3 Days To Home :)

Thanks everybody for all of the birthday wishes... It was a really good one. I worked the night shift the night before at my favorite shelter here, and I had one of the most incredible conversations with one of the women here early in the morning... it is hard to explain, but it was one of those conversations that impacted me deeply, and one that I will never forget. And I think it is so great that it happened on the morning of my birthday... that makes it even more special :) So, then I started an office job that same day at a social work center, so as you can imagine, I was a bit loopy when I got back from work that night... I had pretty much forgotten that it was my birthday at all. But as soon as I walked in, everybody, even people that I usually don't talk to very much, came up and told me happy birthday and gave me big birthday hugs! :) Apparently, my friends made signs and put them up all over the hostel informing everybody! :) So, I went down to my room to put my things away, and found my bed decorated with happy birthday confetti! It was so sweet! Jane and Sara made me one of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten, I mean seriously good, and I had a beautiful evening just hanging out with everybody.

So, yeah, for the past two weeks, I have been working in a social work office shuffling papers... It was ok for an office job... there was another girl there my age from California, so I alternated between doing a little bit of work and then doing a little bit of talking to her, which made the time go by, I suppose :)

Last weekend, went to see Stirling Castle... It was a lot of fun. We were in a particularly goofy mood that day, so we wore viking hats and peter pan hats and took pictures of ourselves doing various poses around the castle... I haven't laughed so hard in a really long time as I did that day :)

And now I am just itching for the next hour to go by so I can go out for st. patricks day. I am planning on doing all of my favorite things this weekend one last time... enjoying my last few days in Edinburgh and in Scotland... I just can't believe that it is almost over. I feel really good about it though. I have learned so much about myself and about the world in my time here, and I am ready to leave and count myself lucky to have had another incredible experience. Sometimes I am just overcome with how blessed I am and what an amazing life this is!!!!! :)

So, now I must reveal the big news. I just found this out about 9 hours ago, so it still hasn't completely registered with me. But here you go..... this is it...... I got accepted into the Peace Corps!!!!!!!!!!! I will be working with youth development on the pacific islands starting in july!!!!!! I am so overwhelmed right now, really. I mean, it is like this thing that I have always dreamed of doing... and now it is actually happening... and I just don't know exactly what to make of it. But it is just so funny how everything works out... All of those crazy jobs that I have done and all of the challenges that I have gotten through... I think they were to prepare me for this... and I feel ready for it... I feel at peace about it, like everything is happening as it should. Anyways, I could keep rambling about my thoughts on this forever, but I will just have to tell you all in person! :)

Because I am coming home on Tuesday!!!! Yay!!!

I can't wait to see everybody... Be warned, I am expecting big hugs!!! :)

Update

I just realized that it has been over two weeks since I have writen on my blog... And let me assure you, it isn't because life has been dull... I guess it never is. But I like it that way.

Honestly, I don't know where to start: Annika's visit: crazy bike rides, hiking in the highlands, meeting new friends, drinking lots of coffee-- anyway, it was great...

Working completely random shifts lately: everything from disabilites one-on-one, homeless, receptionist, elderly (remind me to tell you the story about how I had to cook for this crazy old man!), women's shelters... just anything and everything...

Still trying to figure out what to do with my life, haha, like i'll ever really know :)

Cooking dinner almost every night with some friends (yes, you should be impressed :) (even though the curry was very suspect last night :)

More than anything, I am trying to enjoy and appreciate my last few weeks here. Even the things that annoy me, I can sigh and say to myself, "I will miss that is a few weeks." (I really don't think I will, but it makes me feel better to try to convince myself of this anyways :) I am trying to be a tourist on my days off (Last weekend, the excursion was to Craigmillar Castle and it was so much fun... just this huge castle ruins to explore)... oh, and I tried ostrich for the first time from this farmers market... very delicious, and also very healthy (apparently... I didn't know this).

So, yeah, things are good. I am excited to come home in just a few weeks now, but sad to leave Edinburgh and everything that I love here. But I feel like it is time to move on, and I am comforted that I feel this way (because we all know that I make decisions with my heart and not my head :) I am rambling on now... it is the middle of the night over here, so I must go find something else to do to kill the time besides post all of my personal thoughts online :)