[Re]mixing it Up!

Despite my best intentions to update this blog regularly from the beginning, it seems I have already missed a few weeks. So, apologies to any who were expecting a post :)

However, I do feel justified in my absence as I have been busy with Passport Camp in Macon, GA. I am the director here at our Mercer camp and have been loving working with an incredible and talented staff putting on our first three weeks of camp. This weekend marks the half-way point in the summer - 3 weeks down and 3 more to go! As you probably know, I tend to talk a lot about camp when given the opportunity, so I'll just say that camp has been great, and I'd love to tell you all about it sometime :)

The subject of this particular blog, however, is my journey leading up to and in and after my time at the Ricks Institute in Liberia. As it turns out, I already have a few updates about my time there to pass along!

Last week I had my first conversation with Olu Menjay, principle of the Ricks Institute. He is actually just outside of Atlanta right now with his wife who just gave birth to their second child! We were able to talk for a few minutes, mostly about some random details... but it was great to finally have a conversation with someone I will be working with throughout the next year.

I've also been able to have a conversation with a professor here at Mercer who just returned from a service learning trip to the Ricks Institute. It's interesting to me that every time I talk to someone about Ricks I am surprised by something I learn and it changes my idea of what life at Ricks will be like in a slightly different way each time. This most recent conversation was interesting because it was from the perspective of someone who took a group of students who were also entirely new to the situation (most had also never been to an African nation before).

I feel as if I should write here for you some of the expectations I have or some of the ideas I have in my head about what my life might be over the next year... but to be honest I am not sure I can, and also not sure I want to. It's impossible to prepare for a major life change without having some kind of expectation... but while mine are changing so rapidly and continually developing, I'm wary of writing them down. I like the change, and I'm sure the change will continue... so bring it on.

Anyway, I guess I'll wrap up for now... I'll try to write something more eloquent and informative soon. In the meantime, I'd love to hear if there's anything you want me to talk about that I'm not saying at this point! Hope all is well, and happy Fourth of July to you all!!