beantown basics

Let me first take a moment to marvel at modern technology. As I write this, I am sitting on a bus somewhere between Boston and New York. I'm on the Internet! On a bus! Between the interwebz, the outlets, and the peacefully slumbering man next to me -- not to mention the $30 round trip tix I scored -- I am feeling swell about this journey. In a few hours I will be sipping pina coladas and reminiscing about WashU with Jeanenne, wondering how we went from sleeping til 2 pm (okay that was mostly me) to waking up at 5:30 am every day (I just... can't believe this is my life). But before we slip into the past, here is the present:

The Home. I live in a big yellow house in Jamaica Plain, a cozy neighborhood in southwest Boston. Still unsure of the vibe of JP (official initials), as it has its WASPy elements as well as its urban swag. As of yesterday, there are 8 of us living in our Real World: JP pad. We are living in what I would call a dual-family home - at least that's what they call it on House Hunters - and we have the top 2 floors. There are 5 bedrooms and a bathroom on the third floor, and on the second floor we have another bathroom, a kitchen, dining area, living room, and a back porch. I would say that my favorite part of the house is that it has character, but we all know that when people say that, they mean there's a mouse problem and a non-functioning dryer.

OH WAIT. SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT.

I mean, there was a mouse. Or maybe two. I'm not on mouse duty. I'm on "stand in the corner and squeal til someone else fixes the situation" duty. And to be fair, the dryer was fixed today. But the fact that we don't have air conditioning is real tough. I am literally sweating from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. And they said Boston was cold...

The Homies. There are 50 Corps members in my program, most of whom are fresh out of undergrad. The Cou gang (I wanted to be alliterative and say clan, but for obvious reasons, I’m going to refrain), which is my house, well, we spend literally every minute of every day together. We walk to work together; see each other throughout the work day; walk home together; sit on the couch together, talking about how tired we are; watch Cupcake Wars and Jersey Shore together; and crawl back into bed together… I mean, no. I love my housemates and when I upload pix onto my computer, I will be sharing some images of the best-looking people in Massachusetts.

The Job. Unlike the last adventure I was on, down in Australia, they actually expect me to be a productive member of society here. Our middle school is a no-excuses charter school, which means that we do things just a tad differently than the ol 501 school district (what up T-town). Some examples: silent transitions from class to class, with everybody walking clockwise to efficiently get around; school days that go from 7 am to 4 pm; and two hours of intensive 1 on 2 tutoring Mon-Thurs. That's where we come in. As tutors, we are responsible for 5-6 kids. I have two 8th graders, two 7th graders, and two 6th graders. Every day we meet with each grade for both math and English tutorials. The tutorials are pretty structured, but the goal is to infuse energy and creativity into them so that algebra feels like an opportunity, not a chore. On top of tutorials, we also have secondary duties and school responsibilities. So I eat lunch with a 6^th grade homeroom (today was Fish Friday, and before you gag, know that these meals are on point for school lunch and I take an extra one every day for myself), deal with the group of kids who get picked up in cars (versus taking the T or the school bus), and do a lot of random tasks with the operations team. Last week the team and I built cubbies until my fingers fell off.

The Kiddos. After two looooong weeks of training, I was anxious to actually meet my tutees. I don’t want to be the creepy adult divulging personal info about children on the internet, so maybe I’ll just go initials when referring to my babies. Yes, my babies. I love them already. MJ and MG are 8^th grade boys who are good kids but feel like they’re too cool for school. It’s my job to show them that they aren’t. MN and BP are 7^th grade girls who are such 7^th grade girls. They’re the ones who called me out on my flesh-eating rash* and I can tell we are going to have some really lovely bonding moments and some really rough patches. My 6^th graders, NS (girl) and JP (boy, not to be confused with Jamaica Plain), are clearly new to the structure of our school and have a lot of catching up to do academically. After only three days of tutorials, I am already fiercely protective of my cubs and may have secretly chosen professions and long-term aspirations for all of them.

Mr. Sleeping Asian is so peaceful that he has convinced me it is time for me to nap as well, and although I’m sure you’re hanging onto my every word this lovely Friday night, I will save the rest of my insights for the next post. Expect an in-depth comparison on Boston vs. Topeka (spoiler: they have nothing in common).

