when i ended my last post, i intended to head out on my bike for the evening, but what i did instead was stick around home and realize plans i had half-heartedly tried to make to attend the uganda lobby days conference in dc. instead of going to women's group, i bought a plane ticket and made arrangements to stay with a good friend from abroad. it was the best decision i've made this spring.
aside from being interesting, informative and inspiring, this trip was also full of irony. for example:
1. while i waited in the rochester airport to head to this peace rally, i was held up in my terminal by a plane-load of WWII vets exiting their plane to applause and standing ovations. ironic, considering i was on my way to protest war. and here they were, former soldiers, being honored by complete and total strangers. bizzare, to say the least.
2. i happened to be riding the same metro line that, while i was in DC, suffered a massive crash that killed 10 people, including the driver. although i was never near the stop and was in the conference when it happened, it was still surreal to take that same line the day after and watch the solemn and slightly nervous faces of my metro companions.
3. in a strange flow of conversation, i was invited to lunch with adam's ex-girlfriend, nicole. one of the girls in my new york delegation had been talking about how she had lost her cell phone and was trying to make sure she could still meet up with her friend for lunch. she discovered that i was vegan and excitedly invited me to go with her to lunch. she and "nicole" had worked for PETA one summer, traveling in a van and handing out vegan goodies, and she couldn't wait to see her again (ahem, she couldn't remember her last name though...) finally i realized it was the same nicole and very abrubtly declined. adam and i had joked about meeting up with her, but i was certainly not interested in having lunch with the woman adam lived with in his house for three years. even if i've already met her and think she's nice...
4. i made a friend at the conference, and we were driving around the city, looking for a gas station, when we ran out of gas. oh irony of all ironies.
5. i saw my friend alyssa's boyfriend biking around Adams Morgan, where i was staying with miriam (i met alyssa AND miriam in spain). then i found out alyssa had been the same place i was earlier, trying to catch glimpses of reese witherspoon shooting her latest film at the nearby starbucks.
so there you have it. there are other things worth blogging about, but i need to move on.
i quit my job at starbucks. my last day is next sunday. i couldn't be happier. i am a little sad that it limits my traveling abilities, but i can't wait to have those mornings to blog, read up on current events, job search, work on grad school apps and spend time with adam and betsy. our garden is exploding with fresh food and i need to get rid of a lot of things i don't need anymore. and there are many more books to read as well.
i'm getting more excited than ever about going back to school. i've been excited about clark university, but i just looked at uc-davis again, and i have a great feeling about it. i would love to live in davis, first of all, and i think the program would be great for me. i think the work that i'm doing now could really help me in the program, and depending on how i design my curriculum, i could get into agriculture, women's issues, sustainability, etc. one amazing thing about this program is that it's about building great communities that help protect our environment and take care of people, and davis is such an exemplary community. they also do extension work in sacramento, which is the most diverse city in the nation according to Time magazine. so it seems like a great model from which to learn. personally, i love that it is extremely close to the stanislaus, yosemite, tahoe and a host of other parks and forests for weekend hikes. and it's also the most bike-friendly city in the country. i think we're on the right track...
spending a year away from school, especially in environments that are extremely non-academic, i am thirsting for some brain stimulation and a chance to challenge myself. last year i wanted to give my brain a break, and it's been really good for me. i challenged my body and pushed it further than i ever thought it could go. i sat on mountain-tops, meditated on the shores of calm creeks and was nearly swept away in a raging river. i hiked 2 miles into the sky, carried all of my worldly possessions on my back. and now it's time to do all of that figuratively with my brain :) i can't wait to see what new adventures are waiting for me. just a few more months in americorps, and then who knows where i'll end up!
