for those of you who have read none of this blog, or those who just want to know where i am and what i'm doing...

i've always wanted to live in one of the carolinas. we've been visiting my mom's family in virginia every couple years for as long as i can remember, and i've always had a love of the southeast... i've also always thought the carolinas were more classy than va, and north was more classy than south (why? i could not tell you...). i recently got a letter from my past self (an assignment in senior year calculus) asking if i was living in the south yet. seriously... it goes back further than that, too. keep this in mind.

fast forward to junior year of college, when i decided that i wanted to live abroad. annoying amounts of student loans basically limited me to one option in order to do that, so, after graduation, i ended up teaching english in south korea (one of the few countries that pay more than a living stipend to teach). my experience there was... not awful... but it was one of the hardest times of my entire life, both mentally and spiritually. BUT, while i was there, i realized what i wanted to do when i got home! living in a foreign country is hard, especially when the culture is completely different and you don't know a lick of the language. it was during a particularly hard day of attempting to go about mediocre everyday tasks (made difficult by the previously mentioned facts), while wishing that i had someone there with me to read signs, talk to people in charge, and understand what was going on and help me figure it out, that i realized: if it was that difficult for me in a pretty cushy situation, how hard must it be for people fleeing to america? could i be that person who helps refugees to go about the "easy" tasks that they need to do? does that job even exist? so, after a couple more months in korea, i realized that it really was not the best place for me to be (for a number of different reasons), and i decided to come home early and attempt to find a job working with refugees. (having never quit anything like that before in my life, it was not an easy decision, but i have not regretted it once.)

after a month of being home, still not really finding any jobs or leads, i went with Bryan back to uganda to volunteer at musana for 6 weeks. it was wonderful, but i also spent the whole time a little preoccupied thinking about what i would do when i got back to real life.

after getting home, looking around for jobs relating to refugees, and finding nothing, i resigned myself to the fact that i would probably just live at home for a little while and work at some job nearby to save some money and make payments on my loans.

and that was when i checked out idealist.org for the hundredth time.

i didn't even choose any specifics... not location, not job type, not even paid or volunteer. the first job that came up on the listing was a position assisting with youth programs for refugee youth in charlotte, nc. really? really. so i said, "i should probably just apply for it..." i showed it to my parents, who pointed out that it was an americorps position (read: you make next to nothing) and it was part time (read: really. not even enough to live off of). but, being me and not worrying about things like that until i have to, i sent in my resume, a week later i emailed to follow up, and a couple days later i got a call to set up an interview for a few weeks after that. after the interview, i was told that i would hear in a couple of weeks about the position, and i honestly didn't think i would get it. i even applied and interviewed for another job. but, right after that interview, i found out that i had gotten this one! i was so excited, until a few days later when it hit me that i really wouldn't be able to live off of what i was making, i didn't have a place to live or a car to get there, and i would be leaving my family again. after lots of talking it out and praying and reassuring words from people, i started to get really excited again, and things started coming together.

so, after a 2 1/2 day drive with my dad, lots of unpacking and decorating, and lots of awesome God things, i am here and so excited to see what He has in store for me here! my new job hasn't started yet (orientation starts september 1st), but i already love it here.

i made a new blog... i know i've had this one forever, but i feel like it's just time for another change. so the new blog is
mountainstotrees.tumblr.com
yes... i decided to switch to tumblr. who knows... maybe i'll hate it and come back to blogger. but really i'm not that picky, so i'll probably just stay there because i'm lazy.
anyway... go on to that to see what God has done here so far!

sidenote: for those who may be wondering why i was so quick to move away again when i missed home so much... it's true, i love home and i miss being close to my family and friends. but, the way i see it, compared to korea north carolina is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from home, and if i absolutely need to be there, i can get on a plane and be there in a few hours. also i can talk to people on the phone whenever i want, which really is a big deal.