*Allergic reaction + the first day of school = freakish monster face.

young money

Money is awesome.

It has allowed me to do some pretty fabulous things. Going to Aruba in June was the most recent fabulous thing.

Beyond the Caribbean adventures, my next level obsession is the Melting Pot. Cheese fondue, filet mignon, chocolate-dipped everything = the best meal, but maybe not the most economical. And then there's the simple purchases. You know what I mean: you go to Target for shampoo, & you come out with shampoo, conditioner, makeup, a book, a dress, and some containers. Because I love containers.

The thing about money, though, is that it isn't free. Somebody has to work for it. WHAT? And now that I am officially Working Woman, that's going to be the money I worked for. And for some reason, recklessly spending the money I busted my buns to earn sounds a whole lot less appealing than spending my parents' money or the dwindling remains of my graduation money.

That is why, beginning August 1, I am becoming responsible.

{ responsible: /adj./ saving money instead of spending it; cooking instead of eating out; saying no to a fourth pair of pastel J. Crew shorts; being boring and old }

So I am going to have a budget. I'm going to cook (most of) my own meals. I'm going to find the freest - yo, I tried to make free-est a word; why am I teaching at a school? - activities in Boston.

Starting August 1. Until then...

Oh, hello, friend.

here we go again

Well hello there, my loyal blog-readers. If you've been constantly refreshing your browser for the past 15 months hoping for a glimpse into my post-Australia life, today is your lucky day!!

I have managed to secure a job for next year. That's right: a job. I, whose employment resume includes one summer stint as a high school secretary (a job which I dominated) and a winter break stint as an American Eagle employee (a job which I less than dominated), got a real life paying job. I was 97% sure I'd be running around Topeka in August, begging government offices and mediocre clothing stores for any sort of work and calculating how disappointed my parents were, but alas: the early bird (me) has caught the worm (job).

Beginning in August, I will be working at a school in Boston. I'm sure they will give us a whole presentation on disclosing information via the interwebs, & I don't want to be that confidentiality-breaching girl, so I'll wait to figure out what's approp. But basically I'll be in Boston for a year, teaching middle schoolers and living with other college grads and doing cool Boston things.

Tomorrow is Eric and my 5 year anniversary. Graduation is in less than 3 months. I'll be off to a brand new city in 6 months. Time and space and milestones and AH, it's all so crazy and scary and exciting that it reminds me of the time before my last epic adventure, the one that sparked this oh so popular blog. Australia is still the best thing I've ever done, ever. Not a day goes by I don't have a memory of the beach, or the dorms, or the city, or the ferry, or the pubs, or the people -- mostly the people. I still squeal every time someone mentions Oz because it was home. I will go back, this I know for sure. But for now, time for another adventure!

the end

Well, well, well. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, including a trip to Sydney and another trip to Noosa. Highlights of Sydney: the aquarium (dugongs are perhaps the cutest animals in the world); Opera House; shopping; home-cooked meals courtesy of our lovely host; quality time with J-Rod. Highlights of Noosa: beach; home-cooked meals courtesy of the more domestic of my friends; making new friends; watching the meteor shower on the beach; sleeping on the beach. Although of them were a lot of fun & I could say a lot more about them, I really am consumed with the next trip looming in my future: the trip home.

As I write this, I have less than 8 hours until I go to the airport, where a series of 4 flights will take me back to Kansas over a span of about 24 hours. Not only will it be stressful, boring, and exhausting, but I will be incredibly sad for the duration of the trip. Of course, I am SO excited to see my family, drive my car, watch New Moon with my friends, hang out with Eric, go to Sonic, etc. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I would be devastated if I missed it. But at the same time, I have never felt so bummed about something ending.

The friends I've made here are seriously some of the most hilarious, loving, carefree people I've ever met. I could go on and on about why I love the team, but suffice it to say they are the sole reason I have been crying on and off for the past 24 hours. Don't get me wrong: I love the beach and the sun and the fact that I have been mainly directionless for the last 5 months. I will miss having the opportunity to go snorkeling and skydiving. But in the end, what really breaks my heart is saying goodbye to these people. The saddest part is that, with the exception of Treibs and Biagio, the friends I've made here go to WashU (if only we could convince them to transfer). I really shouldn't be complaining. I am so so thankful that I will have them around next semester. It's just that things will be different. We won't eat every meal together. We won't hang out every single night. It won't just be the 7 of us wandering around in Australia. We are all going back to our normal lives. This is really the end.

