Eve of Adventure

I leave for the airport in 12 hours,

 and my house is a mess.

As my Mom she cowers,

I'm ready for this quest.

Now isn't that the cutest little poem you ever read?  Ms.Watkins (my senior year English teacher) is beaming somewhere, I'm sure of it. 

So let's get down to business.  All of the things I'm taking with me are sitting on the couch in our living room, waiting patiently to be crammed into a much too small suitcase.  We are holding off on the cramming as long as we possibly can to reduce the wrinkling damage. 

I wanted to make a nice brief blog post to perhaps outline my intentions and hopes for the first leg of my trip.  "Setting my Intentions" is something I learned from going to Mrs.Zetterberg's yoga classes (she was my 7th grade World History teacher).  In the context of yoga, that phrase is used to determine what you want to get out the class whether it be to loosen up a specific part of your body or something more spiritual like learning to let go of negativity or a busy mind. 

I hope in Ghana and South Africa that I will be able to create life-long friendships with not only my fellow global gappers, but also with the people of Ghana and South Africa.  I hope to positively impact their lives and perhaps brighten the days of those who are less fortunate than I am.  I also am looking for some clarity for myself.  I know this is an extremely vague statement, but I just want to know more about myself.  Whether it be about what I can and cannot handle, concerning what I want to do with my life (I certainly need some clarity in that regard, but I still have time), or even just figuring out how to make myself comfortable when faced with circumstances outside of my comfort zone.  So clarity.  Yeah, vague, but captures my intention.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has supported me in this crazy endeavor to come and has sent me good vibes.  I will certainly be tapping into those good vibes during my two grueling flights tomorrow.  Sorry to everyone I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to officially.  I do sincerely love you all and will miss you.

I won't have the cellular functions of my phone, but will have internet sometimes.  So, feel free to contact me through facebook and say Howdy (sound as American as possible so I don't forget home) and I'll try to get back to you asap.

Thanks again for reading and see you all in December for a bit!!!!

A Busy Summer

No. I'm not there yet.

In 13 days, I will be airborne.



I thought I'd talk a bit about what I've been doing this summer.  As a naturally restless work-a-holic, I thrive when I am busy.  So, I created some work for myself this summer.  I've been volunteering a total of 6 days a week at two different locations since late June.


1. The Prison Library Project
Located in the Claremont Forum (a bookshop and art gallery in the Packing House), The Prison Library Project is a non-profit run by volunteers that supplies books to prisoners upon request.  We receive letters from prisons all around the nation, process them, and send out a couple books that fit the interests of the inmate.

The PLP's goal is to promote literacy, personal responsibility, reflection, and growth. And that they do.  Sending out 12,500 packages a year, their impact is profound and I've loved being a part of it.  Coming in Tuesdays thru Thursdays each week has been a joy.  I've met wonderful people and have been happy to help brighten the dreary lives of inmates.

There, I participate in a variety of jobs.  I can be found reading letters, highlighting letters to make the request clear, making address labels, pulling books off of the shelves to be sent out, and wrapping packages.  I do it all except deliver the books to the prisons! (The USPS takes care of that)

Some people believe that prison is solely meant for punishment and that the inmates do not deserve our help as they have wronged society in the past.  But we at PLP believe that some people need a little help to get back on track.  With all the time the inmates spend locked up, to ensure they don't waste their precious time, we ought to facilitate their growth by providing the resources they need.

The most frequent request we receive is that of a dictionary.  We also often receive requests for Spanish-English dictionaries, self-help books, religious literature, and for fiction.  I've read hundreds of letters and have come across some very touching stories.  Some, claiming to be wrongly accused, others explaining that they have no one to help them from the outside, and some telling horrific stories on the treatment of inmates in prisons.  We do what we can at PLP.

It has been a wonderful experience, and I recommend dropping by if you have some free time and want to give back.  Again it's located in the Packing House in the Claremont Village in the bookshop The Claremont Forum.  For more information on the PLP, go here http://www.claremontforum.org/#!services/ca4p .



2. The Health Center at Mount San Antonio Gardens

I have also been spending 4 days a week volunteering in the Health Center at Mount San Antonio Gardens, an old folks home.  It is a nationally recognized, non-profit Life Care senior community.  Everyone there knows everybody and I have had great fun getting integrated into the close-knit community.

I spend my days in the Health Center where the residents who require more care live.  There, I play music and sing for them, paint nails, assist the Activities Directors, give hand massages, take the residents outside, and generally just hang out with them.  I have established very valuable and genuine relationships with each and every resident I've come across.

Recently, we took a handful of seniors to the LA County Fair where they had a great time looking at the flowers, animals, and art.  It is so sweet to know I am brightening their days.  They are always so kind to me, greeting me by name, and are always happy to talk.  When the situation is so grim for many, it's awesome to know I'm lessening their pain, helping distract them from whatever may be keeping them at the health center.

