No More Politics

Hello Kris!

I’m writing to you after the 19^th Republican Debate. So far, 3 primaries, 3 different winners. These folks don’t know what they want. Man, oh, man. Right now, this is the only source of drama in my life, so I cherish these debates. As much as I want to taken them seriously, because lets face it, there is still a chance that one of these 4 men can heavily influence the outcome of the 2012 Presidential Election, I simply can’t. For one thing, I don’t care about forming a colony on the moon. I simply care about the quality of education here. Another thing is I don’t care about the “constitutionality” of the Affordable Care Act. I care about everyone having

access to healthcare. I just don’t get these debates. I normally watch them for fun, but I skipped a couple of the previous ones because I got so tired of watching Gingrich and Romney bickering all night.

I admit, I was getting sucked into this whole ugly world of politics. By that I mean, choosing sides of one party and not focusing on what really matters: policy work. I still believe President Obama is doing the best he can for what’s best for our country, but there are just too many variables. Too many people have their greedy little hands over all our congressmen and

women. So why support a person when you can support a policy? One of them is easier to read, fix, understand, and implement. Hopefully, we will be able to work on good social policies one day in DC. I will still be a political junkie just because I find it fascinating to see just how far a person would bend to please everyone.

I’ve been working on a sketch. Lol. It’s a work in progress. There will be many parts to it. So far I have this:

What do you think?? J I’m excited! I might get my sewing machine this weekend! I think my first project will be throw pillows and curtains, lol.. Any requests?? OH! I got a flyer of a pizzeria voted best in Orlando 4 years straight. Guess where I’m going?! Lol .freezes a slice for you. That’s all for now. When my classes start being more interesting I will let you know.

peace,

y

First day of work

Hi Yaso!

It's Monday evening and I've completed my first day of work. It was great. Even though I spent most of the time reading materials. The kinds of tasks I'll be doing look fun; hard work but fun. We've got great events lined up. I'm so excited. And I met the staff today. The project staff with whom I work directly are amazing. It was the first day and I've gotten such great advice about 1) the price we pay for our flat and other options in the area and 2) getting a second master's/choices to be made. Ugh, I MISSED people! lol Then, I just noticed that we received an email from one of my co-workers about yoga. Apparently, they all do yoga on Tuesdays. What?! Awesome! .dresses comfortably tmrw. And oh yeah, it's a very casual environment.

That same co-worker is about to finish her post with us so now she is doing this project on her own: Operation Seed-Bomb Britain by Bicycle. I love the concept. Looks like so much fun. I'd love to do that! :)

So today I was reading through some material about students not being incentivized to study abroad here in Scotland. Would you believe that less than 1% of university students in Scotland take up such an opportunity?!? You'd think because they're so close to Europe they'd do it in a heartbeat--I know I would!! I feel like studying abroad is something Americans look forward to way more than Scots (if we're going by that statistic). One of the barriers is the lack of language skills. It got me thinking about Finland and how their kids are taught a number of languages since primary school. My coworker told me that most Scandinavian countries are really good about teaching their children various languages. In Scotland, they're just trying to bring that back. What universities tried to do is widen the accessibility for people and therefore stopped requiring a foreign language skill. I see why that would be good for some. However, it had a negative side effect.

I think that's something that should be done in America as well. Really invest in language skills from primary school. That would really build up a strong workforce and do loads of good for the economy, don't you think? We gotta be competitive as individuals, to be competitive as a country. We have to be on par with the rest of the world AT LEAST.

On another note, adjusting back to life in Edinburgh has been a bit tough on both of us. We're thinking about moving flats because the rent has increased once again. And so now we're gonna start looking at options. We hope to get a bigger place for the same or less, which is totally possible. We're only really paying for the great location. It really is such a great location. It's a shame.

Anyway. I'm so glad you had a great time in NOLA. I hope to visit there. It must be nice to be in the Birthplace of Jazz. How crazy. I love that. I love cities with culture. Like DC. Unlike Weston. haha.

Some photos:

It snowed for 5 minutes this weekend!

Here is my first waffle on the waffle maker you gave me :)

Happened to get a nice shot. This one is a keeper.

Miss you amiga
xxxxxxxxxx
Kris

Important News!!!!