Ultimately I am happy that I am so sad. It means this experience has been meaningful. I've had so much fun, done so many cool things, and I like to think I've grown up a little bit. I am so much more carefree and spontaneous than I was before. Although I wouldn't go as far as saying I can take care of myself (let's be real, they cooked me every meal, took out my trash, and even did my laundry), I am definitely more independent.

I am so incredibly grateful to my family for not only allowing me to go halfway across the world, but for encouraging me to make the most of my time here. I have appreciated every card, every care package, every skype chat, and every email. It's so good to know that even though I am leaving people I love, I am coming home to people I love even more.

I'm a pathetic mess right now. I think I'm one of maybe two or three people left in my college, so it's eerily quiet. I have had to say too many emotional goodbyes. Those of you who know me well know that I DO NOT cry, so the fact that I have broken down at least 7 times since last night may come as quite a shock. But this has been the best semester of my life and it's just really, really, really hard to say goodbye to my friends, my lifestyle, my home for the past 5 months. Australia is so amazingly awesome and I cannot wait for our reunion here in 2011 (it's happening).

adventure mode

It's been awhile since I've shared any of the fun/unusual/weird stuff that I'm doing here. It almost seems like I am just a regular student going to class and writing papers. I can't have you thinking that because this is Australia and let's face it, things are just better here. With that, a quick recap of some recent highlights.

Ladies Day: All the girls in my college dress up strangely, walk to a random field, and engage in an afternoon of debauchery.

Friends visiting: Emily's friend Diss came to Brisbane. It's always a good time when we add people to the team. With a majority of Long Islanders in the room, I felt like I needed to be a part of the team. I fit right in, yes?

Picnic: The boys arranged a lovely BBQ in the park. This area of town is called South Bank and there are a bunch of shops, restaurants, and free grills, not to mention a man-made beach. Oh Australia. The real beach is only 2 hours away but it's always smarter to create one 15 minutes away.

Beach: We went to the real beach this past weekend at Byron Bay. It was an intense weekend. We climbed up to this lighthouse. It was the most strenuous exercise I've had in months.

Byron Bay is the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland... as this sign says.

The ocean never gets old.

Halloween: Although Halloween isn't as huge here as in America, we did what we could. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of wearing a headband like that. Also it was an excuse to use my peace sign as much as possible.

Kayaking: I have no pictures from this because my camera cannot afford to be anywhere near water. Kayaking was really intense. I was not good at it. Poor J-Rod had to do all the work and tell me what to do and we still ended up always floating in the wrong direction. Highlight: seeing dolphins 30 feet from us. Lowlight: getting hit in the back with the kayak after we fell out trying to ride a wave. Note to all: kayaking is not as calm and relaxing as it appears (unless you have upper body strength, then it may be okay).

Story time: After Halloween, I had a pseudo phone-breaking incident (because I really cannot keep a phone intact for more than two months at a time). Long story short, I thought my phone was broken and thus couldn't set an alarm (turns out I had put the battery in the wrong way... genius). I was planning on waking up at 6 am to go skydiving. Guess who can't wake up at 6 am without an alarm!? I woke up at 6:45, devastated that I had missed my one chance to go skydiving. I sulked in bed for a few minutes until Christine pops in saying that it had been raining all morning and skydiving had been postponed. I like to think God was so sad I had overslept, he had to shed a few tears for things to work out. Because of the rain, they hadn't left yet so I ran around trying to get ready in 5 minutes. It was stressful and hectic and suddenly I was in a van signing a document that read, "Serious accidents can and often do happen. Don't blame us if you die." Maybe in slightly different words but you get the point.

