops fail, your children die? And who is a convenient person to blame? That woman. The woman with a car. And money. Women shouldn’t have cars. Cars are luxuries for men. Why should this woman, an outsider, have a car, when there are some men who can’t feed their families? Because witch hunts, historically and today, are rooted in misogyny. A way to restore order. Keep women down, in their proper place.

Months ago, right after the three children in one family died, this woman was accused of being a witch, and she took that car and drove to Ghana, to escape. She owned a group of houses/apartments, including the one that our friend Corneille was living in. Everyone else there fled. They did not want to live in a witch’s house. Corneille stayed, telling people that questioned him that even if she was truly a witch, she wouldn’t want anyone to know, so she would protect him.

I suppose he never imagined that some people would decide to take matters into their own hands. More recently there was a cholera outbreak, and people were more scared and frustrated. The king in town refused to call in a traditional healer to find the witches and stop the cholera outbreak. He understands the science behind the spread of the disease.

So the king’s house was burned down. The house and car owned by this well-off woman was also burned. Corneille and Raili watched as the entirety of Corneille’s physical possessions went up in flame. The military was called in to restore order, and Raili and Ron have been removed from their villages.

It really breaks my heart. I want to rage at these Beninese for being so stupid, ignorant, hateful. For letting superstition get the best of them. For directing their rage at innocent people. For targeting outsiders, women, blaming them for their own failures and the failures of the environment and really the global scene. We are responsible for global warming in America, we are hurting their crops. The West has systematically under-developed Africa, and the people there suffer in poverty. They can’t burn down the West in retaliation. So they burn down the house of the woman that did a little better, including the house of a man who does the incredible task of teaching the community’s children.

But I beg of you to realize that we are not so different. “Oh yes,” you might think, “we had our own witch problems. Hundreds of years ago, in Salem, the most notable case.”

In 1953 The Crucible was published about the Salem Witch Trials. But it wasn’t because the author, Arthur Miller was suddenly interested in this historical event. It was because he saw a similar drama unfolding before him. Only we were more advanced. We didn’t call it sorcery any more. We called it communism.

And when you think about it, witch-hunts are just about superstitions. They’re about restoring order in this tumultuous world. They are about fighting something we don’t fully understand. Something that really only exists in the abstract. They are ways of punishing people for not conforming. A way of attacking outsiders or political enemies.

In the 1950s we engaged in a witch-hunt for communists. Today we are hunting “terrorists”. And it can be just as life-ruining for innocent people. Think about all the Arab-looking people (including those who are not even remotely Arab at all) who have been physically attacked for resembling something we fear. We try to chase out outsiders, who we feel have no right to security when we don’t feel safe. There are a lot of hate crimes against Arab-Americans, and even discrimination in airports or in interactions with police, a feeling of not being welcome in many communities. It’s a way to help us keep order. To protect ourselves from the “other”. And fight a force that is really difficult to define and/or identify—be it sorcery, communism, or terrorism.

So this is my plea to you. Don’t write off this story as simply an African problem of ignorance. Be sad for the victims, hope and pray for their recovery [and if you really want to, follow instructions on this page (Raili’s blog: http://journeydujourbenin.blogspot.com/2014/10/help-us-rebuild.html ) to donate to this fund which will go to Corneille to help him start rebuilding his life]. But also look around at our fear of the “other.” This can have grave consequences is we let that fear and resentment build up against certain groups of people. We need to take the time to sit down with others—even outsiders—and just talk, share our lives. You start to realize that everyone is human, and can’t be painted with a broad brush, based on their race or place of origin or sex. It really breaks my heart where we still live in a world that everyone can get so riled up against a supposed foe, not based on evidence, but based on prejudice. We can all do better.

…And Back Again

Luna and I made it to America safe and sound. It was quite a long journey, and poor Luna was very confused as to why she had to sit in a carrier for over 24 hours. She didn’t have to be quarantined or anything; I just had papers saying that she has her rabies shot. Though, it didn’t seem to matter, as people hardly noticed that I was carrying a cat and not one person even bothered to look at my papers for her. I hope that makes you feel safe.

Sadly, one of my suitcases did not make it to America, and it is still missing. I kept hoping that it will show up, but at this point it seems unlikely.

I had to stay behind and file a report for my missing bag, and then I got shunted off into the extra-security checkpoint as I attempted to leave Dulles (apparently randomly, but I suspect it had something to do with me being out of the country for over two years). And, of course, though Dulles has wifi, my phone refuses to work with it. So I am stuck with these extra delays, and no way to call my poor mother, who is waiting for me at the exit. She apparently talked to one of the airport information people, who helped by suggesting that maybe I didn’t even make it onto the plane in Turkey. I finally make it through moments before my mom goes into high-worrying mode.

My first bit of culture shock came when we went to get drive-through food. We pulled up to the window, I looked down at Luna, and then the next thing I knew, we were pulling away. “Wait, what?” I ask. “We already paid AND got our food?” We had. Life in America is fast!

And just so everyone knows, I did in fact get all of my first-day-back meals I wrote about earlier (bagel with cream cheese, cucumbers and Sriracha; salad with ALL THE VEGGIES, and cheesy crab dip from The Main Cup), though not necessarily in the exact order.

The following week was filled with a lot of family. My uncle Ken flew in with Paula, all the way from Portland; my uncle Jeff flew in from Atlanta; and my sister Jessica from Vail, Colorado. Then obviously, my grandmothers and sister Danielle were already in the area. Jessica, Danielle, Mom and I had some bonding nights with delicious mixed drinks and fun conversation. The Saturday after my return, the whole family (including my cousin Nikki and her family) was at my mom’s house. We started off with mimosas in the morning, and then I got to have some of my delicious FIREFLY Sweet Tea Vodka. Bob made excellent pulled pork and Jeff cooked peppers and pineapple on the grill. We had shrimp from Weis, and my grandmother brought her pasta salad. It was a very delicious day. I was so happy to be surrounded by my family and be able to enjoy their company as well as incredible food.

Mimosas in the morning!

Family Pic!

Wednesday, I went over to Nanny’s house. I got to see her and Todd, and she fixed an excellent meal involving a lot of fried shrimp, fries, rolls, etc. It was another wonderful night.

It was really, really fantastic to see my family. With the exception of Mom and Bob, I hadn’t seen anyone for over two years. Sure, I shared my blogs with them, got occasional emails, plus had a few skype sessions. But even those aren’t the same as actually seeing your family, sitting down and joking, and just basking in the others presence. Of course, this is even better when doing it with satisfying food, and pleasant drinks, so basically you can simply feel ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS.

