I love life

So being 1200 miles from home has been an incredibly humbling experience. I had a vision in mind when I decided to move here: I would have this amazing internship, where everyone would fall in love with me and give me a fabulous, high-paying job within the first 2 weeks. That I would meet dozens of hip, flannel-wearing, micro-brew sipping bike riding friends. That I would join clubs and read novels about philosophy or philanthropy. That I would take incredible trips all over Oregon and Washington and see whales jumping and condors soaring overhead. Well, as you can imagine, none of those things has happened. Well, not really. I do fit in pretty well at my internship, and my boss does adore me, but the economy isn't going to help me get that high-paying, super-cool job when my hours are done. Or any job for that matter. I have met some pretty cool people, but am very surprised how hard it has been to make new friends. Maybe it's that I'm shy in new situations. Maybe it's because it's only been 2 months. Maybe it's both, or neither. Who knows. And I did get a library card- and wandered around the library for hours, only to rent Alfred Hitchcock movies and get a book on the century's most interesting photos. I did, however, have myself some adventures. Emily and I have been hiking- ALOT. It's been so much fun, and even though I thought my heart was going to explode a few times, enjoyed every minute. We've reached some mountain tops (a whole 2500 feet- woo!), seen lots of waterfalls, trekked through rivers and snow fields, and had alot of ice cream after wards! We also went backpacking last weekend with her friends Maya and Laura. It was so much fun, despite getting snowed out of our first spot, broken chaco's, blisters, and serious sleep deprivation. I feel very lucky that I have friend who will go camping and backpacking and who don't mind not showered for 3 days and who don't need a man to carry their pack for them.

Some highlights of our adventures:

Hamilton Mtn. summit. Hiking behind the Eagle Creek Falls, Cricket and Emily- BFF's, the backpacking group on top of the Indian Creek Falls, and Punch Bowl Falls.