Gettin' my Princeton on

August 31

Hola!

I thought I'd take that opportunity to show off about 50 percent of my Spanish vocabulary-- pretty impressive, huh? I'm certain it will grow rapidly once classes start. Until then, I'm limited to simple phrases like: "Where is the bathroom?" "My name is Kenneth," or even, "My name is bathroom." With time, I hope to invent a way to ask where the Kenneth is.

I just finished the 4 day orientation at Princeton, which was fun, exciting, nerve wracking, intimidating, and marked by large patches of free time to reflect on the intimidating excitement of nervous fun. I was introduced to the program's alumni, heard stories of their adventures, and had surprisingly rich discussions on service and culture. I also was introduced to a group of remarkable co-volunteers. The program as a whole had twenty kids, and each was polite, witty, and engaging. My group, team Peru, has three girls and two guys.

Ignoring the hurricane business --which I largely did-- campus was beautiful, sunny and green. The antique stonework absolutely oozed class (they never sealed the mortar as well as they should have). Nassau street, the main road of the little college town, is stuffed with quaint little shops and small town charm. I found myself walking down several times to enjoy ice cream, frozen yogurt, and an odd new discovery: Bubble tea. Bubble tea is an iced tea served with a wide straw and a pile of syrup filled "bubbles" on the bottom. Suck them up, and the bubbles pop to create what the marketing describes as an "explosion of flavor." Unlike most explosions, these were surprisingly pleasant, and I tried several different combinations of tea and bubble. I think my favorite was chai tea with tapioca bubbles.

This morning, I woke up from a measly four hours of sleep to leave for Peru. Groggy from fatigue and laden with bags, I stumbled to the shuttle. After a warm blur of farewell hugs, I was off! Not to adventure of course, that won't come for a bit. No, I was off to meet the cranky service woman of the international travel counter. Bags were checked and taken, boarding passes were issued, and we were off! Still not to adventure of course, I'm currently on a six hour flight and have no exciting stories to tell, but rest assured that they will be reported just as soon as possible.