Time to be on the computer!

OBT (Orthodox Basic Training) has ended and we (interns and staff) are resting up and preparing for the next one! I got 11 hours of sleep today (as opposed to last week where I got 11 hours of sleep in 3 nights) and we went into downtown Rosarito for laundry/tacos. I now like guacamole and cheese (this is a big deal). Six beautiful homes are built in San Jose de la Zorra and we are driving down to visit them again tomorrow.

It was a really fun experience as an intern at OBT-getting to meet a ton of cool people, see a little bit of all of the sites, and knowing the boys at the orphanage pretty well. Until next Tuesday, we'll be doing prep work, hanging out with them (which definitely helps my Spanish) and doig fun things like what we're doing now- baking banana bread with a surplus of the extra bananas!

Anna, Emily and I had a fun experience at the Mexican grocery store yesterday as everything is in Spanish, pesos, and they don't have the same things we do. Ex: no chocolate chips. And pan (bread) is SO good, and much more reasonably priced than in the US.

I feel like I have so many stories to post on here, but I just blank because I've done SO MUCH in the past two weeks that I can't even remember it all (aka why I have a journal). The end of OBT was great because I can say that I met almost all of the people that came and look forward to meeting a ton more soon! And the boys at the orphanage have been awesome! We get closer and closer every day and Anna and I started a 'silly bands' trend so everyone has the bracelets with random objects-shaped-rubber bands.

Maybe I'll bring my journal here later and post a few, because the only thing I can think of as I hear the bull making noises outside is that it escaped the other day, ran around the ranch and knocked out two tents. Today the cat came in our trailer and I had to shoo it out, which took longer than anticipated. But we got everything cleaned up from OBT and are ready for another good week! The work and building process will be so much easier this time!

More to come, and thanks to everyone who sent me letters! It's really made my day!

Hola from Mexico!

Hi loves!!! I miss you all very greatly but figured that if you care, I'll let you know that I'm having a PHENOMENAL time in Mexico!! I only have 300 pictures so far (surprise there) and will try uploading some of them in the near future, I'm on my friend's computer sitting on the only steps in this area that get WiFi (which happen to overlook the Pacific ocean...ahh)

Basically, I'm with a couple of other interns and this week is called OBT, Orthodox Basic Training, which means there are 200 people sleeping in tents while the interns are in trailers, and we are building 6 houses at the same time. As an intern, instead of staying on one site, I go wherever needed (which means I get to meet a ton of random people that I somehow know from somewhere across the country)! It's been fun. I introduced a man to his daughter's boyfriend's older brother's girlfriend's younger sister. How Greek/complicated is that?!

Usually (if you stalk my FB photos from last year), we do this nearby Tijuana for local families. This year, we're trying something different and going to an Indian Reservation for the Kumiai tribe. The issue with this is that it's about 2 hours away, so a lot of people don't want to be driving through Mexico with the drug wars etc.

But Project Mexico pursued it anyway and it was the best decision that was ever made. This two hour drive goes down the ocean coastline, then into the mountains, and it's the most beautiful area I have ever seen. I feel like I'm in Greece. And the houses are coming along so well, the people are interesting and nice, the OBT interns are slowly becoming best friends and I'm really happy.

That's a quick low down, SO much more to come, I'm of course keeping a journal/quote book and each day in a notebook is about 7 pages. Crazy much?

Example before I go to bed: This 2 hour drive took us 4 1/2 hours the first time we went to the site to drop off over 2000 pounds of wood and supplies. In the middle of the mountains, one of the four trucks broke down about 9 miles from the site because it was out of propane gas, even though we filled it with regular gasoline. And noone had walkie talkie/phone reception (there's only 2 phones and a lot of times, we're using walkie talkies to communicate with the other drivers to somewhere), so we were literally just stuck in the middle of the mountains. I was wondering....wow, how will I explain this to my friends? If I were at home right now, I'd be mad over so many other random daily things, but would never had the issue of being stuck in the gorgeous mountains...caravaning wood over to an Indian reservation.

Write me, I sent you all a postcard, thanks Mom & Dad for the granola bars, I really appreciate it, love you!!

I'm at Project Mexico!

Hi! I will be at Project Mexico for the next month (there until July 12) so feel free to write me while I'm there!! I'll probably write you! Don't count on me having phone reception or internet access so snail mail will be my primary method of communication! I wish you all a happy and safe summer and will miss everyone!!

