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!!! :)