Grow Up, Kate. Anda.

Taken from travel journal 24/06/09:

How I'd love to wander and be a professional traveler. Especially after our trip to Istanbul ... not sure what it is, just not feeling very motivated to enter the workforce back home. Part of this, I'm sure, is how awful the economy is right now. The fact that I have applied for over 50 jobs since February and only heard back from 2 isn't the most uplifting news. And I suppose I should be glad and thankful that I heard back from these 2, but they're not jobs that I want to be doing. It's like I'm constantly just waiting around for the perfect opportunity to just fall in my lap relating to human rights or immigration, but it's just not happening.

Am now here in Scotland, staying at the Peebles household in Bridge of Allan, close to Stirling. It's a grey, but beautiful Saturday morning. Euan's family has been so wonderfully accomadating. I even have my own bedroom (with bathroom!) while I'm here. His sister, Kirsten, and Euan have been constantly feeding me, stuffing my face full of cranberry, garlic and dill, matured whisky cheeses and lovely ginger + rasberry jams, making me into a proper Scottish fattie. Yesterday we went to the Royal Highland Show where we saw lots of sheep, (even a sheep shearing contest!) horses and Highland coos (cows). We even saw pipers playing Amazing Grace - it made me think of Grandma and how much I've been thinking of her and missing her on this trip.

Still cannot believe I'll be home in just 4 days now - in a lot of ways this trip to Scotland has been good for me, to see Euan working, living at home, being a "grown up" - all the things that I must think about and do.

But here I go again ... plans for my "gap year" as the Brits say, in between now and law school ...
Work and live in Milwaukee for a few months, take my LSAT on September 26th, apply for law school, Guatemala in October ... perhaps Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia in January? And then there is next spring with David studying abroad in Ireland and our family trip to Greece. But what about my desire to learn French? Martinique sounds nice, as well as the French Riviera. Oh yeah, did I mention Vietnam and Thailand. Hi, I'm Kate. I have a problem.