Where do I go from here?

I've met many new people this summer, and almost everybody asks me the same, seemingly simple question: when are you going back to school? Prepared for anything, I have two answers. If I'm with my mother, I grin as viciously as possible and cackle, "Never!" If I'm not, then I grimace nervously and sigh, "That's a great question."

The truth is that I don't know. I'm taking this year off--it's done, I'm committed, I've suspended my scholarships and bought my one-way ticket. The reason for this deviation from my four-year plan is manifold, but perhaps the simplest and most compelling was my utter frustration and despair at the end of last quarter. I was sick of Seattle, and the merest thought of another 15 credits come September 28th literally made me dizzy. Coming down from the high that was my winter, spring quarter slowly seduced me into day after day of same-old, same-old. I hate same-old, same-old. Three months in India (and then, three weeks of China) only whetted my appetite for a much longer break.

But it's not just a break (I keep telling my mother). It's a Learning Opportunity. As someone so aptly put it, college was interfering with my education, and I am ready to embrace alternative methods of learning. (I can practically hear her rolling her eyes now.) I won't just be bumming around wasting money, I'll be Doing Things. Like organic farming with an organization called WWOOF, and staying in the homes of peacemakers to learn about their lives--I'm particularly relishing visiting peacemakers in Northern Ireland. If I can find a good organization, I will also volunteer long-term with a conservation group (like Rachel did with the sea turtles in Athens). This winter, I'm most likely enrolling at the University of Granada to intensively study Spanish. Hopefully, this will mean finally getting to have a host-family. Before that, I will be visiting Ireland with my aunt Connie for two weeks, and we will be taking a short walking tour of the Dingle Peninsula. And, my friend Maya will be traveling with me.

And all this starts tomorrow, September 5th. I've just finished packing my bag, which, due to the fact that farming in England will be cooold and rainy in fall, is bursting at the seams. I'm nervous and excited, ready for it to begin and yet not wanting to leave home. Though it seems that I've been doing nothing but arranging things for a long time, I haven't been able to concretely plan much of what I'll be doing for the next month and beyond, and that is a very stressful situation to allow myself to enter. But I promise promise PROMISE to be as safe as possible, and to err on the side of caution. Part of the logic of buying a one-way ticket was to be able to buy one back home at a moment's notice if everything goes wrong. ...and all this starts tomorrow...

So if, over the next year, you'd like to see where I'm at or how I'm doing, please keep checking this website. I'll try my hardest to update it more than I did in India, if not regularly, and to add pictures this time. And, if you have been to Europe and have seen something spectacular, please let me know. Clearly, I have no pressing plans.

Wish me luck, and have a good year!