Not a Packers Fan But...

I still bet on them. I mean, my long love affair with the Bills [link] still exists, but honey...I be po' and I like winning.

So...along with my blind spread (thanks Mathias for teaching me how to do that) and a side bet or two, I cleaned up with SuperBowl XLV.

Plus, I got to spend an uncomfortable few hours with a bunch of people I barely now (see Rae's blog [link] about extending and my comments [link] about Az8s if you don't know what I am talking about).

That - the uncomfortable hours - was...well, uncomfortable. It is hard breaking into a new group. It is really hard breaking into a new group that is still solidifying their own friendships and figuring out their role in this whole crazy thing. It is hard when you don't have any inside jokes or a buddy to hang with. I mean, I am pretty sure I looked like a weird freaky loner the whole time.

Which, if you know me, is probably the weirdest situation I have ever found myself in. I think I am overly personable and rather open, but that doesn't always play when you are in the 'Corps.

So, I guess my point is that even in year 3, I am still out of my element and struggling. It is so totally weird.

Everyone's in the family way...

So here is a topic I really haven't addressed: Being left behind.

Eh. I am not sure if that describes it. It's the all-my-friends-are-pairing-off, getting-married, and/or in-the-'family way' feeling.

Well, that is not exactly entirely true. Not all my friends are doing any of those things and I don't necessarily feel left behind.

It is just...when you are preparing for Peace Corps, it never hits you that two years is really a heck of a long time. For some weird reason, you think you will be able to keep all your ties, things at home won't change too much, and you won't change at all.

Psaw. You might as well try to stop J.J. Abrams from ruining my life by blowing up Vulcan...or for you non-Star Trek nerds, it is impossible to stop life.

People at home move in with their significant others. Favorite restaurants close. People have kids. Friends pass. Bookstores close. Besties move away. Stuff you couldn't possible imagine happening happens.

Yet even now, for some odd reason, I expect a lot of my old life to be exactly the same when I get home. I kind of expect to be exactly the same. Weird, huh?

And, I know, I know. Things aren't going to be the same. It will be like meeting my friends for the first time and trying to navigate through a new hometown. That's life...it's gosh darn scary to think about, but it is what it is...

I'm Just Playin' - Löki's Schedule 3.0

I was going to write a whole blog about my schedule and then I realized, I've done this [link]. I have told you all what I do all day. My schedule really does not change up all that much...

-I have fun kids' clubs and I have eh. basic English courses.

-I try to mix it up every couple of months and do something exciting and I meet with local counterparts to outline potential projects.

-I help people fill out applications for exchange programs and I visit my friend's houses and talk to their moms about why my parents have allowed me to serve in Peace Corps.

-I spend hours washing my clothes by hand and I spend more hours filling my belly.

-I spend about 20 minutes fretting about how messy my house has become and another 20 minutes sweeping my floor with the tinniest broom in the world.

-I Google easy TOEFL questions and I update my blog.

-I explain to the post office lady that I am not Jessica and I take deep breaths when young boys pelt me with snowballs.

-I wake up at 5:45 a.m. for my Master's classes and I read hours worth of homework whenever I remember to.

And...I listen to podcasts. I listen to a lot of podcasts.