Taking the shower the morning after a few days of being dirty is the most glorious feeling. Especially the moment when warm water hits your skin and all the dried sweat and dirt starts to rinse away. I love wrapping up in my towel with my fresh soft hair, smelling like flowers and soap.
I worked a double shift yesterday, and it was really hot out. When I biked to work at 9am the heat was bearable and there was a lovely cool breeze, but by noon any trace of the morning was gone. Just a week ago I had a coat on, and now I'm sweating in a cotton t shirt. There's a reason they say "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait ten minutes."
On my route from Allston to Cambridge where I work, I stopped at three places. First to the Walgreens where I bought four wallet-sized passport photos for my Colombian visa. Is there a rule somewhere that mandates all passport photos be ugly? I never have good luck with the pictures that go on my ID card. (Which then get flashed on a large screen every time I enter university buildings. How embarrassing!) The second place was the Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square for an iced coffee and a fruit cup. I sat on their patio for a few minutes and watched some graduates in their caps and gowns and regalia travel in smiling groups. (I did that just last week. What a happy occasion.) Finally, the third stop is the postoffice to buy express stamps and a padded envelope. All this so my Colombian visa can be made just in time, but not too early, for my departure on June 23.
Work was long and a little frustrating. Midway through the shift when it was slow, I did something I rarely do, grabbed my cell phone and took care of some emails and texts I'd been putting off. I texted a girl I had to tell wouldn't be getting my sublet after all. Then I had to text a good friend and roommate about why I was frustrated with her behavior recently. I hate confrontation and both virtual conversations ate at my brain for the rest of my shift.
Then a bike ride home to my bed. Sleep. And then being clean in the morning. Having the day off is a wonderful thing! I had a pedicure and bought 2 new blouses for teaching, then went to the organization's office to drop off my visa documents. Then I bought a new pair of shoes (great deal!) that will also go to good use at my new teaching job.
Highlight of my day was going to a Colombian restaurant that I'd never known was so close to my house. I got what the waitress suggested, chicken with mushroom sauce and a nice fruit smoothie. Everything was great! I hope food is this good when I get there. Contrast to that, though, was the bubble tea I got on my walk back from Harvard Square. I love bubble tea and I can only hope (but highly doubt) they have in Colombia.
At 8pm there was an online meeting for the volunteers to ask the field staff questions. I was really looking forward to this and I feel really good after the meeting. I got to see the faces I'll meet when I start orientation and ask really direct questions about the details of the trip. What kind of shoes should I wear when I teach? What credit card should I get? What's the weather like? It was nice to hear the answers to al the little details I'm unsure of. The planning makes it feel so real, and it brings up all the fears I have about leaving my life in Boston. But then I immediately have to remind myself- this is the chance of a lifetime and I'll be so glad to have done it. I'm going to help a community and learn so much more than I ever could staying here in the States. I'm nervous about my host family and new boss at the school, speaking Spanish, and feeling alone in a foreign place. But all that is so small compared to the benefits of lunging out of my comfort zone. Maybe I sound naive, but the only way I know to actually do this is to be optimistic and enthusiastic.
We didn't find out our placements or any details about our host families yet, only generalizations of what its like to live on the coast. I can't wait to know all about my new host family and where I'll be living. All day I've been smiling while I imagine my new life in Colombia.
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