I also went up to New Jersey, where my friend Diane lives. She’s had quite the past two years, including working an awesome job in New York (HR for a nice hotel), until that became too much, and she decided to live in Puerto Rico for a few months, before moving back to the Jersey Shore, where she grew up, and starting her own business selling coffee. For over 100 days straight, she worked her little stand on her own. When I got there, she was getting ready to sell it; she just had to wait until the end of the month. She joked about how she’s accomplished everything she ever wanted to (NY job and life, living in the Caribbean, and owning her own business). So, now what?

I happened to be there for Rosh Hashanah, so I went with Diane to her Dad’s house, where we had apples and honey (to symbolize a sweet year), challah bread, and gefilte fish (my first time having that), and delicious brisket. I kept my mouth closed whenever politics came up (Diane’s family being NJ conservatives, and not at all in to Obama). When I mentioned that I would be traveling to South Africa on Ethiopian Air, Diane’s grandfather told me all about Haile Selassie, which I thought was very interesting.

The next day it was raining, which meant that Diane did not have to work at her outside stand. Instead we relaxed a bit, before going to the Pitbull & Enrique Inglesias concert in Madison Square garden. We stayed with one of her friends in North Jersey, and took the bus into New York. The concert was very fun, and then we got some New York pizza afterwards. I really love my life.

At the Pitbull Concert

So then I went back home, just in time to pack up for a cross-country trip. I have two weddings to attend in October, one in Arizona, and one in New Mexico. Since it seems silly to fly out twice, I just decided to drive, and turn it into an epic roadtrip. And so it was. Here is the story of that adventure:

ROADTRIP

My route, approximately

 Thursday, October 2^nd – Sunday, October 5^th

Home to Atlanta

At the very last minute, Diane decides to join me on this roadtrip. She has just sold her coffee business, and is ready to get out of NJ. The Jersey shore is awesome for summer, but not so much the rest of the year. Additionally, she has some unfinished romantic business in Phoenix, AZ, where I just so happen to be headed.

I have missed driving so much! I didn’t own a vehicle and Benin (per PC policy), and besides, it would have been a nightmare to drive. But oh how I have missed sitting in the drivers seat, switching the gears (I have a manual transmission) with gusto, speeding, slowing, turning, all this power literally in my hands. Blasting my favorite tunes, rolling down the window and singing along. The bass booms, and I am free to drive away to pass by beautiful scenery and stop by friends’ residences. I am the god of my movements. Well, at least until there is traffic.

The drive to Atlanta is long, but not hard. It was really nice to drive through the hills of Georgia, especially in the fall the leaves are changing, and it was just beautiful. Even as I was driving, I was hit by just how beautiful America is. We really do live in an incredible nation, with all kinds of beautiful scenery.

I spent the weekend with my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Fran. Fran made me some delicious sweet tea, and Jeff did some excellent cooking on the grill. I got to have great conversations with both of them as well. I managed to keep Jeff up until 1:30AM two nights in a row, just drinking and talking. I think he only slightly regretted it. Perhaps the hangover wasn’t the best, but I like to think that an enrapturing conversation with your niece makes it worth it (IT BETTER!). I finally managed to return a book I’d borrowed from Jeff over 10 years ago. He had written it off as gone, but I finally remembered to bring it. So we had somewhat nerdy session, just talking about books (especially fantasy) and other things, and then a little about politics.

Ryan and Seun came over with Colin. Oh my, has he grown in the past two years! He is an adorable kid, ready to bring you a beer, at his father’s bidding. And full of questions! At night, he went to look up at the sky, and was excited to see the moon. He kept shining his flashlight up into the sky, and didn’t understand why this wasn’t helping him see the moon better. I had to restrain myself from launching into an explanation that the moon is actually a reflection of the sun’s light, and therefore, you don’t need to shine any light on it, and in fact… well let’s just say this might have gone over his head, and perhaps if I have kids one day, I’ll need to come up with short and sweet, understandable answers.

Monday, October 6^th

Atlanta to New Orleans

Today, Diane and I left bright and early from Atlanta. The traffic is always horrible there, but luckily the direction we were heading meant that we avoided most of it. Most of the trip to New Orleans was smooth sailing, except for one part where we came to a complete stop due to an accident up the road. We were only stopped for maybe a half an hour, during which Diane decided to record us jamming to a song. In New Orleans, we stayed with my friend Karien, who was also in Peace Corps Benin.

Diane and I in NOLA

We went and had delicious Creole food and walked around downtown New Orleans. It really is such a cool city! I love New Orleans chill and friendly attitude. We walked around and got sweet beignets. Then we went and got a daiquiri, got stopped by drag queens who just wanted to chat with us and invite us to the show later. I love that it’s warm there, has French-esque names, and wonderful greenery. Diane and I went out with Karien as well, and at some point asked her if she wanted to go on a roadtrip with us. She agreed, bought a plane ticket from Denver for two weeks later, and the next day left with us.

Tuesday, October 7^th

New Orleans to Austin

Before leaving, however, we went to get po-boys. Karien informed me that in New Orleans the best food can be found in grocery stores. (I thought this was weird at first, but then I remembered often getting friend chicken, etc, from this gas station in Hagerstown.) We got 30-inch fried catfish po-boys, and they were everything I ever dreamed of. While we were waiting for the sandwich to be made, I had to resist from trying to buy everything else there. So many fried things! Yumm!

Alas, I was able to tear myself away. We went back to Karien’s house, then we started off on our roadtrip.

In the Car

We took a route through the Bayou, which was fun. A lot of our days was just driving, until we arrived in Austin, TX. Since we had started a little later in the day, we got in kind of late. We stayed with some friend of Karien’s from school. He happened to be in Peace Corps, but in South America. We shared a bunch of stories from abroad, before going to bed.

Wednesday, October 8^th

Austin to El Paso

Today was a very long drive. Diane was sad because she had always wanted to go to Austin, and now we only had a few hours. But we did stop downtown, got coffee at a cute coffee shop, and admired the city. Austin has a really cool reputation, and I’m sad that both times I’ve been through, I’ve only gotten a short glimpse.

As we were on the road that morning, Diane told us a little story. She happened to wake up really, and as she was on her phone, realizing the eclipse is happening. So she runs outside in her PJs, looking up at the sky, trying to figure out where this is occurring in the sky. Then she looks around, and realizes that productive people are actually up, either jogging, or perhaps getting in their cars to go to work. So she must have looked like a crazy person, but all she really wanted to see was a cool eclipse!

We moved onto other topics. One of the constant one was always Ebola. Karien and I have recently returned from West Africa, so first of all, we knew about the current outbreak before a lot of other people in the US, but also, it is a topic that always rears its head when we mention our former home. At this point, such a thing isn’t really bothering me, but it really bothers Diane. Every time she mentions to a family member that I am back, they always ask if I have Ebola. People tell her to make sure before meeting up with me. But, oops, she got in a car with me to drive across the country.

