Monday, July 2, 2012

The Rainbow's Treasures Will Soon Belong To You.

I received a fortune cookie last night that read, "The rainbow's treasures will soon belong to you." Although some may consider a fortune cookie response cheesy, I believe it is quite significant for this past week has brought many uncommon treasures. 

For awhile I was feeling very down. I felt as though I had no direction, no guidance and no support. To be honest, I had been feeling this way for quite some time due to the fact that I was unsure what I wanted to do in terms of a job, differing family struggles and the overall realization that I was now truly alone. Also, given the fact that I am in Michigan for the next few weeks, I was feeling as though it was hard to keep busy. Soon enough, days began to feel like weeks and I decided to spend some time with grandparents. My grandfather is 84 years-old and is still an active worker, which he says is because he is the only one who knows what is going on in the steel business, but I think the real reason is because he truly enjoys his job. So while he worked Monday-Thursday my grandmother and I spent some quality, yet leisurely, time together. 

In midst of my visitation I received three calls in regards to different job opportunities in Scottsdale. Two companies were interested in interviewing me for a sales position; one in Scottsdale and one in Tempe. The interview schedules were last week and the week following July Fourth, but due to my schedule I was not able to accept and, honestly, not very interested. The most exciting call though was for an interview as a marketing specialist/copywriter at a marketing firm only a few miles from my house. The first call from this firm was to ask if I could send in three writing samples. I am fortune enough to be a published writer in both online and print media, so I felt confident in the samples I sent and was very anxious to here back. About 20 minutes later I received another call stating they would love to schedule an interview! Ideally, they would have liked to schedule something for last week, but due to my schedule we worked something out for the next Monday upon my return. Hallelujah! This was such a confidence booster! I know it is just an interview, but this is exactly the type of position and location I am hoping for! With Jake's absence, I am truly driven and ready to work as hard as I can to be the most knowledgable, experienced  and, ultimately, best person I can be upon his return. 

Other excitements this week came from unexpected places. My father's side of the family is the definition of dysfunction. My grandfather cheated on my grandmother throughout the course of their marriage, causing much anger and hostility between he and his children, and proof of his affairs were lively displayed as a love child, Leslie, came to visit the family this weekend. Her and her boyfriend had been in town once before, which overall went well, but in a somewhat dramatic turn of events my grandfather and uncle were also visiting this weekend. Their initial meeting occurred alone, with only one other family member present, and went as smooth as it possibly could. The family then scheduled many BBQ's so they could then get to know each other without feeling pressured and, in a way, cornered. So Friday night we all got together to see my grandfather, Leslie and her family and, to my surprise, we really hit it off! I was a bit nervous as to how this would be, because I was now the only person who had not met her, but it was great! She is very personable, funny and has a beautiful family. As we all sat outside on the porch and watched fireworks I thought, "Regardless of their flaws, this is my family. I love them. And these are the moments that need to be cherished." 

The next day, I went with Leslie and her family to the Yates Cider Mill; a Michigan classic. We got homemade cider and donuts then cruised around the beautiful creek-filled area. We then had a lovely rooftop lunch in Lakeville followed by a beach day at Stoney Creek. Ironically, Stoney Creek holds many memories for Jake and me. It is the place where Jake and I spent the most magical day last summer; the place where we truly fell in love. And as fate would have it I received a call from him just as we were leaving the beach.

Unfortunately, he is having a difficult time. He is currently with his host family as he spends countless hours everyday learning the french language as part of his pre-service training that will continue for another two-and-a-half months. Although he enjoys learning french, he cannot speak a lick of the local language known as Mòoré. As one can imagine this is extremely frustrating because he is unable to communicate with his host family and other locals. Another concern is the excessive heat. He tells me it unbearly hot and he must shower twice daily to feel remotely clean. Also, his living quarters are disconnected from the rest of his host family, so he lives in a mud hut, that consists of three walls and a door, that is estimated 120 degrees inside! This of course makes it difficult to sleep, and when he does sleep it is not well for he has terrible, vivid dreams due to his required malaria medication. Also, the food, which mainly consists of mystery meat (most likely dog) and rice, has been giving he and the other volunteer's constant diarrhea. The Peace Corps provides medication for this, but there are no toilets and no toilet paper which means everyone abides by the "right hand, left hand rule" meaning you eat with your right and wipe with your left. Yikes!

On the plus side we have been able to speak via phone three times this week! This aspect alone is quite the blessing for we thought we would only be able to email and possibly skype once a month. A struggle on my end though is that Sprint is a bunch of knuckleheads who do not know anything about international calls to Africa. This has been a huge struggle for I have not been able to call and Jake must spend his little money on minutes to call me. Fortunately, his parents have sent me Jake's old Verizon phone, so I will be using that to call him from now on, as Jake's parents are able to call him via Verizon no problem. So a head's up to all you reader's out there, if you would like a message relayed to Jake call or text his phone and I will certainly do so! Now I have his phone though we will be able to communicate much more often, so there will be many updates to come.

Until next time!

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