The Sun is Out.

About as fast as I can post about the weather, it changes. Unfortunate as my seemingly sporadic posts are, the weather did change, again. From grey and cold to sunny and hot in a matter of hours. Today, I am sitting in an outdoor cafe, Chaco's on, jeans rolled up, sincerely regretting the sweater I put on this morning, packed yesterday, when the weather was still cold.

I have spent the past days working on my resume, preparing to send off my requests for transcripts and attempting to do all of this, worlds away from the land where 99% of the applicants are doing it. To some, this may seem early in the game, especially considering law school applications won't be submitted until October, but if I have learned anything in Morocco, it's that you must plan on things taking a lot longer than originally thought. Doing this from Morocco, without reliable internet and lacking access to my peers and resources most Americans have, presents its own set of challenges and I just want to be prepared. Only time will tell if my plan actually works out, but for now I will just take these things one step at a time.

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and also my volunteer friend Nicole's 25 th birthday. One year ago yesterday, I was scared to death and still attempting to get my feet planted in Morocco, with a new language and an entirely new set of rules. Two years ago yesterday, I was sitting on the roof of Big 12 with Danielle Hohmeier and some fellow classmates, drinking green beer and debating whether or not our afternoon lectures were worth attending, considering the beautiful weather and plethora of green beer at our disposal. Yesterday, I went to lunch with three fellow volunteers and a Fullbright scholar in the most "American" of cafe's in Tiznit then checked my email and spent the evening cooking pasta, watching Glee and eating a homemade apple cake.

Landmark days like these are what really bring my life into perspective. It is astonishing to me how fast life can change, so completely, in just a matter of a few years. I could go from beers on a roof, to being scared out of my pants in a new country, to completely comfortable in my surroundings, without green beer.

I feel lucky, very lucky actually, to get to live my life this way and I fear the day when all of my St. Patrick's Days start to look the same, year after year.


Nicole and her birthday apple cake. I realize there is only a #2 candle, Jess couldn't find the #5.