hello long lost friends. I knew it was time to blog when people were contacting me telling me they missed it. That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, so here it is, a new post. i haven't blogged not just because i have barely left room in my schedule to breathe, but also because i don't feel like i have much exciting to say. but here is the full update more or less.
This week has been so ridiculously insanely busy. I am thinking to myself that I have really done it this time. I have this horrible, horrible habit of tasting the slightest hint of free time in my schedule, then seeking something to fill it. Generally what happens is, I find more than one or two things to fill that free time and all the sudden, I no longer have free time and instead of being content and happy, I am slammed into "overwhelmed" mode with all the things I have freshly committed to. Well ladies and gentlemen, old habits die hard and that's precisely what has occurred again. I will give you updates according to whats on my plate, how incredibly stressed, blessed, excited, overwhelmed and ridiculously crazy I am. Did I mention that I am thrilled to have these opportunities? Because I am. I am just at that point where I am wondering, "all this might not have been the best idea you've ever had, Steph..." So here it goes: my plate.
The meat- SCHOOL/WORK. Working at the two high schools 16 hours a week. I accepted a second job at a private English academy in the same town as the high schools. I will be working there 8 hours a week basically from 3:30-5:30 everyday. This is exciting because its a lot of extra cash and a really cool working environment. I will also be helping the owner do some administrative stuff, getting organized and hopefully further developing the educational program of the school. Opportunities to learn galore and potentially expanding my hours in a few weeks. There are several other teachers that he has recently hired. Three boys my age from California that in the same Auxiliares program as me and two others that I haven't met yet. Anyways, if you factor in the 32 hours a week I am actually working plus time to grade and plan, that alone is most of my day and week.
The first side- vegetables- because I know they're good for me, but the rewards are unseen and so far away- Law school applications. These puppies are due in two days in theory. Problem with that is, I am still waiting on some recommenders to get in their letters required to submit my applications. This is a double-edged sword, I feel like I can be a little lazy on my side since I can't even submit them without the letters, but at the same time, I should have everything done. I have been working furiously for hours and I've been so pleased with my progress. Like any huge task, anytime I start to feel like I am making substantial progress, I realize how much more I really have to do. Please be praying for energy on my side, speediness on the side of my recommenders and for a miracle on the side of the admissions boards. That would be one stacked prayer, but incredible when answered!
The second side- fruit- because it tastes sweet and looks pretty- travels. I am headed to Hungary this weekend and I am so excited! I was planning to go to Paris for Thanksgiving to meet Dad, but it seems like he will not be able to come to Europe until December. Regardless, I have a few days off in December that I need to plan asap. I also got the super exciting news that my dear friend Ansley booked her flight to come see me in February and I could not be happier than a clam! I am so excited. In just a few weeks, my friend Susan will be here also. I am totally thrilled that I am going to have visitors. I'm looking forward to nailing down some of these upcoming travel plans so that we can do everything we want to do when they're here. Dad and I also have to figure out what we are doing when and where we are going for the two weeks I will be home. It's looking like my best option is to ask off of work for the second week of January so that I can celebrate his birthday with him and friends in Alabama and also we can do some law school visits. I also need to book my plane ticket from ATL-Madrid in January and decide if I will come home in April or stay here.
The carbs- what I enjoy the most but shouldn't indulge in- I am attempting to maintain this blog, my other blog, emails, FB, my journal, my photo journal, spend time with friends here and go out. Not to mention, I really want to spend several hours everyday studying Spanish because my night classes and homework isn't enough. November is suppose to be all about working my tail off and improving my Spanish, but I haven't impressed myself just yet. Got to get better about seeking opportunities to practice and I must stop using English. I must. I also made the mistake of starting on Modern Family, which I am madly in love with and want to watch every episode produced to date.
The icing on the cake- a few of the obnoxious things that are going on that I really wish would figure themselves out or disappear or both. With the prospect of visitors, I finally made the decision to buy a sofa-bed i had been eying from Ikea for 100 euro. I went last week with a friend to Ikea, picked out our items, pushed them to the cashier, paid the ridiculously large sum for everything and then pushed the purchases to the Transporte counter to have it all delivered. On the metro on the way home, I studied the receipt just to realize that I bought the exact same sofa, except it was the regular sofa version and not the sofa-bed version. Long story and four phone calls with friends to speak Spanish for me later, I went back to Ikea on Saturday to get the right couch. They claim they will call me tomorrow for my bank account information to refund the money. We will see if that actually occurs. In the meantime, my room does feel like home and I am really looking forward to the Ikea purchases as new additions to cleanse my zen and make for organization and a more efficient use of the space. I cant wait to have an area to lounge when I don't need to be sitting upright in my plastic desk chair.
Also in this category, we have my living situation. I made a bold decision last week to stick it out and settle in here (part of that decision was purchasing the sofa and bookshelf to make this room feel even more like home). Well, the two empty rooms in this apartment have been sold to two Panamanians. They move in on Wednesday, so hopefully they will be cool and we will all live in peace and harmony. Also, there has been some hushed chit-chat among the Italian (this is the roommate I don't like, don't trust and realllllly want to move out like he is claiming he will in December) and our landlord about money so maybe he will be evicted or something soon. That would be GREAT.
Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the Ministry of Education about my temporary residence card. Then I have another meeting on Tuesday with the police. Hopefully after these two meetings, my legal status in this extremely unorganized country with no regard for customer service will be finalized and I will be a legal alien AND more importantly, that this legal alien will be able to return to work here in January. It will be AWESOME to get that finalized for good.
Thursday night I came down with the flu, but I think I am over the worst of it now. I was basically in bed for three straight days, totally useless and couldnt even lift my head. Terrible. Hope to be fully restored to healthy very soon.
So it turns out, I don't really just have a lot on my plate, I actually have the entire food pyramid. but you know what, if it's all stuff I am excited about, then all the stress is good stress, right?! Just gotta get over this flu, keep a steady IV of caffeine and power through!
I am convinced that with the 30 minutes a day or so I have to spend washing my dishes, i could really have a better handle on everything I have going on! It's amazing really how much I miss little things like a dishwasher.
Thanks for the update! Love and prayers!
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