14 hours until I'm gone. I've been ecstatic.
But something had to come up, didn't it? A personal ghost that refuses to leave me in peace. Enthusiasm currently shattered. I will not let anything or anybody interfere with my experience.
I can't forget that.
During the last couple of weeks I've had trouble sleeping... as I was unknowingly suffering from a passive form of anxiety known as the blahhs. More than anything I think it was greatly affected by my newly introduced birth control and my desperation to hold my lover.
But as of last night, I'm just too excited to sleep. I recieved word that I will be staying in the home of a married couple in their fifties, as well as their 21 year-old son, their house maid, and their dog Venus. Seeing a profile, and strict instructions to be at school at 8:00AM sharp was really like the finally bust to the reality piñata. I was up until 5:00 last night just doing research and editing my To Do List.
My NRCSA documents informed me that I would be given a spoken and written exam the first day of school. I would place in one of six categories (I’m going for upper intermediate) and they would work with me to improve my proficiency at an average rate of one level higher per month.
I’m stoked. My bags are half-packed. This is it, isn’t it?
I thought it would be appropriate to shed some light about myself on my own blog. Unfortunately, I went through several MySpace quizzes until I decided I just shouldn't use one. So here I am!
Full Name: Kaitlyn Louise Woods
Nick Names: Kati, Guina, Singing Sparrow
Alter Egos: Willow Wanderer
Age: 20
Birth date and place: 24 Apr 1991; Meppel, The Netherlands, Europe
Hometown: Citrus Springs, FL
Current Location: Cookeville, TN
Occupation: Student, Spanish Major, Junior, Tennessee Tech University
Dream job: Really lucky anthropologist
Hair: dark brown and curly
Eyes: blue
Glasses? For reading
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 150
Relationship Status: Seriously involved
...with the sweetest Colombian man alive. :)
Philosophy, as stolen from Facebook
Religious Views: “One love, one heart.”
Political Views: “Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.”
Favorite Quotations:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Mark Twain
Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity. Reduce selfishness, have few desires.
--Lao Tzu
Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.
--William Ellery Channing
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
--Mahatma Gandhi
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn’t see the clouds at all – he’s walking on them.
--Leonard Louis Levinson
This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God.
--Walt Whitman
Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
Use what talents you possess; The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
--Henry Van Dyke
The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.
--J.M. Barrie, The Little White Bird
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one
--John Lennon
Hobbies: I like to make dream catchers.
Favorites
Color: I love all colors, but I go through periods of time when I gravitate toward certain tones; right now I'm really into oranges and purples... but not together, no.
Animal: Penguins
Drink: Water
TV shows: Will & Grace. Rome. Family Guy. Big Bang Theory. Naked Archaeologist
Website: StumbleUpon
I love to...
Love people.
Smile.
Laugh.
Sing.
Cuddle.
Talk to myself.
Keep things clean.
Take moments to be still.
Be with my family.
Be with my boyfriend.
Be by myself.
Learn languages.
Pet Peeves: I hate it when someone asks me to make a choice based on my preference -"I don't care... YOU pick!"
Greatest...
Fear/preoccupation: Someone not liking me; saying no; dolls; escalators
Aspiration: To discover one or the ancient crystal skulls; to fly
Strength: Love
Weakness: Love, KitKats
Something people may find weird about me? I play the banjo and I love hockey. Go Preds!!
The Expedition
My primary goal is to become mind-blowingly proficient at the Spanish language. I am also looking forward to exposure to Caribbean culture.
I plan to see everything of interest in Cartagena of course, like El Castillo de San Felipe and the Museum of Gold and Archaeology. Also looking forward to mud-bathing in a volcano. But I also hope to see such natural beauties as Tayrona National Park in Santa Marta and such important anthropological sites as La Ciudad Perdida, Tierradentro, and la Isla Gorgona. Something else written in bold on the To Do List is meeting my boyfriend's entire family in person. They are such wonderful people, and I hope they approve. Goodness gracious.
I've never been good keeping diaries. Between sloppy hand-writing and my tendency to ramble, recording experiences was never my forté. I got a bit of practice in my Freshman English classes at Tennessee Tech with Mr. Andy Smith... but I certainly never liked it. Whining aside, this is important. For one thing, I aspire to be a not-necessarily-so-well-renowned anthropologist. Furthermore, the greatest people of history (and even not-so-great ones) are so well-known by us today because someone, somewhere, recorded their existence.
Just a side-note: I would like to share that I already feel pretty awkward right now just... talking to myself! Yeahp. Awesome. Moving on.
This blog exists because I was given an epic, life-enriching opportunity. My given name is Kaitlyn Louise Woods (just Kati, please). I am a 20 year-old student who attends Tennessee Tech University, and this summer I am headed for Colombia.
Thanks to the NRCSA, TTU Study Abroad Coordinator Amy Miller, and my sweet sweet daddy, Cartagena, Colombia will be my home for six weeks. I will be studying Spanish at a language school five days a week, complete with Salsa lessons in the afternoons. More importantly, this trip will be the catalyst for a transformation. Upon my return, I will be a new woman; I refer to her affectionately as Willow Wanderer.
She is savvy and strong. Her spirit of adventure is always enough to take her anywhere, with no fear. She lives in dreams.
This blog, of course, will continue to serve as my journal of experiences abroad, as well as Willow's musings. Stories involving ridiculously embarrassing situations I get myself into will probably be most common.
So for any of you who aren't me, I hope you enjoy this journal of my exotic travels. Feel welcome to leave comments; of course I encourage you to keep me company!
Merry travels,
Kati Woods