Dear Yaso,

Well. Thank you for your lovely letter. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will speak to your points in a second letter, in which I'll tell you about what's going on with my life generally since I've been back.

I just wanted to share this with you. And I haven't shared it with anyone except my parents!! I've been waiting to tell you so I can post it online. Cuz, you know, I'm so into celebrating myself and how awesome I am and everything. lol.. (for everyone else: that was sarcasm).

So remember I went in for the interview last week at National Union of Students (Scotland). And I told you I didn't get the job on Monday (Jan 16). Then, I told you I wrote back for feedback and was waiting on the feedback. The girl who interviewed me wrote back that night and told me to call her the next day. So, I called her the next day in the morning (Jan 17). She was going to go over the feedback from my interview but asked me if I would be interested in an internship type position for 3 months with possibility of extension. We talked about what kind of job it would be and she asked me if I could come in in an hour.

So we hung up, I told Mike I have to leave asap. I ate breakfast and got dressed quickly (and STILL looked good lol) and left.

I met with the interview girl and she told me A LOT of good information. I took notes. I felt VERY encouraged. We can chat about this in detail if you want lol. I'll get to the point.

Then I met another member of staff to talk about the internship position. We talked about it. We hit it off. And she told me to let her know by today.

I emailed her last night telling her I would take the job.
She told me to come in Monday at 10am.

And that's when I start my new job!!!!

Position: International Education Assistant
Hours: 36/week
Wage: £6.08/hr

Not the best wage... but it's something. I'll take it. Cuz it's an ideal position.
I get to work on policy, student engagement, event organising, admin work, and many other things.
I even have possibilities of travel to other countries. There's a training event in Brussels that I can partake in if I wanted to.

Plus there's a possibility of extension and I can build my network! They really like me there and are impressed with my CV :D They're gonna do everything to support me and develop my skills as needed.

I'm SOOO excited and SOOOO happpyy!!!!

Persistence works!!

I cant believe I was crying one day cuz of this and out of frustration and the next day everything changed!!!

I have a job!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Now, I got so used to applications for jobs that it's weird not having to do any for a while.

:) :) :) :)

- Kris

A New Year, A New Vegetable, A New Businesswoman

Finally back after a long, long, looooooong hiatus. There are too many holidays. First a long thanksgiving weekend, then almost 2 weeks of my dad’s birthday, my parent’s wedding anniversary, Christmas, and New Years. Oh, Happy New Year by the way!

Many things happened to me during this break, both good and bad, but one that I really want to share with you is how my family and I spent our last few days of 2011. We welcomed the New Year in New Orleans, Louisiana. The only word I can use to describe that city is: alive. I was mainly exploring the downtown area. There were street performers at every corner. Street jazz bands playing loudly. They were so cheerful, too. Always laughing and living in the moment. I spoke to some of them so that’s the vibe I got. And of course, there’s the famous, or infamous, Bourbon St. Seriously, it’s so lit up that I felt like I was in Las Vegas lol. Knowing how much we appreciate great music, the live music in the clubs/lounges was amazing too. I really think that at some point in our lives we should go and visit the “Birthplace of Jazz”.

Anyway, so what’s new in the political world? Let’s see. Let’s look at the Delegate counts so far for the GOP Presidential Nomination: Romney’s in the lead followed by Santorum and then Paul. Hmm… I only have two things to say. One, apparently they like to play musical chairs, and two, this is great material for comedians.

I’m sure you’ve heard that recently Congress tried to pass a law that made pizza count as a vegetable in school. Seriously? Come on!! I don’t get it. This is ridiculous. Who was the idiot who started this? And to me, this prove the if we have free market choosing something like this, doesn’t it seem like they would choose the cheapest, highest profit foods for the kids? I mean, isn’t that why parents and people in general buy fast food: because it’s cheap and quick? I know that I used to occasionally buy fast food because it was so cheap. Sorry, but I prefer to have at least minimum standards set by the federal government to be followed by all corporations.

In other news, my mom starts school at the end of this month! Yay! I’m excited for her. She’s going to be getting two Certificates: Event Coordinator/Wedding Planner and Interior Decorator. :D

What’s up with you? How’s it going resuming life in Scotland? And how’s the waffle maker I got working for you? Takes pictures next time you make some.

Later,

Y