The constant worry about Ebola did start bothering me as the trip went on. After spending some time with one individual, and taking the time to explain the realities of Ebola and how it was impossible for me to have it, they messaged me later to confirm, that I truly didn’t have it. I initially feelt insulted that they would think that if I even had a suspicion that I might be incubating Ebola, my natural decision would be “Well, I should drive across the country and see how far I get before I get to infect a bunch of unsuspecting people in some random town in America,” and resisted the urge to tell them to look at a damn map, and realize that they, as a Dallas resident have been geographically closer to an Ebola patient than I ever was my entire time in West Africa. I sent them a message, again, explaining the disease further and pleading for them to spread the knowledge and not break out into panic. I keep getting thing in my facebook newsfeed (and defriended another person for spreading too much panicky stuff) about it. And I hate the theme is hardly ever—at least among non-Peace Corps volunteers— “Oh my, THOUSANDS of Africans have died, we should really do something,” but an “Oh no, we might have a few people in the States come back with it, so we should protect ourselves.” I hate the philosophy—whether it’s about Ebola, poverty, drugs, terrorism, whatever—that we don’t care or that we shouldn’t focus on solving those problems wherever they might exist in the world, but only we should make sure that it doesn’t cross our borders. Where’s the empathy, the humanity? And furthermore, I think it would be far more effective to root the problem out at its cause, not just try to put up a fence. Or a dome, if we’re so worried about air travel.

Then, of course, there are the crazy people that put out conspiracy theories. The CDC is hiding the “facts” about Ebola (except, oh wait, it’s their job to spread knowledge about diseases). Obama started Ebola. ISIS terrorists will bring Ebola to the States. The craziness goes on. So we decided to make up some of our own, more outrageous headlines, which got more ridiculous as the drive went on.

We laughed a bit, and looked around at the scenery. My uncle had warned me repeatedly that driving along I-10 (which we did, despite his recommendation to never, ever, ever, take this route) was the most boring thing you could do. But we were seeing a whole new scenery. Yes, everything was very flat, but the skies looked so incredibly wide. The clouds were suspended in a surreal fashion, it just looked so cool. Even though the ground was brown, and the vegetation plain (mostly shrubs), it simply looked so different. We were all enraptured, and definitely thought, hmm, your uncle is just ridiculous.

And we see a mountain (really a hill) jut up from the ground. “Oooh…it looks so cool!” we all proclaim.

Then it takes three hours to reach that mountain (hill). And it’s flat again. Until we see another mountain (hill) pop up in the distance.

In the end, I think the drive was overall striking. But later I realized that I think coming from the east coast, so something we’re really not used to, it was more novel. But when you’re driving back from the West Coast, where you’re constantly seeing desert-esque scenes, or simply dry landscapes, and get to view incredible, actual mountains, Texas and the like can seem just so boring, especially when it extends for over 12 hours. But it was a really great way to start out; the scenes ONLY got better from there!

At some rest stop in TX

We stayed the night in El Paso. There, Karien had found us some couchsurfing hosts. For those of you who don’t know what this is, couchsurfing is basically a website where you can travel and stay with people (presumably on their couch) for free. It sounds a little scary, but it’s not really. According to Karien, the way things are set up mean that the couchsurfing community insists on a laid-back attitude. A lot of people travel this way, but are also expected to open up their house (if possible). And you can always leave reviews. So Karien has a rule that she only stays with people who have reviews. It is unfortunate that this has to be a rule; that you can’t just trust people. But this is the world we live in. She reads through the profiles to find people to sound cool, and the through the reviews to make sure they aren’t crazy or anything. Karien has also hosted a bunch of people as well, and just raves about every experience. You get to meet really cool, open, chill people that you probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. So anyway, in El Paso we stayed with three people, a brother, sister, and cousin. The sister wasn’t around much (I think she was at work), but we went out and got drinks and food with the two guys. We had a fun discussion before heading to bed, and then the next day headed onward to Phoenix.

NICOLE’S WEDDING

Thursday October 9^th – (the morning of) Sunday October 12^th

Phoenix, AZ

Today we drove up through a bit of New Mexico and then Arizona. We were truly in the desert now. I dropped Diane off where she was meeting her friend, then Karien off at another couchsurfer’s house. I then drove to Nicole’s house. Nicole is my best friend from High School. She was a year behind me in school, but we had some classes together (including strength training). Her mom, Helen, also worked for my parents (and then I was under her supervision when doing work for them), and I’ve dogsat for her multiple times. Nicole and I have managed to keep in touch over the years, even though we have lived in very different parts of the country/globe. And Helen tells me she will always be ready to give me a glowing recommendation!

On the way to Nicole’s house, my GPS decides to fail me, in not believing that her address is an actual place. I suspected that maybe this area where she lives was built up after my GPS was made, but I’m not sure. So anyway, I had to pull over, look up the address on my phone. Then my phone tells me it can’t give me verbal directions, because I haven’t downloaded the verbal package yet. Oh and also the signal isn’t the greatest. So I just sit there and try to memorize the names, etc, and go for it. I made it to Nicole’s house, only after a minor breakdown where I was on her street, but couldn’t actually read the house numbers, and shouted to no one in particular, “AMERICA IS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY!!!” (I’ve said this a lot since coming home)

However, once I actually made it into Nicole’s house, I got to meet her fiancé and his best men, who happened to be making fajitas, and life just got better from there! The fajitas were delicious. Then, on the bed Nicole provided for me, there was a little package with goodies (water, mini bottle of wine, candy, cookies, etc), and a nice note on the front thanking me for coming to the wedding. I just had this moment of “Oh my god, this is what it’s like to grow up! I will get to do cute things!”

Then I panicked a little about growing up and needing to be responsible and not do whimsical things like couchsurf across the country. I’m not sure though, I think you can remain open to people and adventure even when you grow up; I don’t see why not!

I was asked by someone there how on earth I could manage to take a month-long roadtrip, what with the costs and the not-working. I replied that I had lived at home a few years ago and saved up a lot of money. He replied, “I live at home! And I can’t figure out how to save!” So I felt better about my life decisions. Granted, most of that aforementioned money is gone, paying for this little thing called a Masters Degree, but the fact that I did pay for it with only a tiny amount of student loans was awesome. Plus Peace Corps gives a small readjustment allowance to help buy things like clothes that are A) not covered in dirt, B) not full of holes, and C) somewhat in style, as well as other things to help get you on your feet as you “readjust” to life in America. I just feel proud of myself that I can have all these adventures, while still being responsible financially (ISH).

