and then what...?

And then I came home to San Jose, California in late August 2010. I took a quick jaunt down to socal to see friends before taking a job at Starbucks (yes, I know, I caved and betrayed my Peets, but stupid Peet's wouldn't hire me back until Christmas and money is money...). Luckily I only worked at the hell that was Starbucks (IT WAS HORRIBLE. STARBUCKS IS A CULT) for 6 weeks before finding my current random full time job as an activities assistant at a senior living facility! It's definitely not a job I'd ever though of doing before, but it's pretty awesome. I basically help seniors have fun and stay active and healthy. I get to be super social and everyone is really nice. And I feel like I'm actually doing something. So that is that.

Life at home with my mom in San Jose is pretty lackluster. Home is comfortable. It's nice to be around family, but my sister is away at school and I don't really have any friends left in the Bay Area, so I spend my free time at the gym, hanging out with my dog, or cooking. I've rediscovered my obsession with horrible American reality tv shows, such as Jersey Shore and anything on TLC. And of course I frequent the local library.

Over the past few months, I got to visit my friend Nicole in Denver, Colorado and really enjoyed spending time with all the friends that came to visit the Bay Area over Christmas/New Year's. Basically, life goes on and monotony has ensued. But I hate monotony, so clearly this routine was not meant to last long...so what next?

As some of you know, I got into the only grad program I applied to this year! It was the only one I had applied to so far because it was absolutely perfect for me and did not require that I take the GRE. Haha. It is a master through the University of Bologna, where I studied abroad in 2007-08! The program is the International Master in Development, Innovation and Change (otherwise known as MiDIC) and I'll be studying international economic and social development and change. Furthermore, I got selected to be one of 5 out of like 50 students to do the second semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa!!!

So where will I be for the next year?

March 10-July: 1st semester in Bologna, Italy studying International Economics + Development
August-December: 2nd semester in Cape Town, South Africa studying more sociological topics including social change and social development
January-March+ 2012 : Internship to finish my master somewhere in the world (probably either in Turkey, Geneva, or maybe in DC or NYC)

This master program is only 1 year long. I'm really excited about it because I'll get to further my education in a field I'm interested in and do a really dynamic international program that just doesn't exist in the U.S. I'm excited about stepping into the advanced academic field to see where it will take me! I'm excited to come back to Bologna for 5 months and I'm really excited to go to SOUTH AFRICA! I mean, going to South Africa to study social change is like academic ecstasy for me!! I'm such a nerd :)

If you're interested in reading about the master program I'm doing, check out the website.

So there you have it, my life has been a crazy ride so far and I have no intention of slowing down. I am so thankful for all my opportunities and experiences over the years and looking forward to those that are to come.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain