turns out...

.... I'm just not in a blogging phase right now.

better luck next phase?

Revival of my "adventures"

It's not that I haven't been adventurous.

I guess haven't exactly felt the need to blog about my adventures. No particular reason why I stopped, except this blog was originally more of a travel journal of sorts. But the title is inclusive to all of my life adventures. As my generation of college graduates embarks on various journeys throughout the world, my Google Reader has become a regular daily visit to keep up with all of the blog entries. And they have inspired me to reflect on my journey as well.

Senior year at Boston College was surely an adventurous and blog-worthy expedition. The past 12 months of my life have been perhaps the most tumultuous and transitional months of my life (also exceptionally busy). Upon arriving back from my semester in South Africa, my life has been a rollercoaster filled with and defined by savoring sweet relationships at BC, powering through difficult classes and long clinical hours, leading a community of BC students on a service trip to Mexico, participating in a religious pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, working my first job as a nurse... at camp, frantically filling out job applications, traveling to job interviews, and studying long hours for my NCLEX board exam. Through all of these joys and struggles (and many, many more), I find myself, by the grace of God, employed and embarking on a journey of absolute unfamiliarity. Living with two wonderful friends in Brooklyn and (almost) working in a world class health system on Long Island in a Neuro ICU is a dream and it definitely doesn't feel real yet. Everything ahead of me seems that it will be 100% new - and thus 100% exciting and 100% frightening, all at the same time.

It is funny how, if you asked me even just six months ago, I never would have pictured myself in this situation. Long Island? Neuro? Neither were even close to my radar. And yet, as I continue to prepare myself for the first day of work, it seem that this situation is a wonderful place to start my journey as a Registered Nurse - geographically, socially, and professionally. Huh. Life lessons, "YOU'RE NOT GOD" and "YOUR LIFE PLANS AREN'T ALWAYS WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU," strike again. Both seem to be recurrent themes in my life thus far. Maybe one day I will internalize. As I reflect on this journey, a prayer by Thomas Merton comes to mind - one that has guided me through many life transitions over the years:

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that my desire to please you does in fact please you.

And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

On another note...
If you are a faithful follower of "my adventures" (although there is no compelling reason since as of July of last year, all the fun in blogging was apparently over) you may notice a change in the background and colors. The change was partially due to a difficulty in reading white letters against a black background (was the just extra difficult because my eyes are tired?). I also wanted to incorporate a funny (and completely random) picture of a book title my sister's (Elizabeth's) friend Becca sent me once - a 1961 novel called "Calling Nurse Linda" by Patti Stone. Who is Patti Stone? I haven't read the book, but maybe I should since I am now indeed Nurse Linda. And the book cover also matched the color I wanted to use for my blog template. 150% random.

The current unromantic adventure awaiting me is packing up all of my useful belongings (key word: useful) to bring to my new home in a lovely neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn. It will most certainly an adventure - and has been already. Heavy lifting, purging of old papers and nick-nacks, and furniture shopping galore.  I still don't understand why I saved a receipt from purchasing icecream in 2005. Life's mysteries perplex me.

Until internet is installed in my new apartment,
Lindapants

home safely!

...and that is about all I have to say. My trip went relatively smoothly, especially since I didn't see anyone I knew at the JFK airport when I was lugging over 100lbs of luggage in various forms (massive suitcase, trekker backpack, small backpack, shoulder bag). I was a huge mess. But I arrived in one piece into my parents' loving arms at noon in Boston today. It is wonderful to be home and to see my family.

Love,
Linda

All my bags are packed.

Somehow.... they actually are. I don't know how it happened, but I know my good friend Liz had a lot to do with it earlier this afternoon.

Leaving is bittersweet, and goodbyes over the last few weeks have been really difficult. This semester has been defined by the wonderful and beautiful people who have entered into my life and changed it! It is very hard to close this dynamic chapter of my life, even if it was only for five short months.

I am THRILLED to be seeing my family in two days, and then working at my favorite place in the world - camp deer run. I am blessed to be going home to a very supportive and wonderful family and community as I begin to process this semester.

My last two weeks here have been amazing. I had a fantastic trip to Johannesburg and spent time with good friends and their families. Some highlights: went to the Confederations cup final game (USA vs. BRAZIL!!), Cradle of Humankind, Constitution Hill, game drive, Soweto, and saw a lot more of the city. I think the best part of that trip was meeting the families of my good friends and spending time with them :)

Arts Fest has proven to be absolute sensory overload, as expected. Some shows have been AMAZING, some not so good, but I don't regret going to any of them. Grahamstown truly comes alive during fest, and it has been really fun seeing it overflowing with people from all over South Africa and the world.

Please pray for my safe travels starting tomorrow. It will take me 24+ hours to get home. Here is the breakdown:

1.5 hrs from Grahamstown to P.E. Airport
a few hours in P.E. hanging out with my friend Katie who lives in P.E.
1.5 hrs P.E. to Johannesburg
a few hours in the JHB airport
8 hours JHB to a stopover in Dakar, Senegal
8 hours Dakar to JFK
a few hours in JFK airport
1.5 hours JFK to Boston
2 hours Boston to Wolfeboro

That is a rough total of 24 hours, give or take (I don't remember how long I am waiting in airports)

WHAT A TRIP! STARTING TOMORROW MORNING!