The next day, Friday, we had a little bachelorette day. Nothing too crazy, we just went and had lunch, and then got a mani/pedi. I remember coming back to America and just being SO EXCITED to be clean and pretty again. As in not being able to rub balls of dirt off my body, and occasionally wearing makeup; being able to wear my hair down without it turning into a sweaty mess. Now here I am, getting a pedicure (with the added bonus of a massage chair). My feet are cleaned off, and in fact I think this is the cleanest they’ve been in over two years. It was a really nice, relaxing day, followed by a brief rehearsal for the wedding, and then a nice dinner at Helen’s.

Helen is a born host, and of course had bottles of wine everywhere. There was delicious salsa and guacamole with chips, and later we were served salad, burger, and ALL of the good things. It was so delicious, and I’m fairly certain I gained 10 pounds that night alone (so much for all the weight I lost in Peace Corps.) I didn’t really know many people, except for Nicole and Helen, her mother, and one girl Michelle, who I briefly met on a few occasions through Nicole. But I ended up sitting at a table, chatting with some other guests. Helen made a point to make sure everyone I was sitting next to knew I was fresh back from the Peace Corps. She says she is just so impressed with my work, and wants everyone else to be as well, I suppose. I was chatting to one woman who actually had daughter who had spent time in Africa (I think in the Peace Corps, but I can’t remember correctly). She told me that when I talked about Africa and working in development, I just had that “glow.” I joke that the “glow” might be the wine, but she responded, no, just look at your face, your smile. You love talking about Africa, you are getting so excited just talking about the work you did. You’ll definitely go back. And do even more amazing things then you did last time.” I was really flattered by everyone that I talked to.

Saturday was the big day. We woke and had breakfast, then all the girls went to get their hair done. Finally, we headed to the wedding venue. My room was the only one available, so I opened it up for all my fellow bridesmaids. We put makeup on and what not, and then our dresses. After this we headed to the room where Nicole would get ready. Her dress was there, and one of her mom’s friends did her makeup. There were a bunch of pictures taken, until finally it was go time.

Bride and Bridesmaids

Me and Nicole

It was bittersweet, because Nicole’s father, Jim, died three years ago (about a year and a half after my dad). They placed a photo of Nicole and Jim together, where he should have been sitting, and Nicole’s mom and brother walked her down the aisle. It was very sweet, but I definitely teared up (And again, when Nicole and Helen did a mother-daughter dance). The ceremony was short, but very sweet. The couple looked very happy and in love, and that was good to see.

Of course afterwards was a million more pictures, then we had our grand entrance. Nicole wanted us each to dance. I, of course was terrified to have all eyes on me while I’m freestyling a dance. Luckily another bridesmaid felt the same way. So we decided that the three bridesmaids would enter together. Then the two Maids of Honor and Best Men would enter as two separate couples. This worked very well, and we just went for it. Later, another wedding guest complimented us, saying that it really turned up the energy in the room, and made the mood of the party much better. I had to admit that it was none of my doing, but all Nicole’s idea!

The food was great, and Michelle’s mother was kind enough to offer to grab drinks for the bridal party when she went up to the bar. All the bridesmaids ordered Long Island Iced Teas, which I feel was a great start to the night, even though they weren’t that strong.

Fun Photobooth Photo

After dinner the dance party started. I was looking forward to this. But the music was not my generation (think Michael Jackson and Prince, etc). I wasn’t really sure how to dance to it. So I got another LIT, and sat there drinking it, until one of the ladies I had talked with the previous night dragged me onto the dance floor. I danced a lot, but sometimes I just really couldn’t feel the songs. Then they put on the Wobble, my fav dance/hustle, and it was off from there. I spent most of the rest of the night dancing. Then there was a photo booth, where you could dress up in ridiculous costumes and take pictures. I did that a few times with the bridal party, and then went back to dancing, taking breaks during songs I knew less.

At 9:00PM, the bar stopped being an open bar, and turned to cash-only. This is when I broke out my flask. However, by 9:15, I swear, half of the guests were gone, and by 9:30, it was only the bridal party and really close family and friends. I kind of laughed at that, and joked that apparently people were only here for the free booze. But I think the timing was intentional, to get people out so there were only a few left when the party officially ended at 10:00PM. There was some after-party drinking and chatting in someone’s hotel room, but I was tired and ended up just going to bed.

Sunday, Helen had a nice brunch, complete with an entire huge beverage dispenser full of mimosas! The meal was wonderful again, and I had fun chatting with more people. One lady, as I sat down said, “Oh look, here is the dancer!” and I blushed, and the other woman scolded me, saying, “Yes this same girl who thought she couldn’t dance at first!” I just laughed and told them I just had to get into it.

ON WITH THE ROADTRIP

Sunday, October 12^th (Afternoon)

Phoenix to Flagstaff, AZ

At long last, it was time to say goodbye. I had another part of my journey to get to, so I went and collected my stuff, from Nicole’s then picked up Karien in downtown Phoenix. She had had a wonderful time hanging out with the couchsurfing hosts. But now we were on to Flagstaff. We decided to drive through Tonto National Forest, which was really beautiful. It was amazing to see the changes as we rose in elevation. Phoenix is, of course, in a low, flat area of the desert. So when we initially left it and headed into the National Forest, it was all cactus and low shrubs, which was cool. But then we kept climbing (Flagstaff is at about 7000ft above sea level), and we saw much different vegetation, including evergreen trees and what not.

We got into Flagstaff after dark, and made dinner. Then our host informed us that he had a hot tub and would we like to use it (of course). So we sat around and relaxed, possibly for way to long. But we felt refreshed and relaxed; ready for the next part of our adventure.

Monday, October 13^th

Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, to Tuba City

We got up early to leave, but also managed to stop in a little coffee shop in Flagstaff. Our trek to the Grand Canyon commenced, after a few wrong turns. I guess I forget what it’s like to think of seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time (this is my third). Along the way, I kept being like, oh let’s pull off and see this other thing; let’s stop at the visitor’s center, yadda yadda, until Karien is finally just like, “PLEASE CAN WE JUST SEE THE ACTUAL GRAND CANYON!” So we finally parked and headed towards it. And even the third time; it’s still such an incredible view. Just this huge rut in the ground of a size that I’m not sure one is ever able to comprehend. It just goes on and on. And that place across the way (to the north) is actually a thousand feet higher than where you’re standing. You can only just sit there and bask in the grand majesty of it.

The only acceptable pose at the Grand Canyon

It was also nice because there weren’t so many people there. We did run into some French tourists and delighted in their expressions of “Magnifique!” and “Incroyable!” I really love the French language. It’s so nice to hear. Oh and then one guy said something along the lines of, “Well, at least if I fall, my resting place will be beautiful.”

We stopped at multiple overlooks, and at one actually made ourselves lunch. Then we just casually ate while looking out on one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

After admiring the view, and of course taking plenty of pictures of us and this background, we headed off to where we’d be staying for the night. It was Tuba City, inside of the Hopi Reservation. I chose that so we’d have all day to get through the Grand Canyon, and not have to rush.

