More Car Fun and Some Reflection!

Well, today I had more car issues. I took the old van home from BABS this weekend. I had been warned that this car was a POS but I was living large/didn't want to walk home in the rain. But anyway, this morning, as I pulled out of the driveway, the passenger side door flew open. I put the car in park and went over to investigate. I tried closing the door hard, like slamming it shut. I tried being gentle. I tried pulling up the handle while I closed it. I tried pushing down the handle. Nothing worked. So finally, I grabbed some mittens tied together with a rope, wrapped the rope around the handle of the door and held tight onto the rope. Then I drove to work. One hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the rope. Everytime I went above 25 mph or turned a corner, I thought my hand might rip off. It was a great time. Haha.

I feel so blessed these days. I love my job, I have really great roommates, I love coaching volleyball and I just enjoy being in Bethel. This experience is crazy but I am genuinely loving it. This week Jamie, our area director, has been here. Her visit has really helped me realize how great my experiences here have been. I am an auditory processer, as in I need to talk things out before I can really come to any conclusions or really figure out what I think. During my discussions with Jamie, I kept feeling surprised by how positive this experience has been so far. Granted, it sucked being sick, but I’m better now and I think that my time away from BABS made me appreciate my job even more. Stuff with my roommates hasn’t been easy all the time, but so far, it has always turned out well. I often have moments where I miss my family and friends and want to call everyone, but I know that I can’t.

Bema and Bampie sent me a camera this week so I spent a lot of time this weekend taking pictures of Bethel and a few of my roommates and our house, so I will be posting them ASAP. I am excited for everyone to be able to see where I am living these days. I know that it took me a bit of time to adjust to the new scenery but right now I am getting nervous for when I reenter civilization, I don’t know what I am going to do with all the crowds and buildings ect. Haha.

In some ways I feel like I am at an overnight summer camp. I remember when I went to Camp Hamilton, after a week without radio or flushing toilets or the ability to choose my own food, all these little things seemed so strange. I can’t imagine what it will be like to have all these freedoms again. But, I will have the opportunity to begin to find out soon. In two weeks, I will be heading to Wasilla (Palin’s town!!!!) for my JVC fall retreat with the other Alaska JVs. I will have the ability to use my cell phone (!!!), to visit Anchorage for a bit (!!!) and see the other Alaska JVs and compare and share experiences (!!!). I’m pretty excited about that.

I can’t think of much else to say. I know I need to get better at calling all of you. I miss the sound of my family and friends’ voices. But even if you don’t hear from me often, please, please, remember how much I love you. Because it is a lot. Like thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssssssssss much. Times 1,000,000,000,000. Squared. Times infinity.

Love you!
Jill