Kismet and other forms of self improvement
The universe didn't let me go to Beverly Hills this weekend. I haven't every had trouble before.
I was very excited about his new French/Moroccan place called chameau. But it wasn't meant to be. I ran late, the boy ran late, his new headlight burned out, my check engine light came on, my camera malfunctioned and the canyon over the hills was shut down.
So we went to Killer Shrimp on in the valley. There is only one thing on the menu- a spicy shrimp concoction that you get to accessories with your favorite carb. It was lovely.
I miss my friends in Boston & the Brown kids. I just need to buy a ticket right away so that I am sure to go. Otherwise I stuck in a happy haze. Everything is great. Family is good, work is challenging and rewarding, the boy is wonderful, and everything is going well. I am getting lazy though. I've spent too many weekends sitting around the house. It's not that I need huge raucous parties to go to, but I should take better advantage of where I am. There are plays, museums, trails and restaurants I haven't been to in LA. It's more guilt than anything else.
I also need to slip in a trip to Wyoming.
I've also been stalking my fellow Peace Corps kids. I can't wait to meet them. I wish they would blog more so that I could better pretend to know what to expect.
It does look like I will have some time on my hands while I am in Zambia though. While the corps will certainly help me on my foreign service trajectory- I am going to try to pick up one of the more difficult languages on that state department looks for. I'm think of either Chinese ( Mandarin) or Farsi. I know Armenian and we use a lot fo the same words as Iranians but I did take a year of Mandarin and really liked it. Arabic is very difficult and Urdu might be interesting but seems to require sounds I am not sure I can emulate- kinda like French which I could definitely use. I might be overlooking another State Department preferred language, if anyone can find a list I would really appreciate it.
Other than that I can't wait to spend my days reading book. I have a mental list of books I have been wanting to read for a long time. I might actually get to it now. How exciting.
I was very excited about his new French/Moroccan place called chameau. But it wasn't meant to be. I ran late, the boy ran late, his new headlight burned out, my check engine light came on, my camera malfunctioned and the canyon over the hills was shut down.
So we went to Killer Shrimp on in the valley. There is only one thing on the menu- a spicy shrimp concoction that you get to accessories with your favorite carb. It was lovely.
I miss my friends in Boston & the Brown kids. I just need to buy a ticket right away so that I am sure to go. Otherwise I stuck in a happy haze. Everything is great. Family is good, work is challenging and rewarding, the boy is wonderful, and everything is going well. I am getting lazy though. I've spent too many weekends sitting around the house. It's not that I need huge raucous parties to go to, but I should take better advantage of where I am. There are plays, museums, trails and restaurants I haven't been to in LA. It's more guilt than anything else.
I also need to slip in a trip to Wyoming.
I've also been stalking my fellow Peace Corps kids. I can't wait to meet them. I wish they would blog more so that I could better pretend to know what to expect.
It does look like I will have some time on my hands while I am in Zambia though. While the corps will certainly help me on my foreign service trajectory- I am going to try to pick up one of the more difficult languages on that state department looks for. I'm think of either Chinese ( Mandarin) or Farsi. I know Armenian and we use a lot fo the same words as Iranians but I did take a year of Mandarin and really liked it. Arabic is very difficult and Urdu might be interesting but seems to require sounds I am not sure I can emulate- kinda like French which I could definitely use. I might be overlooking another State Department preferred language, if anyone can find a list I would really appreciate it.
Other than that I can't wait to spend my days reading book. I have a mental list of books I have been wanting to read for a long time. I might actually get to it now. How exciting.
posted by Laura in Zed @ 4:22 AM
6 Comments:
At 6:37 AM,
Topher said…
Wow Laura seems like your going to have an even harder time seeing everyone before we leave than me.
Your not the only one stalking the group's blogs.
At 3:44 PM,
MC Master Chef said…
Will there be language classes there for PC volunteers, or will you be taking them correspondence? I really need to learn myself some Mandarin, I'm thinking.
At 12:26 AM,
Laura in Zed said…
No no I'm going to be doing it on my own. I actually had a Foreign Service officer pull me aside and say "We never do this, but you should...." and learning a difficult language was on the list. Condi thinks it's good idea too. http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4260
I'm going to pick up a few tapes. And be overly optimistic- I'm sure it'll work!
Mandarian is a cake walk compared to Japanese, you will rock it. Actually- I bet there are plenty of spoiled rich kids in China in need of some tutelage from an experianced instructor. You could be swimming in Rolexs this time next year my boy!
At 6:22 AM,
ray said…
laura don't worry i stalk everyones blogs too. you even guilt tripped me into updating mine even tho i wasnt planning on doing it untill we were in zambia, so now you have some new reading material. can't wait untill we meet so you can tell me about your cross-country bike trip...i'd love to do one someday!
untill june, good nite and good luck.
At 4:36 AM,
Helen said…
Hey Laura you use a lot of big words
At 3:21 AM,
Anonymous said…
Super color scheme, I like it! Good job. Go on.
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