Finding the hotel was interesting because the one we were looking for actually no longer existed (yeah, thanks Google Maps). We drove around in circles for about 20 to 30 minutes before we accepted defeat. Then we went on to another hotel I’d written down, where we easily found the place. Just another GPS fail. Sigh. Maybe it’s time to invest in a new one.

Tuesday, October 14^th

Painted Desert, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley

The next morning we got up early, since we had a long days drive ahead of us. Now I had driven through the Painted Desert before, so I planned on a different route. This took me more south, and I think I missed some of the actual desert part. But along this route, we got to see Canyon de Chelly. I had actually never heard of this National Monument before. But I stumbled across it while planning the route, so we stopped there. The canyon was cool, with rocks that had swirling patterns, and rocks that just dropped down into the canyon floor. There was a really open surface on the bottom, meaning plenty of room for people to have lived and farm there historically (and today as well).

Painted Desert

Top of Canyon de Chelly

Looking down in Canyon de Chelly

We continued on through Monument Valley, which is always incredible. And then we wanted to go to the Four Corners. But Karien and I both happened to be out of cash completely, and we couldn’t pay the entrance fee. So we simply continued on to Durango, where we would be staying for the night.

There we met up with our cool couchsurfing host, who promptly invited us to the open mike night she was hosting. She was a pretty rad individual, and at this open-mike night played songs on the accordion that she had actually written herself! Colorado seemed pretty cool; very clean and everyone is outdoors-y. The bad part, however, is the terrible lack of diversity. I think I saw one black person the entire time I was there, and he simply looked like he had stumbled into the state accidentally.

Wednesday, October 15^th

Canyon of the Ancients, Mesa Verde

Looking towards the mountains from Western Colorado

Today we headed off to see two sites in the Southwest corner of Colorado. The first was Canyon of the Ancients, which is only a national monument (no “park” status). The visitor’s office (also the Anasazi Heritage Center) was in a very random place, but it had a very interesting and informative display. There were examples of many of the artifacts found in the area, as well as a replica of the traditional kivas/pueblas used in the area.

View from the Vistor's Center

The actual sites at Canyon of the Ancients are hard to find. They are located down various dirt roads with helpful names such as “Co Road P”, and that don’t necessarily stay in a straight line. There are parking spaces and trails, as well as a few signs, but for the most part there were just ruins that you could see. Some were very defined walls; others lumps of rocks that had tumbled down. Many signs mentioned that to the “trained eye” (say, an actual archeologist) these ruins would make a lot more sense. Nevertheless, it was still an interesting experience. I marveled at how small the rooms/houses were, and Karien pointed out that most likely the majority of activities took place outside. With no technology, such as TVs and computers, to keep you inside, why stay in the dark? And furthermore, it would take a lot of effort to build huge homes by hand, so why not just throw up the necessary shelter, and take the majority of activities outside?

One of the sites

Next we headed to Mesa Verde. This park is more structured, obviously. We go there a little late, and wouldn’t have been able to make the actual guided hikes to some of the ruins. However, we drove along the routes to the various sites. The drive itself was absolutely gorgeous! It is fall, so all the leaves were turning and the colors were just amazing! We drove up to the highest point of the park, which is where the fire tower is located. The view was really great. We were cold, however, and thought back to just mere days before when we were in the sunny, hot desert of Arizona. We also got to see many of the sites, which were much more intact than those at Canyon of the Ancients. Additionally, they just looked so cool being built into the side of cliffs (well some of them, there were also ones just built normal, on flat ground).

Highest Point in Mesa Verde

We eventually headed back to Durango as the sun was setting. Our host’s friend brought over some vegetables from his farm, which we cooked and ate, so that was pretty good!

Thursday, October 16^th (Morning)

San Juan National Forest, Glenwood Canyon

My Uncle Ken has told me repeatedly that the drive north from Durango through San Juan National Forest is one of the prettiest drives in the entire country. I was finally was able to listen to his advice, and took this route. It was indeed very gorgeous, and even more so this time of year! It was cool to go up and down a bunch of mountains, and even into this little town called Silverton, where we shuddered at the idea of being snowed in to the point of having zero access to any food/modern conveniences, etc, so we moved on before the snow could catch us.

One of the streams beside the road. Filled with Iron(?), giving it this color.

After that we drove up towards Grand Junction, and then got on I-70. We were able to drive through Glenwood Canyon, which according to Wikipedia, people have “praised the engineering achievement required to build the freeway through the narrow gorge while preserving the natural beauty of the canyon”. I do agree, it was quite remarkable. We got to drive in the middle of this gorgeous canyon, and even better it meant not having to really mess up our gas mileage by going up and down over mountains.

Glenwood Canyon

The other cool thing was that there is a bike path that actually parallels (and by that I mean weaves back and forth under) the highway. This trip has really inspired me to bike more. I’ve heard it’s such a different way to see everything. You’re obviously going slower, so you see more than just speeding by in a car. Obviously, it might take a lot longer to get places, especially trying to cross large distances. But I wouldn’t even be opposed to driving around to cool parks and then biking from there. I’m even considering getting a fold-up bike that is easy to pack. But idk if it could even be small enough to, say, take with me to foreign countries. So I’ll have to think about that in conjunction with my life plans.

Thursday, October 16^th – (the Morning of) Sunday, October 19^th

Vail, CO

Finally, we made it into Vail, where my sister Jessica lives. I was very excited to be able to see the life she’s made out here. She works mostly for a fine-dining establishment. However, since this is the “off-season” or as locals apparently call it, the “mud-season”, she is not currently working. The first night we stayed in, while Karien made us a nice dinner (she is a really amazing cook). The next day Jessica decided to take us on a hike. Now, my mother and sister Danielle had visited over the summer, and there hike ended with them surrendering to the high altitude and letting Jessica continue on while they went back to the car and chatted until she returned.

So Jessica said that she had learned her lesson. Even though the actual trail was relatively easy, it started at about 12,000ft. So, unless you’re used to the altitude, it’s hard to hike. So instead, she took Karien and I to a trail that was only at about 9,000ft and went up to about 10,000. There were some hard inclines, where Jessica (who has been hiking 14ers all summer) waited patiently at the top for us, but for the most part the trail was flat. There was a bit of snow that we had to trudge through, much to Karien (the southern Louisiana native)’s dismay. We made it to a beautiful little lake at the end, which was nice. And with 3.7 miles each way, we felt pretty accomplished and proud of ourselves!

