I knew that after graduating from college that I would really miss Alternative Spring Break (the organization I was a part of in college that sent UVa students on service trips all over the US and world during all of our breaks). I went on a total of 8 trips during spring breaks, winter breaks, summer breaks etc., so it’s strange to me to have gone so long without doing one. It’s really my favorite way to travel, and my favorite way to get to know other people and cultures (I guess it’s a bit like what I’m doing now, though this is certainly not community service…)

Well, it didn’t take me long to buddy up with the service folks here at King’s, and now I’m leading a large group of little people to INDIA this summer for a service trip! I’m incredibly pumped. We had originally planned the trip for Thailand, but then… Thanks Thailand.  I am a bit nervous, because leading a group of 18-22 year olds is very different from leading a group of 14-17 year olds, and my fellow chaperone is one of the other rare 23 year old teachers (seriously, who trusts a group of high school nutjobs with two 23 year olds?) but it will be an adventure for the books.

My summer plans if you’re interested, color coded for your reading pleasure:
-JUNE 17 – depart for the U.S. of A., spend time in Texas
-JUNE 25 – head up the Virginia area for a friend’s wedding, spend the next two weeks trolling around the east coast
-JULY 6 – depart from New York City for Berlin, Germany, to visit the Don-man as he studies abroad
-JULY 14 – glorious return to Jordan
-JULY 17 – Service trip to INDIA!
-AUGUST 2 – glorious return to Jordan, part 2.
-MID-AUGUST – chill in Syria possibly taking private Arabic lessons, no big deal-LATE AUGUST/EARLY SEPTEMBER – no plans, any ideas?
-EARLY SEPTEMBER – glorious return to Jordan, part 3.
-SEPTEMBER 15 – re-learn calculus
-SEPTEMBER 16 – first day of classes in year 2 with my new crop of Physics Phriends and my first crew of Calculus Comrades (I don’t actually call them that)