Skydiving: Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. We got to the skydiving place, got into our harnesses and learned what was going to happen. Of course all the training in the world can't prepare you for the actual jump. We flew up to 14,000 in a tiny, rickety old plane while I was strapped to my tandem master, a small intense woman who does this 12 times a day. It was terrifying and I repeatedly asked myself why in the world I decided to do this when I get scared even jumping off a bunk bed. However there's really not much you can do once you're 14,000 feet in the air. I was second in line so I had the pleasure of watching the first person fly out. They literally push you to the edge of the plane for you to get into position. Position: stick your legs out of plane and bend them back so they're wrapped along the bottom of the plane. Arms are holding the straps of the harness. Head is tilted back. I was expecting some sort of calming statement or at least a countdown but nope, I was sitting there for approximately two seconds when I feel myself FALLING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE.

The initial drop was by far the scariest moment of my life. I have nightmares about falling from heights and here it was actually happening to me. We fell out upside down and I had a moment where I wondered if I was going to die. After about five seconds we had leveled out and from then on I was absolutely amazed. It's a 60 second free fall. It's just indescribable. I was literally flying. When she pulled the parachute I felt a wave of relief. We floated around for a few minutes while I took in the view before safely sliding into the ground. I can't even explain how awesome it was. I would recommend anyone and everyone experience this at least once. It's so cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

I got a DVD of the whole experience, which meant that a third guy jumped out of the plane with us and filmed the whole thing. It's fantastic- from the look of absolute terror the moment I jump out to the views of Australia that are in the background. My only grievance is that I paid for pictures too but the guy didn't take any while I was in the air! The only pics are from when I landed. Lame. I stand on the ground all day every day- when's the next time I'll be 14,000 up!? Oh well, the DVD is really awesome. And actually doing it was okay too I guess...

The after shot.

All in all things have been pretty great. Jeanenne and I are going to Sydney tomorrow for three days which will be awesome. After I get back, though, adventure time is over and school time is back on. 5 finals in 5 days. A tragic reminder that even if I can fly, I still have to write papers.

Apparently it is OCTOBER 25. When did this happen!? Maybe time moves faster in the southern hemisphere. Maybe time moves faster when your life is all fun and sunshine every single day. Regardless I have a mere four weeks left but I am determined to make the most of them.

This coming week is our last week of classes. During finals week I have three papers due and two exams. If only I could get my act together and have some semblance of motivation before finals week. It's just, when your life consists of laying outside, having BBQs at the park, and eating ice cream (but seriously), there is simply no room for analyzing novels or studying types of algae. I can't be blamed.

I have two more trips planned- Byron Bay this coming weekend (thanks WashU!) and Sydney during reading week. I wish I had more time and more money to travel. I would love to go to New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Thailand, etc. but alas, those will be postponed until I win the lottery.

My parents sent me literally three enormous bags of each of my favorite junk foods so I have been in a semi food coma for the past two weeks. The Skittles were a huge hit around here and served to reinforce the idea that Americans do everything in excess.


That's how you know you're loved.

my guys

This afternoon I skyped with Little Al. It pretty much made my day. I still can't believe Alex is already 12. He's like a real person now- he has legit homework and likes girls and goes to dances. Also he has become legitimately funny- when did this happen!? His voice is changing and he makes way too many inappropriate sexual comments but he's still my little brother. I refuse to call him anything but Little Al. I'm going to cry the day he stops calling me Sis and starts calling me Jordan. Not okay.

Later in the afternoon I skyped with my other favorite guy. Eric and I kind of suck at communicating, but every week or so we manage to have a real conversation. In some ways it's quite nice because so much happens in those days that we actually have things to talk about. I was really concerned that this long distance business was not gonna fly (there may or may not have been a meltdown in his bathroom a week before I left...) because we live five minutes apart both at school and at home. Fortunately it's been surprisingly easy to be apart. It's more a general feeling of "I wish Eric were here to see this shark" or "It would be cool if Eric could buy me a cherry limeade right now" rather than a sharp pain of desperately longing for him. I'll be back soon, we'll hang out, it'll be like no time has passed (hopefully? right?).

Here's to Little Al and Little Er. Can't wait until our next movie night where Alex will inevitably join us (by join us I mean he will nestle himself uncomfortably between the two of us) for a movie he is clearly not old enough to be watching (Borat at age 10- holy hell!) and the two of them will conspire against me to steal my candy when I'm not paying attention. I miss both of your huge heads.