Along the Path

Jess and I at the Lake

The next day we went into Vail Village, which is this nice little spot in the center of Vail. It is all bricked, and mostly reserved for pedestrians and buses. It strongly reminded me of the town of Whister, Canada, which I guess makes sense, since they are both ski towns. We walked around a bit and then went and had dinner at a French restaurant. It was very good, including the wine. After this, we went back to Jessica’s apartment. We hung out there a bit, pregamed, and then took the bus back into Vail Village. Unfortunately, being the off season, not much was open. There was a cool basement bar that we went to, and had fun chatting together, as well as playing this dice game. One other bar was open, which was having a live singing performance. I’m not really a fan of those (just let me vibe/shake to a DJ spinning songs I know, thanks!) We ended up having a really fun night, and rode the bus back, safe and sound to Jessica’s apartments. I think it’s so cool that there is a free bus servicing this area. Jessica said that it was less frequent, being the off-season, but it still wasn’t bad. I wish this was a more prominent option everywhere. Safe traveling! Yay!

Vail Village

Just beside Vail Village

 Sunday, October 19^th – Tuesday, October 21^st

Colorado Springs and Denver

Sunday we left Jessica’s place. Karien and I had grand plans to get up and out nice and early, but they did not exactly work out. We were quite sluggish come morning, and it took us a while to get out of bed, let alone ready to leave. We set off east, and just outside of Denver, turned south to go to Colorado Springs. Jessica had recommended the Garden of the Gods, a state park. We had also considered driving up to the top of Pike’s Peak, but given our time constraints, that was quite impossible.

Walking and driving around Garden of the Gods with many families out for a relaxing Sunday, reminded me of the many Sundays spent in local parks with my family. Although, I do have to say, “Sorry, Maryland, but you ain’t got nothing on this park.” Okay, Maryland may have some cool things. But the beautiful rocks, the landscape, the view of the Rockies. It was all really incredible. Again, I found myself longing for a bike I could just pack up; there were many cool looking trails, and it would be cool just to spend the day pedaling around.

View of Pike's Peak from the Park

Balanced Rock, one of the many cool formations

Once we were done with perusing the park, we headed up back to Denver, where we were staying with another nice Couchsurfing host. Monday we went on a short tour of micro-breweries. Colorado is very into its beer-brewing. Unfortunately, for those of you who don’t know me, I hate beer. It is the worst. It is calories and bad taste and nothing else. However, when in Rome, so I decided to try it out. At the first bar, I was informed that they made “beer cocktails” which is basically beer and liquor together. I tried it out, and it wasn’t really the worst thing ever. The flavored liquor covered up some of the beer, but there was still a bit of that horrid aftertaste. But after that, I just stuck with my mixed drinks.

Somehow Karien and I, the diehard feminists that we are, got on the subject of street harassment. Our host—a male—seemed very intrigued by this. He admitted to not really knowing much about it, or having witnessed it. But we explained that it often happens when other men aren’t really looking or at least noticing. We said the #yesallwomen have a story, and he said he would ask his female friends if they did. Oftentimes women aren’t comfortable talking about it. We’re told we’re crazy or overreacting, or simply not fun/cool. It’s sometimes hard to get comfortable talking about it, even with other females. But once those floodgates open, sometimes there’s not stopping them. Every female has a story about when she was harassed, felt unsafe, or worse. I just think it’s really important for us to increase awareness about this issue.

The next day I left Karien in Denver. It was a sad goodbye; I really enjoyed traveling with her for the two weeks. I then drove down the Albuquerque, NM.

 NJC REUNION & Caitlin’s Wedding

Tuesday, October 21^st (Night) – Sunday, October 26^th

Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos, & Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu)

Three years ago when I ventured to Oklahoma to complete my grad school program, I honestly didn’t expect to do many cool things or meet many cool people. Oklahoma represented a flat, empty wasteland of dust and conservatism that I would tolerate so that I might get a degree before heading off to my grand adventure of Peace Corps. Even within a month, I realized how very wrong I was. I managed to meet the most amazing group of people, who were mostly part of the International Studies program, like me. There were students from all over America and the world. All of us were smart and funny, and constantly in Sarcasm Mode. We partied together, studied together, and took Oklahoma by storm. We survived tornados (just barely). That was the year I really grew into myself. Before I’d have acquaintances/friends and we’d hang out. I’d usually be chill enough just to go with the flow. Most of my relationships didn’t survive the tides of time, with pretty much the only exceptions being Nicole and Diane. But here, in Oklahoma, I became so comfortable around this incredible, diverse group of people. I even became known as the “glue that holds our dysfunctional family together”, as I was often the planner of events, an unofficial social chair if you will. Words cannot express my absolute love for every single individual in that group of friends. We came to call ourselves the No Judgement Circle (or the NJC). This was our mantra: to live and to love, and never to judge each other. It was a beautiful school year, but then the majority of us went on our own ways. I, of course went to Benin, three others eventually also went into Peace Corps, just in different countries, some returned to their own countries (Japan, South Korea, Mexico, etc), others studied abroad in various places before returning to America and getting cool jobs/internships. But ultimately, we haven’t all been together for 2.5 years. So our friend getting married in New Mexico was our chance, at least for some of us, to have a monumental reunion. For the sake of our cool jobs, I am going to use different names in the following story.

It worked out that three other girls were able to fly in a little early. I drove to the Albuquerque airport, and first picked up Casey. There was a little miscommunication, and I think I almost got a ticket from/possibly arrested by a transportation security person, but finally we were together. We drove up to the cell phone waiting area, because there was only 30 minutes before the next person would arrive. We caught up on life, our own Peace Corps experiences, and our return home. Next I picked up Leigh, and then again returned to the cell phone waiting lot. Chatting again, 45 minutes later, we picked up Kelly and then headed off to our hotel. At this point it was almost midnight, but we were in no mood to sleep. So, instead we pulled out the stash of alcohol I already had. I had a plain bottle of rum. But I was most excited about FIREFLY APPLE PIE MOONSHINE. Just read that one again. Now, I love Firefly. It is actually a brewery close to my college town of Charleston, South Carolina. They are the original makers of Sweet Tea Vodka, which is basically the best thing ever. And before, Casey would bring homemade Apple Pie Moonshine back from her home, and share it with the NJC. So a week before, when I found this Firefly Apple Pie, I became ecstatic, and purchased it right away. I only opened it once I was reunited with my NJC friends.

We spent the next few hours talking and drinking. We marveled over how in-step we seemed to be. It was as though those 2.5 years never happened. We were always meant for each other, we knew it!

Around 3 in the morning we decided to call another friend, Lacy, who would have already woken up in her Peace Corp country. The phone rang and rang, until a confused voice answered “Hello?” (she didn’t have my number), and four of us, in drunken unison, shouted, “LACY!!!!!!!!” There was a click, and nothing more. Kelly was slightly worried about the hotel kicking us out for being loud, but it was never a problem. Later Lacy informed us that she happened to be in a meeting, one where—rare as this might be in Peace Corps—it wasn’t actually appropriate to answer cell calls. But the phone was just ringing and ringing until she finally told her colleagues that she had to answer it. Her name blared out from the cell phone into the room, and her service promptly dropped, leaving everyone staring at her in confusion as she explained she had no idea who that was.

