The Next Great Adventure Begins!

It's been 9 months since my last blog post, right after I'd arrived home from the Peace Corps.  In some ways, it's hard to believe that my brief interlude in Fresno is already over and a new adventure begins.  In other ways, I'm so ready.  The last 9 months have been a blast.  There has been so much laughter, so many new memories.  I'm so thankful for that 'in-between' time, to relax and have fun with friends and family I hadn't seen in so long.  But now I am ready for the next great adventure!

This morning I arrived in DC on a red-eye flight that followed a week of little sleep, marathon packing, fantastic parties, and sad goodbyes.  Needless to say, I was exhausted before the flight even began.  Upon arrival at my new house, I promptly made my bed, changed into pjs, turned off the light, and slept for 4 1/2 hours.  It was delightful.  It's amazing what sleep, a shower, and Ibuprofin can do for one's mood.

I'm living with a family here in DC that is giving me a free room & utilities in exchange for 20 hours of childcare for their two children.  Yes, Nanny Lisa has arrived.  It's a good situation.  Affordable housing is hard to find in DC, so this works out perfectly: a room, a job, and furniture all in one.  I have my own room and bathroom down in the basement of the house, so it's nice to have that privacy.  The family is great.  The father is in the Foreign Service and living in Central Asia for the next year; thus, the need for some help (in the form of me!).  He actually did the Peace Corps, knows the ambassador of Kyrgyzstan, and the mother was in the same 5th grade class as Barack Obama!  Yes, I think I found a good place to live :-).  They have a daughter, 12, and a son, 9.  My job will consist mostly of driving them around to to their various extracurricular activities and helping them with their homework, in addition to filling up the car with gas and grocery shopping (my passion in life).  Not a bad gig.  I had dinner with the family tonight and I have a really good feeling about this situation.  

And soon the moment I'm most excited for: the start of graduate school!  I have orientation Thursday and Friday, and classes start next Monday.  I have one class each on MTW: Quantitative Analysis; Theory of Conflict, Violence and War; and Peace Paradigms.  I can't wait.  I'm a little nervous, and I anticipate working harder than I ever have in my life, but I'm eagerly looking forward to being back in school and studying the things I love.

And speaking of love... I love love love DC.  I love the Metro, I love the walking, I love the people, I love the houses, I love the monuments, I love the museums, I love the trees, I love that school shuts down on Inauguration Day, and I love the view of the Mall at night.  I will miss my friends and family in Fresno (fo sho!), but this move is right.  It's the right city, the right time, the right school, the right program.  I'm happy to be here and excited for the new adventure.  

Life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing on

Starting out on a journey...

:-)