QUE TAL, Y'ALL? (aves)

Hey friends!

So I'm a leeeetle behind on the blogging but with several pre-posting pep talks from Campbell and all these fabulous updates from my fellow wanderers--sounds like Campbell and Aimee are having a blast and Cole is already getting into adventures!!-- I feel like it's time to fill y'all in on what's been going on in my life lately and bring you up to date on my adventure plans…

After finishing exams on the mountain at the end of May, I drove the 8ish hours down south to sweet home Alabama. My car was stuffed so full of things from my room at the beloved Spanish house that I had to strategically place one arm on top of my coffee maker, picture frames, and other random objects in the passenger's seat at all times to barricade them from trampling me. I must have looked ridiculous as I drove into the abyss of middle-of-nowhere towns in lower Tennessee and northern Alabama, dramatically tossing clothes and shoes into the back seat as they tumbled down piles of unorganized mayhem on top of me.  However, I was taking myself quite seriously at the time. As I meandered down those mountain roads, well, "girl my eyes were gettin' misty," as Kate Kelly and I would say. I guess it just all hit me that afternoon as I drove away from Sewanee, physically leaving with my entire sophomore year on top of me-- I realized that I was officially half way done with college. If everything were to go as planned, I would only have two more semesters there. TWO.

 Keep in mind these existential thoughts were coming to me as I frantically flung papers and books and cups and cards away from my steering wheel, looking like a moving scene from hoarders: buried alive.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/hoarding-buried-alive

 ANYWAY although I couldn't stay for grad week (heard it was a blast!) I had to come home to Mobizle for some pretty milestone events for my family. For one, our sweet old dog died a few days before exams ended (RIP Rosie!). But in more welcome news, my baby sister Kate graduated from high school! (Congrats, tater tot, you're such an adult!) My mom also had a big birthday at the beginning of the summer that I didn't want to miss.

After all of these bittersweet events (none could quite compare to my scene in the car), I made my way to one of my favorite places in the world, Ft. Morgan, Alabama, with some of my favorite people in the world-- my close friends from high school. We enjoyed the splendor of the salty Gulf waves and stunningly clear skies from my friend Lila’s beach house (once AGAIN), a place that has had my heart for years now.

Next was the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores. (Brelyn saw me there at some point taking a siesta in the bless-ed air conditioning of my friend's car, temporarily escaping from the dire bama heat).

At the beach I also met a friend of a friend (Hola, Allison!) who will be studying abroad next year in Argentina. I am so excited to know yet another friendly face will be in the area (so pumped for Kathryn Spencer and Julia Wallace to show me around too!!). After the hangout fest--y'all Jack White was so incredible-- I had about a week at home and then set off for some city adventures in D.C.,"da capital," as my girl Jane Bartlett Pappas used to call it.

While in Washington I worked as the Press Intern in Senator Conrad's office on Capitol Hill, lived with Julia Galliher at George Washington University, spent time with my cousins and grandparents who live nearby, was constantly sightseeing and living the tourist life, and had an absolute blast with my friends there (which included some new North Dakotan pals and a substantial Sewanee clan).

As I worked in D.C., I tried to do lots city-chic things like early morning runs, donning commuter shoes, not talking to strangers, and wearing real live professional human clothes.  And for the most part, it worked! I felt like such an adult. That was, until I came home and climbed up to the top bunk. It was strangely comforting to come home to a bunk bed every night, as it was a reassuring symbol that I’m not really a grown-up quite yet. I should also add that it served as the perfect vantage point for shooting into the basketball hoop across the room. Adulthood? Phew! That was a close one...

For now, I’m back in Mobile spending time with friends and family and trying to get my life together only to pack it back up and hit the road again soon. We moved my sister Kate into college at Belmont University last weekend and it was so fun to see her soaking in her new environment and engaging in such an inviting and promising atmosphere that only your freshman year at college can offer. But I can’t help feeling like a similar new chapter in my life will begin soon, and I am anxiously waiting for it to start. On September 3 I leave for Buenos Aires, Argentina to take part in a School for International Training (SIT) program focused on human rights and social movements.

http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/ssa_arr.cfm?cp=2013SSP

I could not be more excited! I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about how phenomenal it's going to be.

 I plan to study abroad in Argentina for two semesters back to back, meaning I will be away from Sewanee for my entire junior year (I’m coming home for Christmas, Mom and Dad, I swear!). I've been attempting to learn Spanish pretty much my whole life and I am excited to be fully immersed in language in the upcoming months. More than that, I honestly cannot wait to understand more about human rights from a Latin American perspective and to learn from and form relationships with people interested in similar things that I am.  (I know, what a nerd!) Though it really is painful to know I’ll be away from the mountain and from all of my friends and family for so long, I am so looking forward to this adventure and can't wait to see how it unfolds.  More updates are sure to come (now that I actually know how to post on this thang)..

HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING AN AWESOME SUMMER!! peace and blessin's from Alabama!

Besos, Avery