The next day we headed up to Santa Fe. We had a pleasant picnic in the park, and then headed around to see the cool sites of the city. We went to the Georgia O’Keefe (the artist) museum. It was only appropriate, seeing as the wedding would be held at Ghost Ranch, Georgia O’Keefe’s former home. There were a few videos and paintings, many of the New Mexico landscapes, and others of flowers that looked suspiciously like vaginas.

Santa Fe

After more city-exploring, we headed over to our Couchsurfing-host’s house. She was a pharmacist and snowboarder recently moved to Santa Fe. I made dinner for everyone, and we sat around to chat before heading out for the evening. She took us to one bar, which had a basement area with low ceilings and a semi-rude bartender who only accepted cash, but made me a really delicious drink. By the end of the night, we ended up at this club, which our host had never been to before. Since it was a Wednesday night, it was pretty much empty, but that didn’t stop us from dancing exuberantly. In fact, by the end of the night some manager had come to request that we pretty please come back on the weekend, seeing as how we would definitely make it fun. He even, at Leigh’s request, showed us a room that was currently being painted as another dance area. We were sad to inform him that, in fact, we were leaving Santa Fe the next day.

Out with the other NJC girls

We headed to Taos, New Mexico. We had a few things we wanted to see: the Puebla, Earthships, Hot Springs, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and the town center. We didn’t get to see everything, unfortunately due to various mishaps.

High Road to Taos

High Road to Taos
Notice how much the Vegetation has changed with the elevation!

The main mishap was following Google maps, which for the first time in my life let me down. The way that it told me to go led us to a dip that was quite impassible. By the time we got turned around, it was getting late, so we decided to leave the hot springs for the next day, and go instead to the bridge. The Rio Grande Gorge bridge proclaims to be the second highest bridge in the US Highway system. (The internet doesn’t always confirm this). The actual pedestals on which the bridge is placed aren’t terribly far down, place conveniently on a ledge. But the actual bottom is so far away, it makes elk look like pebbles at the bottom. And while being enraptured by the beauty of the canyon, and the terror of the drop, the most intriguing this was actually a “STOP” sign that someone managed to place—perfectly upright—halfway down an embankment that looked quite impassable.

Looking down from the Bridge

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

The next day we got up and went to the Puebla. The Taos Puebla is the oldest continually-inhabited Native American dwelling in North America. It was really cool to see! Families hold onto their property, but often have houses elsewhere. They come to the Puebla predominantly during the summer for cultural and agricultural activities. There are some who live in the Puebla year-round, involved in tourism, or often elders who are cared for by the community at large. Our guide was a very nice environmental student, who told us about the history of the Puebla and talked about his dreams of being able to give back to his community in the future, specifically with the knowledge gained by his degree.

The Puebla

By the time we finished there, however, it was too late to go to the hot springs or see the earthships. We were disappointed, but pleased that we chose the Puebla out of all the options.

We headed off to Abiquiu, where the wedding would be. Along the way we picked up another member, Ramon, who had just flown in. We didn’t have a specific address, but Casey and I’s plan was just to put in a random street, and then follow the signs once we got there. This, by the way, was a terrible plan. We pull up into this area that is I believe the town center of Abiquiu, but is very, very tiny. There are no signs for Ghost Ranch. Kelly pulls up in her car beside us.

“So…that’s as far as the GPS goes,” says Casey.

Kelly gives us her no-nonsense look, and somehow manages to pull something up on her phone (Casey and I didn’t have service). She takes off, now with us following her.

Finally, we arrive at Ghost Ranch. Checking in, we are delighted to discover that our lodging assignments allow our NJC group to essentially have our own little house. There were two sleeping rooms, with a living room in the middle. It was perfect!

The three other boys were still on their way at this point. It was actually funny, because two of them (Florencio and Dick) knew each other, but did not know the third one (Khalif) (Florencio and Dick had graduated the semester before Khalif arrived). We were worried about them meeting, but Khalif later said, that it just immediately clicked, like they had known each other all along.

Of course this was a night to party, and we enjoyed some more rum and the rest of my Firefly Apple Pie. Some girls that had done a Fulbright with the bride, Cat, came by, asking for help opening their wine bottles. The corkscrew just would move the cork. Casey pulled them out in one deft move. At one point, Ramon, Casey, and Leigh were stargazing, and then we decided to go on a drunken mini-hike, which, in case you were wondering, was a terrible idea. Luckily no one got hurt, but later we scolded ourselves for our ridiculousness. Finally, the rest of the boys arrived late at night, and we engaged in more revelry, before heading to bed.

The following morning, we got up for breakfast, and then decided to go on a hike. As we get to the start of the path, there is a gate. “Maybe this isn’t the way,” someone suggests, so we try another way, which doesn’t work. We walk back to the gate, stare at it, and discuss if we think it’s possible to go under/over it. Finally someone simply reaches out and pushes; it opens. “Come on everyone. We ALL have masters degrees…”

The hike wasn’t terribly strenuous, but we were dealing with somewhat high altitudes. We had to stop occasionally along the 45-ish minute hike, but we did make it to the top. The view was absolutely incredible. Some people climbed out towards the edge for the thrill and a better view. After a while, we decided to let the creative juices flow as we absorbed the nature around us. We wanted to write Cat a wedding card, and we wanted it to be in true, hilarious NJC form. So we decided to do an activity that Leigh often does with her ESL students: the first person writes one line, then passes it to the second person. The second person writes the second line, but then folds down the first line before passing it on to the third person, and so on. This way, only the immediately preceding line could be seen by the author. It turned out really well, and we were very proud of ourselves; not only to have undertaken this hike, but also to have created this fun- and love-filled letter.

This is a lot what I love about us. We might party hard at times, but we also always get our acts together, and take care of what we need to. We are all laid back; we had absolutely no drama over this weekend. We all did pretty well in grad school while we were there. We get up and hike; some of us just spent a few days seeing the culture and beauty of New Mexico. We all have (or are looking for in Casey and I’s case of recently returning from the Peace Corps: are looking for) jobs that will (hopefully) allow us to make a difference in the world. Who said saving the world can’t involve plenty of fun?

The wedding was very beautiful. It was set up on a little hill that looked out over all of Ghost Ranch. In the distance, we could see a mountain that Georgia O’Keefe had painted, I believe multiple times. The officiate was a long-time friend of Cat’s family, and he seemed to have pretty thoroughly vetted the groom as well. He gave a long, but humorous speech filled with fabulous anecdotes about both parties, including one where the groom gave Cat the Heimlich maneuver in the middle of a restaurant.

A classy picture in the spot where Cat got married

Afterwards was, of course, the reception. We took some time preceding it to return to our house, and grab our wedding gift, which was a basket filled with each of our signature booze choices (I, for example, gave Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, a company I believe now owes me some sort of money for mentioning them so many times in this blog). The food at the reception was really fabulous (fajitas), and after all the toasts, we were told there were two areas; one for more modern music and dancing, and the other for a more relaxing/chatting atmosphere. So, of course, we headed over to the dancing area, where we immediately started requesting—err demanding—songs and boogieing the night away.

This basically explains the night

Me with the Bride

Cat told us the next day that we received praise from another wedding guest for just making the atmosphere so “relaxed” and getting people into dancing. I also hope they enjoyed watching when I convinced everyone—for no reason at all—to run around in a dancing circle surrounding Cat while we all clapped. It was quite fun. Along with the other wedding guests we managed to drink the wedding out of booze, and Cat informed us the next day that there was a moment when people on the dance floor were passing around a bottle of what they thought was champagne, but was actually grape juice, or “sparkling” cider. I decided that it was a really great idea to actually run all the way back to our “house” and grab the rest of the drinks, along with mixers, and bring them back for everyone. It was a really, really fun night. We all made it back to the house eventually, along with some new friends that we made, and just sat around outside for a while before heading to bed. What a successful weekend!

The next day, of course, brought the goodbyes. They happened one-by-one as flights left or people drove off. Finally Ramon, Casey, and I began the drive back to Stillwater. I was really grateful that Ramon actually knows how to drive a manual transmission, so for the first time on this trip, I was able to be a passenger! That was very nice. We made it into Stillwater late, since we had lingered so long, trying hard to not actually leave our friends.

The Journey Home

Monday, October 27^th – Thursday, October 30^th

Stillwater, OK

We stayed with another NJC member, Marla, who is still in Stillwater. She is doing a PhD with something that apparently involves suspending viruses, whatever that means. The point is, she is super-smart, and we always admire her. She was planning on coming to the wedding, but last-minute another person in her lab had a family emergency, and they were all preparing for a big presentation, so she had to stay. I was happy that we got to pass through Stillwater and see her, however!

Monday, we got up and lounged around, until another NJC member, Carl, who lives in Tulsa, arrived. We went to a little Mexican restaurant, and started our day off with chips, queso, and margaritas. I met up with another friend while the rest of the party went to good ole’ Stonewall, our favorite bar in Stillwater. A few hours later, I met up with Ramon, Casey, and Carl. They were enjoying another round. Eventually we called Donna, who is the advisor for our program. Despite being sick with food poisoning, Donna hauled herself over to Stonewall. She informed us that there has been no group of students quite like us, and brought us gifts, such as pens, highlighters, and usb-drives-on-cards. She sat and chatted with us for a while, and we informed her how much we appreciated her. She really is great. She just makes things happen, such as getting all of us signed up for the appropriate classes, even when we’re spread out all over the world, and don’t really know what we’re doing.

At Stonewall, with our Advisor

The next day I had a meeting with the advisor for my creative component (basically a thesis, but less stringent). I have the survey that I did in Benin, but I actually need to work on getting it entered into a statistics software, analyzing it, plus reading up on my topic. Ahh…time is just slipping away! I think we had a good meeting though.

Casey and I then decided to make dinner for our wonderful host, Marla. It was nothing terribly hard, just some pizza and garlic bread. But it was yummy! I have missed having basically any food I want just a short drive away. Yay, America! We just sat around and talked that night, nothing too crazy.

Wednesday Casey and I decided to take a walk around Boomer Lake. It was a really nice day, and walking made us feel like we were actually accomplishing something. Then we went to Tulsa that night to hang out with Ramon and Carl. Once again, we had excellent Mexican food out. Then we just came back to Ramon’s home for a nice evening hanging out. Plus, we got to see the girlfriends of the two boys, which was nice. They are both really, really cool women, as far as I can tell.

Thursday was the day we had been looking forward to. Thursday nights were always the best nights during grad school: Techno-Beatdown at Stonewall. Basically just techno music blaring, people dancing however they want, even on tables, and fun all around. We met Marla and some of her other friends there. Casey and I decided to buy a round for everyone, which was easy, because the special only costs $2.50 (an outrageous 50-cent increase from when we were here two years ago). As we were heading inside, we heard one of Marla’s friends say, “You’re friends seem cool!” Later, when another friend mentioned that we were really fun, Marla replied, “You have no idea!” Another successful night of dancing.

 Friday, October 31^st – Sunday, November 2^nd

Stillwater à Kansas City à Indianapolis à Home

At last it was time to say goodbye to Stillwater. Now I had three days of driving ahead of me, and not exactly the fun kind. Casey and I drove up to her home in Kansas City. I got to see her mom again and meet the cat she brought back from her Peace Corps country. It was very hard to say the final NJC goodbye, and head out the next day.

EVEN WORSE there was frost on my car! I was so sad. I’ve been living in West Africa, then I was in hot Arizona. Colorado might have been a little cold, but it was at least sunny all the time. New Mexico was slightly chilly. But Frost? FROST! Ugh. I’m not looking forward to snow at all!

Saturday night, I stayed with a fellow Peace Corps volunteer. She was kind enough to offer her home up, and her parents invited me to a dinner with their friends. The meal was so, so, so good, and the company was fun. Katie, the fellow PCV, and I completed a very thorough Third Goal Activity (for those of you who don’t know, Peace Corps has 3 official goals; and the third one is to share our host country’s culture with Americans). We talked a lot about our experiences, both how they were the same in some instances, and very different, since Katie lived in the South, and I was in the North. We also debated heatedly with one gentleman about the proper way to go about development, and the West’s continued role in under-developing Africa. Though we disagreed, the debate was nice. Eventually the other guests stopped us, but at the end of the night, the hosts told me they were glad to have someone over that could hold their own against this particular friend of theirs.

Finally, Sunday, I completed my journey. In total, it was only the third day of driving all by myself this entire trip! It was a long, tiring day, but I blared my music and sang to myself for hours, so it worked out well. I arrived at my Grandmother’s to have my Stepdad, Bob’s bday dinner. Then, finally, I made it home to a very lonely cat, who was very ecstatic to see me back.

So in conclusion: 31 days, 7,643 miles, 20 states, a thousand of pictures, tons of memories. What a great way to start life back in America! Now back to the business of finding a way to put money in that bank account, instead of just taking it out…

THE FUTURE

I expect in the next few months to only be doing boring things like work, which no one needs/want to read about. But stay tuned at the end of January, I will be recounting my two-week adventure in South Africa!