Here's the address:

Project Mexico
PO Box 120028
Attn: Katie Artemas
Chula Vista, CA
91912-3128

Ending my time in Northbrook

Upon reflection, this month has flown by and now I am finishing up my packing for Mexico!! I'm saying goodbyes, finishing up last shifts at Fridays and trying to get organized.

Maybe my life wouldn't be such a wreck if I didn't keep getting injured. First my arm (cast off tomorrow!! *God-willing*) and then I hit my head at work on Saturday night and practically got a concussion...in addition to my already-cracked left toe from Mark Twain's Homecoming barbecue, wow. I keep getting more and more stories from Fridays--from this, to our new requirement of memorizing every recipe and ingredient on the menu...only making me hungrier..., to my crazy tables. My tables have stopped reacting to the cast, which is pretty funny...like how do they know if I got injured a month ago or yesterday? Tonight I had a table that didn't have enough money to pay, some teenagers who didn't leave me a tip, and my middle school gym teacher in my section. Ohh work. But now, Maria will get to have the experiences I had as she starts hosting there tomorrow! We won't work together until late July but I can't wait to hear her reaction to the restaurant industry.

Eleni and I were going over things I will now have the capability to do without my cast. It was funny because they were all normal day-to-day duties--like wash my own hair, carry things with two hands, get dressed easily...oh the simple things in life. I get to work one shift at work cast-less, so I'll see how quickly my wrist heals pretty soon.

I began compiling another quote book- this one is just amusing quotes said this summer, so I'll post them after I get back from Mexico when there will probably be a lot more :). Example: yesterday at the Flamm household, Becca describing a situation as "sketch-a-me-street!"

I'm off to continue packing but have a good night! <3

Weekend Update: Champaign Style

Tonight is basically my first night in the house since Wednesday! Thursday morning, Helen and I began our road trip adventure to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (yes, I just typed the name for formality purposes) to stay at Elena and Alicia's summer apartment while they do research!

On the road

Walking by and posing at the alma mater

Of course, we didn't get lost or stuck by construction once we got off our feet and on the roads, but all the places we got stuck were right by here. Like at Dean's Jimmy Johns location that had 200 people in line outside, or construction everywhere on 294 south. So we ate at Potbelly's and got on the road, where we got to U of I in time to enjoy the sunny day, walk campus and hang out on the quad a bit. For dinner, everyone made these Indian eggs with a recipe from Alia, one of Elena's Presby roommates, which were really good with this warm Asian bread we had!! After dinner, we got ready for a night to go out where the whole mutual friends thing just comes into play and is laugh-worthy. At a house where we met up with some engineering friends, one of the guys just happened to live on Meredith's floor. Then, at the bars (which you only have to be 19 to get into in Chamapaign =O), I came across Lauren Spiegel and two of her best guy friends! We proceeded to catch up and hang out the rest of the weekend! Yay to the Mizzou connection/North shore connection!

Here are some pictures of me, Elena, Helen & Alicia before we went out!

Just how accurate can personality tests be?

So before I left for U of I on Thursday, I purchased a book titled Strengths Finder 2.0 where you get the access code to take the StrengthsQuest test, and it gives you five of your 'top strengths' and ways to pursue them through your actions and relationships! Sounds pretty cool, right?

So the way the test works is there are 2 statements, 1 on the left and 1 on the right, and 5 bubbles. The middle bubble is neutral, and you can strongly agree or just agree with the statement that most closely portrays you. There are about 200 questions (178 I believe), and at first I was very confused on how it could accurately estimate my five top strengths out of its 34 identified strengths.

These are: Achiever Activator Adaptability Analytical Arranger Belief Command Communication Competition Connectedness Context Deliberative Developer

Discipline Empathy Consistency Focus Futuristic Harmony Ideation Includer

Individualization Input Intellection Learner Maximizer Positivity Relator

Responsibility Restorative Self-Assurance Significance Strategic Woo

Even while taking the test, I was mad at some of the questions. I know the two sides aren't supposed to be opposites...but at first, I definitely got the vibe that this exam thinks analytical people can't necessarily be successful...because it implies that if your 'strength' is analyzing, you can't carry things out, so you have to decide which you are MORE of to identify your strength. It also implied that enjoying present successes means you can’t or haven’t figured out why you failed, which isn't necessarily true in my opinion.

