um. wow. :)

so after it was all said and done, i ended up being selected as mc vp ogx for aiesec cono sur! i still can't believe it :) i still have some logistical issues to work out to make sure i can go, but the selection part is over and the results are in :D

para que sepan...

not afraid.

suddenly yesterday, the future being so unknown didn't seem so scary. i had my final mc southern cone interview, which was basically more of a logistical interview discussing my thoughts on when i could arrive, how i could help with transitioning beforehand, etc. i guess there's no right or wrong answer for that type of thing, you just have to be honest and hope that it's what he's looking for. we'll see.

i guess all i can know is that i did my absolute best and that if it's what fits, then it was meant to be. nothing more i can do now.

*fingers crossed* :)

rounding the bend

the future got a little bit clearer today. well, maybe not completely, but 3 things happened today that offer 3 different (or more) paths for my future. the options are now coming into focus. and here they are, in the order they happened...

1. i showed up at work/research today for the first time since spring break. there was no one there except for my boss (we're the only crazy ones that go in at 8am), and it was very peaceful and easy to work after not having done it for awhile :) i got to play with the microscope all by myself (like a big girl, ha ha) and did some odds and ends things to finish off the morning. my boss asks me what my plans are for after i graduate. i tell him i honestly don't know. he then asks if i'd like to keep my internship during the summer. it depends on my job prospects and living situation, i suppose, but definitely wouldn't mind if a full-time option doesn't come up. :)

2. i had promised my mom i'd be more proactive about actually looking for a job, so i went to a gt alumni career fair today. it was a really different feeling being at a career fair with people that have years of experience, who i guess become your peers after you graduate. there weren't many opportunities for environmental engineers, but 2 that stood out as definite possibilities. would i like to learn about nuclear energy and how to control its waste, make it cleaner, and integrate it more into how we do things? sure, why not? would i like to be one of the people that defines a "sustainable facilities engineer" for a company that still has no idea what exactly it's looking for? maybe... and it definitely felt nice to have someone read over my resume after telling me that there probably wasn't a position for me at the company and then say, "wow, this is definitely worth showing my boss. please please please call him, he likes people that take initiative." i wanted really badly to ask what about the resume was so impressive so that i'd know to play it up later, but oh well, i can settle for a compliment :) it's the first i've ever gotten from a career fair, actually.

3. after almost 3 weeks of follow-up interviews, chats, and forum questions for the mc southern cone application process, the recipients of the confidence vote were announced today...and i was one of them! i couldn't believe it, definitely wasn't expecting it :) so this basically means that the position is between me and one other girl. we'll be interviewed again (maybe) by the mcp and the new mc will be announced on saturday. after 3 years in aiesec, i never saw myself going this direction, but i decided it was such a great adventure i couldn't not apply :) why not, right? i guess that's been the motto for everything lately. makes sense. i will finally be finished with school after 18 yrs, and though these have been amazing and everyone says they're the best of your life, i can't help but be excited about the potential in the world beyond...including argentina/chile :)

so the future is still as unclear as ever, i guess, but things are starting to materialize. freaky, but good :) and all of this 2 weeks after my awesome trip to the keys, some pictures from which are below.

let's see where this goes...

looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.

-had the cono sur mc interview this morning...an hour of gloriousness :) if nothing else, a great experience in terms of interviewing.

-leaving in two days for the florida keys! never been that far south in florida before, and will hopefully have a chance to stop by miami too :D should be an adventure.

-questioning my effectiveness as a motivator, though some things have, granted, been beyond my control. and it doesn't help that we're all leaving for our various spring break destinations soon.

-worrying about what happens after graduation. i don't want to be idle. but i don't want to be stuck in a job i hate just because it was the only thing available. but then again, beggars can't be choosers i suppose? still receiving emails about "closed" and "canceled" jobs. how encouraging.

the beach for a week will be nice. brother's bday party tonight (21st, ha ha).

just need to remember to smile :)

mc de novo

bem, parece que no final, vou aplicar pra mc portugal.

esquecí que quase todos dos mc's têm uma segunda oportunidade pra aceitar candidatos. bem, estou aquí.

já completei o primeiro parte da aplicação. por que não devo usar-la?

que bom que posso usar só inglês pra responder às perguntas - não tenho mantedo meu português tanto quanto possivel...

here's to second chances.

mardi gras, maladies, and mc's

i know i'm a couple of weeks late, i know...

but last week, "fat tuesday," mardi gras, carnaval, or whatever you want to call it came in with bang in countries around the world. as i lived in a city with one of the largest carnavals in brazil, salvador, i got to hear a lot about the preparations and everything from my friends still there :) friends around the world revered the celebrations in their respective countries and posted pictures, so i figured i'd do the same :) in the u.s., unlike in some countries, we don't get national holidays or anything for this holiday (the whole separation of church and state thing i guess...), but for those willing to turn their weekend into one of partying madness, flying beads, and crazy costumes, the celebration can be found (massive street party style) in none other than new orleans, louisiana.

it's something i'd always wanted to experience at least once in my life, and this year, even with a test the day after my return, i made it out there with a group of 9 amazing people. finally! so this is how we do carnaval in the u.s....


on another note, i've been consistently sick since the day before this all took place (2 weeks ago), but i'm hoping i'll be better soon :)

...and i'm turning in my mc southern cone application today. we'll see where this goes...

what happens next?

so now it seems that my decision blogged about previously to apply for the portuguese mc didn't go as planned. due to some honest mistakes and the deadline issues that arose from them, i didn't end up applying. i was bummed, definitely. i've never actually been to portugal and thought it'd be an awesome experience, especially since i'm really interested in the culture, the language, the people, and how aiesec works there. after missing the deadline, though, i realized that maybe when i had made that decision to apply to mc portugal, maybe i had really just made the decision to apply for an mc. it was a hard one to make, for sure, regardless of the country. and i would've loved to have had the opportunity to go to portugal and have a positive impact on aiesec there. but then again, i'm one of those people that believes that things happen for a reason...always.

it just so happened that a few days before that i had received an email regarding the remaining open positions for mc's around the world as discussed at ipm (thanks arcaidy!). well, after taking another look at that...how about southern cone (still soco :D)? learning spanish has been one of my goals for awhile now, and i've used everything from podcasts to joining organizations at school to trying to tell stories to my boyfriend in spanish, ha ha ha :) i'm better than i was a year ago, but i'm not anywhere close to where i want to be. what better way to learn than from being immersed? i think i learned that in brazil...

going to argentina has always been one of my dreams, and recently i've made friends from there (here in atlanta) and have been talking to people that have been. i've always been intrigued by the country and have learned that i have family there too...go figure :) i also know some people that studied in chile last semester and someone that worked with the southern cone mc last summer as a ceed i think - all were involved with the region and loved it. how awesome is that?

so in the end, it looks like my application efforts will be going toward southern cone. maybe things didn't work out as originally planned, and granted, there are no guarantees in even getting preliminarily chosen. but really, to feel extra confident about your choice in the first place can never be a bad thing :)

we'll see how it works out, but here's to a step in a new and and exciting direction :)