In my mind (and heart and body and soul) Ive returned to Carolina (del Norte)!

Hi all!

So it has happened. I have returned to Western North Carolina, to the good ole Nantahala Outdoor Center, and to my trusty position as a doer-of-all-things-needed-to-be-done at Slow Joe's Riverside Cafe. I feel like ever since I set foot back in the United States of America, I have been on the move, and the adventures continue, so as long as you keep reading, Ill keep writing....and I imagine I will keep writing even after you keep reading - it's just too much fun!

So for a recap of my last two weeks: I visited mom in Oxford, saw her new cute cozy house, got my second pedicure in my life, saw The Hangover (funny movie, but NOT a mom movie - sorry mom!), and ate yummy deserts. I then drove 8 hours to North Carolina, moved into my temporary housing where I am sharing a bunk with the resident spiders, ran, worked, ran, worked, repeat for 8 days straight. Broke up the monotony by spending one delightful evening after work swimming in Lake Fontana where I was baptized as a Mashburn Mermaid - Mashburns being the name of the staff housing where I will soon be moved. And then, the GRAND AVENTURA of the week occurred when my friend Liz and I rushed Sarah, a co-worker and fellow Mashburn Mermaid, to the emergency room after a pleasant evening hike ended with an attack by a copperhead. Questions were asked ("How does one decide whether to give anti-vemon or not?" Doc's response? "Oh, it's more of a gut feeling." Hmm...), anti-vemon was FINALLY administered, lessons were learned (Copperhead bites can cause the heart to stop - believe me, this little tidbit of information was NOT helpful in calming Sarah as the doc listened to his gut...), and Sarah now sits in the comfort of her uncle's house in Atlanta while her leg returns to a normal size (it swelled from her foot all the way to her thigh - ahhh!) and she regains the ability to walk. And in an effort to pass on the knowledge gained during this ordeal, I pass along this...1)Do NOT ice a snake bite. It can cause you to lose your limb. 2) For the uninsured (i.e. yours truly), a snake bite could be the end of any savings as you know it. Anti-venom is EXPENSIVE. $7,000 per vile and Sarah's "small" bite required 6 viles. 3) It only takes one "near bite" experience to cause one to jump as the sight of a log lying alongside the running path and shiver when someone suggests we go see the movie "The Rise of the Cobra." Umm...No thanks!

So after only 8 days in NC and leaving Sarah in the care of her uncle, I turned around, drove 8 hours BACK home to Mississippi where I had an interview this past Saturday for a $25,000 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study public health and nutrition abroad for a year. In late June, I heard about this opportunity, so I spent a few hectic weeks in Ecuador gathering recommendations, transcripts, writing essays (in English and Spanish - thanks Luisfer for your patience and guidance!), and researching schools and programs in countries all throughout Latin America. And thanks to so many people both here in los estados and Ecuador, I was able to get everything together and turned in on time and was back here in time for the big interview before the committee on Aug 8th. And later that same afternoon, heard word from the head of the committee that I had been chosen to receive the scholarship - woohoo! I will not hear WHERE I will be sent (most likely Argentina, Nicaragua, or Colombia) until November and will not be leaving to study until Fall of 2010, so there is still a bit of suspense. But lo importante es saber que I got it! And to know that I at least have some sense of what I will be doing in the future...

And after the stress of interview preparation and the drama of finding out I won - Susan screamed so loud she nearly lost control of the car (we were en route to Clarksdale for a Blues festival) and Dad had me calling every family member we could think of - we spent a sweltering afternoon in the Delta eating rib tips (dad, not me), listening to Blues music, and driving among the cotton fields en route to Tunica, MS where we saw the Counting Crows in concert. Then, the next morning, I once again got in the car and drove the 8 hours back to North Carolina where I intend to stay until the season (and my job) ends on Nov. 1st.

So that, once again, brings me back to Western North Carolina, to the NOC, to Slow Joe's, to being a productive member of society (i.e. one that brings home a paycheck), to long morning runs in the rain, to evening bike rides through the rolling hills and past the pastoral farms, and to the beauty of all that is natural and mystical here in the Smokey Mountains. I am at home in the mountains. I love it here. I miss Latin America. But there is so much beauty here in my own country, and I feel blessed to have been received with open arms once again here on the banks of the Nantahala. Come visit and you too will be enamored - I promise to steer you clear of the snakes! VIVA!