let's do it again

Well kids, this is it.

I leave tomorrow morning for the latest saga in this adventurous life of mine; that sounds a bit pretentious but I'm thinking about all the things I've documented in this blog, and really, I've been blessed with lots of adventures over the past few years. So much so that these posts are probably getting redundant...enh, something to consider, I suppose.

I fly out of Pasco tomorrow at 9:30, then over to Salt Lake City, then Atlanta, and then one long haul down to Santiago, where I will arrive at 7:35 Eastern time (they're the same time zone as the east coast). I will be greeted, I am told, by a taxi driver holding a sign with my name on it. I'll get to feel so important! teehee.

The last post on here was a bit desperate. Since I wrote that, it's been quite the emotional roller coaster...I had 2 major freakouts this past week, both of which were pointless, because really, there are so many unknowns in this situation and getting all worked up over them doesn't make them any less unknown. The real problem is my poor memory: If I could just remember all the times that God has shown me his faithfulness by following me on these adventures and taking care of me every step of the way, I wouldn't freak out. But I'm like Dori on Finding Nemo on this one - living in the very very short term world.

Let's go back to that faithfulness thing though, real fast - This is what journalism has looked like for me so far:

1) Jan. 08: Apply to the major - which accepts only 20 people per quarter - after only 1 quarter at UW and 1 COM class. Get accepted - by nothing of my own doing!

2) Summer 09: Intern in Port Townsend. Pre-adventure freak out, and then friends turn up by the bushel and the whole summer turns out to be a roaring success. Again - none of my doing!

3) Fall 09: Land a Seattle Times internship. Fall into the groove of the newsroom, make some great friends and mentors, and successfully write 15 stories - even getting on the front page once! Um, HOW?

4) Winter/Spring 10: Get chosen for the Foreign Intrigue internship with REUTERS, the biggest and best news organization in the WORLD. Freakoutfreakoutfreakout, then go to New York and meet lovely people and sit next to the bureau chief at dinner and find out that I look just like his sister-in-law and learn that Reuters journalists make $60,000 starting out and that the Latin American bureaus are understaffed.

5) Summer 10: Santiago.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY, that all just happened. Doors have opened and things have fallen in my lap and I have been hit in the face by the two-by-four of God's faithfulness and power. As far as my own skill level goes...I'm probably on the high end of average in the journalism department. I trust that I'm a good writer, but I don't have quite the killer instinct of some of my peers, and I'm still way to lengthy. I could use some sharpening. And still - with all my shortcomings - I'M GOING TO CHILE FOR REUTERS.

Joder.

OK. So I leave tomorrow, arrive Wednesday, probably start work on Thursday. I'm not sure what the Internet situation will be like, but I'm sure I'll find time to blog. And then I come home Sept. 2. I'm still me and I'm freaking out because I don't know anything about business or finance or the stock market or Chilean Spanish, but I keep telling myself to remember everything I just wrote down. If this wasn't where I was supposed to be, I wouldn't be here.

And off we go.

Love always,

molly