Real Quick

I have lots to tell, but not a lot of time right now. But I have been pestered by some people to let them know how I'm doing.

The answer is that I'm doing well.

After a long orientation at Blue Ridge Summit, PA, my new housemates and I drove to Newark, and moved into our new house. We all got our own rooms, and the house is pretty amazing. The Newark JV house has never moved, and is the house that has been on the East Coast for the longest amount of time. So, quite a few people have lived and loved this house. And it's apparent as soon as you walk in the door. It's not just a house, it's a home. And it's our new home.

As a matter of fact, it's our VERY HOT home, as the weather here is pretty unbearably hot and sticky. The fact that three weeks ago, I was still in Alaska has never felt so sad in my life. I've already pronounced myself Queen of the Ice Cube Trays...

I have my own room, and my very large Irish flag is up, as well as the Traveling Jesus. I was blasting K'naan earlier today while getting ready to do a dry run on getting to work using the NJ Transit busses. (They're air conditioned...YES!)

That's all for now. I know it's not much detail, but I need to keep unpacking my suitcase, and get everything away. They'll be plenty of time to tell everything else.

Love, Bethy

On to everything.

Ok, ok. I admit it. I'm not even in New Jersey yet. But I am in the midst of piles and piles of my clothes trying to figure out what's staying, what's leaving with me, and what's being given to the Goodwill. Not to mention, I'm looking at all the things that I have acquired in my 22 years of life (most of which mean lots to me), and trying to think if I should take them to decorate my (possibly) shared room in Newark.

I'm leaving for orientation in two days. And I'm not really nervous. I'm excited, yes. I'm...calm, I think. And if you know me at all, I'm never calm about anything, so yes, this is strange.

I think it's because I feel a little stuck here in Lacey. Why am I here? It's become a strange waiting room, in between where I was and where I'm going next. I recognize the places (mostly...Lacey has undergone HUGE changes since I lived here), but neither the people nor the places are the same, or, maybe they are, and I'm just experiencing them differently. That's quite possible, and probably true. Either way, it leaves coming "home" as a experience that is different every time it happens, and less like home every time.

So maybe that's it - that home will be a strange, viscous-like substance. Something that I can't quite capture for awhile, something that, like an ice cube, melts faster and drips through my fingers the harder I try to hold on to it.

So, on to my future home, at least for the next year. On to the East Coast, where I've never called home. On to my JV year, where I hopefully will be challenged in every way I have ever imagined, and then 4 or 5 more ways that I never knew existed. On to life - the rest of my life - the beginning of everything that is to come.

Love, Bethy