By the end, I realized the exam's goal is not necessarily which you are 'more' of, but how you see you fitting into it. The most confusing questions were "I encourage others" vs. "I strengthen others", "I am reasonable" vs. "I am responsible", and "Responsibility" vs. "Striving for promotions."

Can't responsible people strive for promotions? But what it wants to know is if you SEE yourself as responsible or if you just see yourself as striving for promotions, because your 'strengths' are different depending on how you see it. So that's why I found the Strengths Quest test interesting, besides the fact that the 2.0 version gives you an online access account and a 21-page-PDF personalized summary based on what your responses were, as well as actions you can take to utilize this strength. It was VERY accurate in my situation, and yes I know from AP Psych that psychologically, you try to find yourself when reading generalized descriptions...but a lot of these are still extremely fitting. Maybe you would share some! Enjoy!

My Top 5 Strengths

COMMUNICATION

You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information—whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson—to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.

FOCUS

“Where am I headed?” you ask yourself. You ask this question every day. Guided by this theme of Focus, you need a clear destination. Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating. And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals. These goals then serve as your compass helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course. Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to filter; you instinctively evaluate whether or not a particular action will help you move toward your goal. Those that don’t are ignored. In the end, then, your Focus forces you to be efficient. Naturally, the

flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be. This makes you an extremely valuable team member. When others start to wander down other avenues, you bring them back to the main road. Your Focus reminds everyone that if something is not helping you move toward your destination, then it is not important. And if it is not important, then it is not worth your time. You keep everyone on point.

WOO

Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don’t. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met yet—lots of them.

RESPONSIBILITY

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When

assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help — and they soon will — you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.

INDIVIDUALIZATION

Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a- kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.

Another urban week

After the concerts weekend, I had a fun week around the Chicagoland area! I started up meeting up with Shaina at Woodfield where we walked around and it was great catching up with her. The next night, I took the Metra to visit Meredith downtown where we shopped Michigan Avenue (I finally worked up the energy!) and ate at Grand Lux Cafe (mmm)!

I had a fun experiencing purchasing the Bombshell and it was a good investment! On the train, I had some good reading time and in my planner, began a list of my favorite newly-coined words.

• Slacktivism: Established in a Chicago Tribune article in the Live! section, this is a word to describe the act of people thinking they are activists doing things like joining Facebook groups or internet communities for causes they may or may not care about, but encompasses how the act of joining really is not activism because it provides no real action. The example is how on Facebook one day last year, it became a pattern to post your bra color as your Facebook status to support breast cancer. But what did that do for breast cancer? Raise money? Help find a cure? That type of support isn't always enough, and doesn't even require much effort, and is thus...slacktivism.
• Interfriendtion: Straight from Sex & The City 2, I define this as being blatantly honest with your friends where they need to hear it most, and feel like it could be a fun word to use :)

Thankfully for me, it has been one of those weeks where everything timing-wise when it comes to meeting up with people has worked out in my favor. Wednesday, I got to see and catch up with Brooke, Jackie, Helen, Elena & Alicia, where we discussed our plan to visit U of I this weekend, which should be really fun! I even got to go out to family dinner at Pizano's, and it was our first family dinner since I've been home!

Thursday, I took the L after work to meet up with Stacey in the area of downtown closer to Lincoln Park and we saw Comedy Sportz and went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant..which made me a ton more excited for the rice and bean breakfast, lunch and dinners in Mexico!!!! Here's us at intermission:

The next evening, after working a double, Jessie, Hannah and I went to Evanston and saw the Purple Haze concert at Northwestern then went out with Becca and Ceri! Look how pretty everyone looks!

After waking up at 6 am in Ceri's dorm room, I went to Thea Tula & Uncle Bill's 50th Anniversary party in Vernon Hills and had a fun afternoon with Lena and the family! We had as many adventures 'stealing' golf carts, running around the golf course and playing with zuzu pets, the new most popular kids toy haha. Lena looked absolutely adorable and finally opened up to taking some pictures after awhile.

Later that night, after I finished watching season 2 of the OC :), Meredith and I bought some awesome headbands at Northbrook Court, one of which I'm wearing below :P, and then Helen and I met up with Elizabeth at DePaul. I can officially parallel park in the city in tight spots =O. Who knew. We went to a pasta restaurant for dinner and had amazing cupcakes and cookies for dessert at Swirls! It was fun for all us to be together again and here we are at Swirls:

That's my life and hope you're having fun! <3