The Lowdown

Whenever I come home, I inevitably end up in a position I commonly refer to as the GOLDFISH SYNDROME. It goes a little something like this:

• I come home. More likely than not for some hyped-up holiday designated for some event in which a heap of people died.
• There's a great big party, with tons of people, and I get to fill the part of Shiny New Toy.
• One person barrages me with questions: "How's school? What classes are you taking? How about next semester? What, you're going abroad? Where? How long? What're you going to do? Are you excited? Are you scared?" And the list goes on... Until I manage to extract myself from the clutches of Well-Meaning-Relative Number One and walk straight into the clutches of Well-Meaning-Relative Number Two. And the list begins again, and again, and again...

Although this is new information to everyone else, I have news: I have more than a 10-SECOND MEMORY. And although I appreciate your interest, I often feel like the little fish trapped in the bowl with all the cats staring in at me, scrutinizing EVERY SINGLE DETAIL of my life. I've often seriously considered typing up an essay, printing 30 copies, and handing them out at the door (I don't care whether I'm the host or guest).

So, here's the lowdown: Last semester sucked. All I can say is, Organic Chem was my easiest class. I like to say that last semester was about the work, and this semester is about cashing the check. Because at the moment, I'm sitting in the Houston airport, about an hour from boarding a plane to Ecuador, where I will sit my butt on the equator surrounded by awesome for the next six months. I'm studying abroad on a program at GAIAS (the Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences), which is run by USFQ in Quito. The track I'm doing is entitled Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation in the Galapagos. My first month-ish I'll be studying in Quito... with side trips to the Amazon, etc. The next three + months, until the semester ends on May 10, will be on the island of San Cristóbal. Studying at a campus literally across the road form the beach. Chilling out with the sea lions and snorkeling and playing frisbee, etc. I then plan on finding myself a public health internship in Quito until the end of June, at which time I will return to my humble abode in the great PNW. I plan on climbing a mountain, getting SCUBA certified, and other fun stuff along the way. Yes, I am excited. No, I'm not nervous... anymore, thanks mostly to a wonderful email from my Quito host mom and in part to (not so thankfully) losing my iPhone to the magnificent Joe's Doughnuts and subsequently realizing that I DID have the Spanish skills to explain my somewhat complicated predicament to some Spanish-speaking strangers.

This blog may or may not be successful. It is an attempt to type up essays and print those 30 copies for all y'all to read from 2,000 miles away. It has a purpose. Please, PLEASE read it so I can maintain my sanity when I return home this summer.

Also, I may be candid, but I love you all.