Still, sometimes it gets really sad at the Health Center.  There was a week where 3 residents I had visited with all passed away. That was extremely difficult.  But still, death is a part of life and I am sure that all 3 of them lived very happy and certainly long lives.  Volunteering there has taught me a lot about life, death, and just about what I can and cannot handle.  Being so close to serious illness and to people of their death bed sure makes you think.

But if there is one lesson I have gathered from The Gardens, it's to be grateful for what you do have.  One of my closest friends there, a 94 year old man who was born in Ukraine and was a big shot with the water company in his earlier days, has had a great big influence on me.  He has dementia and thus doesn't know much about where he is or who he was and still is.  But that doesn't stop him from enjoying this life.  I take him outside and push him around in his wheelchair and he can't stop talking about how beautiful the trees are and shouting "Look at that sunshine!" and just marveling at nature and the beautiful scenery at Mount San Antonio Gardens.  He has taught me a lot about how precious life is and how to appreciate what's in your life instead of pining for what you don't have.

My experiences at the Health Center have been unforgettable and it deeply saddens me to know that when I say my goodbyes to go on my trip, it may be the last time I see some of my friends.  Still, I am so happy to have created the strong relationships I have with these people.  As Dr Seuss said, "Don't cry that it's over, smile that it happened" :)  For more info on The Gardens see http://msagardens.org .


As always, thanks for reading.  Have a lovely day!

A Blog? Really? Wow!

So this is new!

Welcome to my blog!  This is where I plan on documenting my travels during my Global Gap Year.

First off, here is my rambling explanation of what has happened and what is to come in regards to my odyssey.

Senior year. 

With the flurry of college acceptances and denials building up and the committing dates drawing ever-so-nearer, I came to the realization that going straight from high school into college might not be the best choice for me.  I felt as if the status quo in Claremont, at least for the dedicated and driven students, was that you graduate from CHS, and then you go to a good, if not great, school. I felt as if I was being rushed into something that was supposed to be entirely my own choice and for the sole benefit of me.  I began to think about maturity and major life changes and how you need to have the former to have the latter occur smoothly.  Although I considered myself as one of the more mature and academically competent students, I just couldn't shake the thought that I wasn't ready for college.  I didn't know enough.  I hadn't explored enough internally nor externally.  I needed more and was sure I wouldn't be happy heading straight into the next leg of my education without some sort of break (boy did I work hard in high school, and I was wiped out).

Gap Year?
So I began to research gap year programs.  After an unreal amount of google searches, and after me rephrasing "gap year programs" about 6,000 times in the Google search engine, and after bookmarking an unhealthy amount of pages, I realized the best program for me was the very first one I had stumbled upon. And this was Project Abroad's Global Gap Year program.  It was one of the few programs that actually allowed minors to embark on their journey, and as a wide-eyed 17 year old, I thoroughly appreciated that.  Although pricey, the program seemed perfect for me.  It traveled to 5 countries in 3 continents (all 5 of which I had an acute interest in), scheduled in a winter break (so I wouldn't get too homesick), included varying styles of volunteer work (from building to taking care of kids, it had it all), and worked in a group setting (I would never be alone).  After contemplating this behemoth of a decision for a week or so, I told my mom about my thoughts.  All within 3 minutes she learned of my apprehension of going straight into college, about my plans to take a year off, and about this program that was ideal for me.  As a wonderfully supportive mother, she listened and calmly expressed to me her thoughts and fears in regards to what I had just word-vomited at her.  But the grand moral of her story was that she would endorse whatever plans I thought would keep me healthy and happy.  Yay Mom!

Gap Year.
After pondering the go-straight-to-college option and the gap-year option, my family and I came to the conclusion that I ought to put all my eggs in the gap-year basket.  It was the best choice for me.  As corny as it sounds, I could "find myself" on this trip and would be simultaneously giving back to the universe as I do it.  I could gain so much life experience and become more well-traveled, seeing corners of the world I never thought I'd get to encounter.  So Boom.  Next thing I knew, I had applied, was accepted, and was deferring my admission from USC to the fall of 2015.

The Deets
I leave on September 26 for the adventure of a lifetime.  First stop is Accra, Ghana (which is still Ebola-free) in Africa, where for 2 weeks, I will be going to Projects Abroad orientation and caring for disadvantaged children.  Next is Cape Town, South Africa where I will be interning on the Projects Abroad Human Rights program and building for 2 months.  Then I return home for almost a month for a winter break, to spend the holidays with the fam.  Following, I go to Cusco, Peru where I will be teaching local kids English skills for another 2 months.  The next month is spent in Kathmandu, Nepal where I will be working in a medical internship in hospitals and rehabilitation centers for disabled children. And finally, I go to Krabi, Thailand for 1 month where I will be participating in various conservation projects including some work in a Scuba suit!  Then it's back home in May where my focuses will turn to readjusting to the American way and undergoing a metamorphosis into a Trojan.



I hope to use this blog to document some of my excellent escapades to come.  There will be pictures and many many words and maybe even a video or two!

Thanks for reading!