All my love to you faithful readers.

Much love,
Lindapants

Wrapping up.

I am finished with exams, and leaving Grahamstown tomorrow. I will be back in a week for the Arts Festival, but it will be VERY different because most of my Rhodes friends (with the exception of a few other exchange students) will be gone. Tonight is my last night in Dingemans (my res)! Tomorrow I leave for Johnannesburg and will be staying for one week with a few friends. I’m currently avoiding the project of packing up my room. I don’t like packing, and goodbyes are even worse. I am definitely REALLY excited to see my family and thrilled to be working at camp, but I also really don’t want to leave.

I just got back on Saturday evening from an amazing trip to the Wild Coast to the Bulungula Lodge. It is an eco-friendly backpackers run mainly by locals in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. I felt like I was on the end of the world. I took approximately 250 pictures and I would love to show you some, but this site isn't letting me upload pictures at the moment. Don't worry, I will post more soon, but I might not for a few weeks.

Since I will be moving out of res, I won't have the regular access to internet that I normally have. I will definitely make a point to check email when I can. Hopefully I will be able to post once or twice more before I leave SA.

My prayers are with those of you preparing for the summer at camp!

Much love,
Lindapants

WINTER WINTER WINTER

Happy summer to those of you in the northern hemisphere! To my fellow southern hemisphere-ers, welcome to winter! It has been getting cold in Grahamstown lately, sometimes so cold that I wish I had a hat (and some more sweaters) but sometimes I have my window open (like now, for instance). Today was a beautiful "winter" day, reminiscent of an early spring day in the northeast - sunny and beautiful, but a little chilly when the wind blows.

With winter always comes the flu, unfortunately, and I have already paid my dues... twice. Last weekend I had a bad cold/flu, and then this past weekend I came down with a stomach bug. Yay for a little taste of South African medicine...! Today I feel MUCH better - maybe even ALL better by tomorrow! yay!

Last weekend I went to the Mariya uMama weThemba Anglican Monastery and spent a night there with two dear friends, Cortney and Liz. It was a really refreshing weekend both spiritually and physically after finishing up term and moving into the exam time (and the last phase of my semester here). We concluded the weekend with an amazing girls' night at Cortney's house (where I have dinner every Thursday night) with our friend Sarah. (Sarah is a close friend from my res, and she is going on exchange to Bellarmine University in Lousiville, Kentucky next semester! So we have bonded over that American connection :) !! ) We made peach cobbler, chocolate cake, and gluwein, and watched way too many episodes of 30 Rock. Gluwein (pronounced glue-vine) is hot spiced red wine. The way you make it is like hot spiced apple cider - you just let it simmer for HOURS...and the kitchen smells amazing :) I will definitely be bringing this tradition back home and to BC!

Last week was swot week, a week dedicated on the Rhodes academic calendar solely to STUDYING. If you know me and my academic tendencies, I am very deadline oriented, and can't really study for anything more than 2 days in advance (unless it is like a HUGE test like the SATs or NCLEX or something). So I found myself frolicking around Grahamstown, discovering two different museums, becoming a regular at local coffee shops, and just hanging out with friends. I also finally extended my visa in Port Elizabeth so I can stay (legally) for the ARTS FESTIVAL in July.

I had a weird realization today, that I will be in New Hampshire in four weeks exactly. On July 7. That time is going to fly. Between now and then, I will be taking my last two exams, spending five days at Bulungula Lodge on the Wild Coast (an eco-tourism sustainable lodge - check out the link, it looks beautiful! I can't wait!), spending a week in Johannesburg with three of my closest friends from South Africa, and then spending a week hopping around the festival, and seeing as many shows/exhibitions as possible (it will basically be sensory overload and overall speechlessness for 4 days straight).

I hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings.

Much much love from SAFRICA,
Lindapants

So... I think I can dance.

Helllooooo friends and family!

I am officially finished with classes for the semester! The only academics I have between me and summer break are four exams to be taken over the next four weeks. I have already taken two of my finals, both for different aspects of ethnomusicology. On Wednesday, I had my transcription final, where we had to listen to two different pieces of music and write them down. That one was easy. Yesterday, I performed a Shona Mhande for my performance final. The Shona people are from Zimbabwe, and the Mhande is a rain-making dance ceremony that happens at the beginning of the summer to ask the ancestors to send rain for the crops. The lyrics are call and response style:
Leader: Dzinonwa muna Zambezi, dzinonwa muna Sawa (We drink in the river)
Response: Mhondoro dzinonwa, mhondoro dzinonwa (the lions drink)
Lindsay videotaped it and posted it on youtube (Dancers are me, Lindsay, Sarah, and Lisa and we are accompanied on drums and singing by the rest of our class)... so you should probably check that out. And apparently, our dance was effective. We were in the first group and by the time the third group went, it was really cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. I really loved this performance class and looked forward to it each week - I'm sad it is over!

Love,
Linda