And I've finally uploaded the photos of where I'm living! I only have three more weeks here but at least now you can get a better sense of where I am. Mary, my landlady (she's more like a host mother or fellow housemate) is very kind and told her friend the other day on introducing me that she wants to kidnap me and keep forever. So I guess I've been a good housemate.
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaiarange/HouseInFriendshipHeights?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Work is going well. This past week was actually quite good. I've been working on the website a lot so editing the English and making sure everything is linked properly and also giving feedback for user-friendliness, etc. I also had one client that we'd been working with for a while (the State Department wanted to know why he wasn't registered for a birth certificate until he was 5 -- apparently he grew up in a reeeeaaaallly small town in the middle of nowhere) finally get his passport. Yay! He was so happy that he brought me a gift when he came to pick it up! It was a cd of lullabies by an artist named Jewel and a really sweet thank you card. He is a really nice grandfatherly guy so I was really happy that he was finally able to get the passport and really touched by the small gift. We also finally got the three UK passports that had been causing lots of grief: Iit took 5 weeks to get them and the clients were not too happy about it. Unfortunately, with UK passports (and other embassies in general), there is only so much that we can do. The UK Embassy here in DC is the ONLY passport-issuing agency in all of the Western Hemisphere. It usually takes 12-14 weeks for people to get their passports so 5 weeks is actually really impressive.
I've found that I really do love working with clients, especially in helping them get something so important as a passport. Mom suggested that maybe I would enjoy being an immigration lawyer some day. Who knows! I'll think about it.
Other than work I have been hanging out with my friend Lauren a lot. She is teaching me how to cook various things and is also my shopping buddy and adventure buddy. We went to a Peace Corps/ Colombia fair on the mall a few weekends ago and we went to brunch the other day as well! She just finished her first year at AU (I was convinced she was already finishing her second year) and works at the Air and Space Museum as one of the demonstration people. She also volunteers at the zoo weekly and is planning to major in Anthropology and Spanish and some other minors and such. She's very motivated and fun. She was in my Spanish Grammar class last fall and then was in my Historical Archaeology class this past spring so we got to know each other pretty well.
I also have been hanging out with Ana and her family as much as possible. Last weekend I went and stayed the weekend with them and we went to Six Flags America in Baltimore, Maryland. It was fun. They even have a swimming park! She and her family (and her boyfriend Alex) are so wonderful. I will miss them dearly. Ana will be studying abroad in Morocco this fall and Argentina this spring. She's already promised to jump over the Andes to come visit Antonio and I in Chile for her spring break. Yay! I've been helping her with packing suggestions, etc. She'll have so much fun!
So now I only have three weeks before I leave DC. It's crazy!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone in Oregon but I'm going to miss DC and my friends here. Who know though, I may be back here sooner than I know it. I'll just enjoy it while I'm here and try to see all my friends before I go. This is more challenging than it could be as I never know what time they will let me out of work. Bother. Ah, well.
Oh, and I've been meeting weekly for the past few weeks with my Japanese friend Yuko who was in a class with me last fall. She's really fun and has been helping me practice my Japanese. Last week we went to a Mexican restaurant where I spoke Spanish with the waiter and Japanese with her. It was funny. I only messed up with the wrong language to the wrong person a couple of times. Definitely good practice!
I started an online certification program to get my TEFL certification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) a few weeks ago. It's 20 units with assignments and I'm trying to finish it before I get to Oregon. We'll see how that works. It's not too hard but I still managed to get behind on my schedule anyways. Bother.
I'm looking at scheduling things for the month I'll be in Portland so if anyone has any preferences, please do shoot me an email! I'm looking forward to seeing you all!
Have a great week!
Love, Kaia (^_^)
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