Traveling and Job Searching

Ok, it's definitely been awhile since I've posted anything! Traveling and starting the job search has taken the majority of my time, and now that I'm not in El Salvador, it just seems like people aren't as interested in what's going on!

November was a month FULL of travel! Dad and I went to Singapore November 3 and then flew to China November 6. We returned home on the 13th and then I got onto another plane on the 14th to start my west coast tour - LA, San Diego, and Phoenix. Basically, I was scoping out where I want to focus my job search and San Diego won hands down.


















LA was fun; I was able to stay with fellow Peace Corps volunteer Jen and her new husband Noe and we were able to meet up with some other returned volunteers from our group one night for dinner. I liked areas of LA, but the smog and traffic were horrendous! The sun and heat were amazingly soothing, though!!


















The other half of the 1998 John T. Mount Leadership award, Aaron, hosted me during my San Diego stay and we had a blast! We watched Ohio State win against arch-rival Michigan and then visited Tijuana - both of our first visits to Mexico - on the first day. I walked around San Diego like crazy. It's a big place, but feels like a small town. It's right on the beach, but you can easily get away from that if you want. It's really a great city and I'm excited about the prospect of moving there!


















I spent Thanksgiving in Phoenix with my grandma, aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was definitely a week of eating incredibly delicious food and spending time with family! Also, grandma and I were able to get up to beautiful Sedona to explore a bit!

Singapore and China were also amazingly fun. Things that stuck out to me in Singapore:
The cars drive on the opposite sides of the road, like in England
The escalators run A LOT faster and are flatter at the top and bottom to give people time and room to get off safely (I liked this much better)
It's VERY clean and has a great subway system much like DC's
The national language is English but it can definitely be spoken in a unique manner

And in China:
Beijing is a great city to walk around and explore
The traffic and smog can be worse than LA
The Great Wall is WAAAY wider and steeper than I ever envisioned it to be
The fake goods market is hoppin' for about anything and everything you can think of
The Forbidden City is HUGE

Those are just some thoughts at the moment... There are stories, of course. Those are for another day...