My Address!!!

So if any of you beautiful, wonderful people care to send me anything I would love it! Remember, my stipend is only $165/week, yikes! But seriously, mail is always fun and oh so retro. Here's my address:

1218 Wyoming Street Apt 2
San Antonio, TX 78203

Finally… people!

The biggest update, I suppose, is that I’ve met some of the other City Year people and they’re amazing. It all started Sunday afternoon when we went to be in these promo videos for a day of service that San Antonio is putting on at the end of Sept. 10 cats from City Year showed up there. We laughed and had fun, ate some cookie cake, and broke the ice. (Don’t worry; I’ll post the promo videos here when I get them) Then we went to dinner together and later that night we went over to Jill, Lauren, Lizbeth and Sasha’s apartment (which is gi-normous, by the way) to watch Love Actually. Yesterday we had registration, so we met 22 of the other corps members there. We went back over to the girls’ apartment last night to hang out and chat. I learned to play You-kur (I don’t know how to spell it, that phonetically) it’s like Spades, but just with 9s-aces. Today we all went to the Witte Museum because it’s free on Tuesdays. We saw a triceratops skeleton, beautiful butterflies, a mummy, lots of stuffed animals, some live animals, and a ridiculously awesome kids’ museum with all kinds of hands on stuff (Tramelle was right, it’s awesome). Then we ate dinner across the street at Cachito de Mexico; a little Mexican restaurant that boasts “Home of the Homemade Corn and Flour Tortillas” and “Free Sopapillas for Everyone.” So we had to go in. (Sopapillas are fried, fluffy, sweet tortillas. These had cinnamon sugar and molasses on top. They usually have honey and powdered sugar.) It was muy delicioso and the woman who served us was the owner and she was amazing. So sweet. It took us a while to navigate home on the bus, just like it took us a while to get to the Witte. But all in all a fun night and we got to show Lauren a portion of the River Walk for the first time. Lauren and Jill are both college grads like me. Sasha and Lizbeth just finished high school as did one of my roommates, Robert. My other roommate, Matt, is 20 and has been going to LSU for the past 2 years. I cannot wait until tomorrow because my mom and LEXIE will be here!! And Layton may be coming this weekend! I’m keeping my fingers crossed about that. Not sure what’s on the plate for today… going to pick up a couch most likely.

me. want. internet.

So I'm at Borders, again... with one of my roommates Robert! And I'm watching this old man enjoying a Frappuccino and reading a book (The Time Traveler's Wife, actually) and it's perfect. Robert is great. We had dinner on the River Walk with his parents and they are a riot. I think we’re definitely going to get along swimmingly as roommates. Earlier, we got to try on some uniforms at the City Year office so we have a better idea of what size to order. We also got to talk with a few of the team leaders. They are great! We’re probably going to get a washer, dryer, and living room stuff tomorrow! So life in San Antonio is still awesome! Besides Koda being a bossy bully towards Robert, I really can’t complain. That’s all the updates for now. Sorry, I’m so short winded. If you want more info, you’ll have to give me a call :D

Peace.

Banana Pudding

Written at 10:00 pm on 8/20 to be posted at some future point when I have internet access J

Three full days in San Antonio. I have yet to put up pictures, but don’t you worry, they will be arriving soon. I kinda want to wait until my roommates are here and the place is more together :D Since arriving here Sunday morning I have discovered that my landlords are amazing, when it rains it pours and the roads become rivers, you cannot get tired of good Mexican food (no matter how fattening it is…), Fuddruckers touts the “best burgers in San Antonio,” and I’m ready to get this show on the road. I’m glad I’m here early, but after my dad left this morning *tear* all I want is to be consumed in the life I came down here to live. All this waiting around is not healthy for the heartstrings pulling me back to Georgia. Robert, one of my roommates, should be here tomorrow, so I’ll have someone to pick up where my dad and I left off. Exploring the city, getting my bearings, learning the bus routes, and finding a (2nd) job (Oh joy, oh rapture). I felt ridiculously alive when my dad and I were in the City Year office yesterday getting a tour and summary from Tramelle of what the program will look like. I’m so incredibly excited and I feel so incredibly blessed to be having this experience. I know I’m where I’m supposed to be, everything worked out with housing and roommates and it feels right. San Antonio fits.

So here is a little summary of how my dad and I spent my first days here:

My landlords immediately took us out to breakfast. It was delicious and the conversation was enlivening. After that we napped of course. The obligatory Wal-Mart *cringe* trip was made. We tried to go to the slightly better Target, but that failed miserably. After trying a few different methods, we got my tapestries up. We ate the first meal in my apartment, good ‘ol PB & Js. Monday… We had lunch with my dad’s old work friend, Ray. That was when we witnessed the roads transform into rivers. We found internet, the City Year office, the Farmer’s Market. We explored the River Center Mall and River Walk, then ate a light dinner at Chili’s. Somewhere in there we walked the dogs. Tuesday… we road the bus to the City Year office, talked with Tramelle and ate lunch with the Executive Director of City Year, Paul Garro. That was really cool. Went to check out the Alamo (also really cool and free, well donations welcome) and ended up walking all the way back to my apartment from there because we went about the bus thing all wrong (it was hot). We made the trek up to PetsMart and back over to Wal-Mart for some groceries (third trip there… I don’t want to see that place for the next 10 months). Ate dinner at The Republic of Texas where this guy was butchering country music (yes it’s possible). This morning I took my dad to the airport. Walked the dogs around the neighborhood and gave them baths… I talked to my mom a lot today. Talked to friends on the phone a lot. Went to use the internet at Borders… looked for jobs online, chatted, checked out the furniture on CraigsList; those kinds of things. Boring stuff, I can’t wait for my roommates to get here and for everything to get rolling.

Saying goodbye...

This is the way I’ve decided to look at it. Change, adventure, passion. All incredibly important things. The good eggs, the people that really matter, they make all those things come alive. It’s the people, man. And I’m excited to see how our relationships change and grow with every new and exciting experience we go through. Right now, it’s my turn to hit the road, but soon it’ll be your turn for an adventure. And no matter what it is, no matter how big or small the change, I’ll be right there. Supporting you, loving you, growing with you. So I’m trying not to be sad, because in the end, absence makes the heart grow fonder, friends and family are forever, and what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. Three clichés to try and describe the ridiculously unique way I feel. I love you guys and dolls.

PACKING!!!

Oh the joy of squeezing my entire life into a Honda Civic and van. This life, mind you, includes two 45 lb dogs. Deciding what to take and what to leave behind is more heart-breaking than expected, so I'm taking a break to watch a bootlegged version of the Dark Knight my sister found, with the Olympics on in the background, and now a blog post in front of me as well. I'm excited because my housing situation, through all of it's twists and turns, has finally turned into a pretty sweet deal. If all goes as planned, I'll be living in a 3 BR duplex with 2 other City Year team members for less than $300/mo each. Amazing. Everything happens for a reason. I can't wait to be done with all the packing and be there, unpacking (which is my favorite thing to do) and exploring all San Antonio has to offer. I can't even describe all the emotions running through my head! nervousness, happiness, sadness, hope, regret. You have to come to terms with a time period in your life when you find yourself moving into the next chapter. My college years are what they were and I can't say I'm disappointed. I'm in a good place and it's thanks to a multitude of unexpected events, people, and opportunities. I can't wait to see what the next adventure has to offer and the way everyone I care about will grow with me.