Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
My blog just hit another milestone- 30,000 hits as of today! Thanks so much for all of your support. It’s been so wonderful sharing my experiences with so many people. I feel blessed and honored to write about my journey on here.
Here’s to the next 30,000!
Much love,
Brittany
I want to share something extremely special to me- my favorite song in the entire world: ‘Hard Sun’ by Eddie Vedder.
This is the ultimate travel song. I’ve been listening to this nonstop since 2008, and it never gets old. There’s something tremendous about the way that Eddie Vedder sings this song, and it equally makes me feel incredible. Whenever I listen to it, I always think about all of the people in the world, and how we are all connected. ‘Hard Sun’ takes me to the present moment and makes me look at the big picture; that I am on an amazing journey and traveling all over the world. I always smile. I’m pretty sure I have listened to this song in every country I’ve traveled to.
Last night I decided to YouTube ‘Hard Sun’ and came to the shocking realization that this was actually not originally written by Eddie Vedder. It’s a cover of Indio from 1989. The old version is blowing my mind right now.
Let this song set you free.
Being a Peace Corps Volunteer is definitely a challenging experience, which is the reason why I’m sure we all chose to be Volunteers in the first place. But even the hardest days melt away when we receive care packages in the mail from families and friends. Even little things like candy or a nice note makes me smile and refreshes me for the work ahead. And so I’d like to thank the following people who have sent me care mail from the United States since I arrived in Paraguay!
- My two wonderful parents, who have sent me things like shoes and an extra sweatshirt to healthy snacks, protein bars and headphones, and soon kitchen utensils for when I move into my new house! Most recently my Mom sent me peanut butter brownies, which my Paraguayan friends demolished within seconds and then were begging me for my Mom to send more. Thank you so much to my Dad and especially my Mom, who put everything together to send to me! And of course my 11 year old sister Kate, who helped make the brownies.
- One of the best mentors in my life, Aleta, who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania and was the one who inspired me to join the Peace Corps in the first place. Remembering her days as a Volunteer, Aleta sent me a package stuffed full of good old American candy and a note of encouragement. Thank you so much Aleta!
- My grandparents, who sent me a much-needed sweatshirt in the winter, coloring books for the kids in my community, and are currently sending a box full of their favorite pretzels to share with my Paraguayan friends! Thank you so much Muzzy and GB for your generosity!
- A great friend of mine, Vicki Lau, who is a current Global College student that is on the Comparative Religion and Culture program. Before leaving for Taiwan Vicki sent me TWO boxes full of magazines, candy, therapeutic art- she even hosted a donation drive in New York and sent me toys for the kids in my community! Plus a postcard from Taiwan- I really am blown away with the generosity. Thank you SO much Vicki!
- My friends Alli McKee and Allie Cook, both StartingBloc fellows! Alli McKee sent me a camera for a project to take pictures in Paraguay, and Allie Cook sent me a postcard from the Philippines, where she is doing her Kiva fellowship!
It is really amazing all of the love I’ve received over the past four months since being in Paraguay. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you so much to everyone for making my days better, the gratitude I feel is really beyond words.
And of course, if any of you out there are thinking of sending me a little package of your own, please feel free to check out my wish list and address!
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Today is the day that my dream comes true, and I start my adventure with the US Peace Corps.
But today isn’t about that. Today is about my dog, Summer. Summer passed away this morning. She was 11 years old.
Summer was truly the most amazing dog anyone could ask for. She loved everyone she met and was the kindest soul that I knew. She was the favorite of everyone- my friends, who would pleat her chest hair and make up silly songs- the mail man, who always had a dog treat whenever he passed through- our vet, our babysitters- and she always slept in my room at night, through high school to when I would come home for college, until her final days.
For my final night at home, I cajoled Summer upstairs one last time to sleep in my room with me before I left for the Peace Corps. I think she was trying to give me a message, because her breathing was heavy and laboured, and I woke up my parents. Summer passed away at 3 AM, surrounded by people who loved her dearly.
While it was so difficult for me in many ways, I’m also so thankful that she passed quickly and didn’t suffer, and that I got to be there with her. I have always felt that I had such a special connection with my Summer. It felt right being there with her. I think that everything happens for a reason. I will be taking all of those special memories of Summer along with me to Paraguay.
I love you Summer. If there’s a doggie heaven, you are in it. Rest in peace my angel.
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hi readers!
I’m here again to talk about my two wonderful friends, Rachel and Jeff. They are getting married this August and need help with their wedding, so they signed up for an online contest. We have been trying really hard to get them votes, and I mean really hard. So far they have about 375 votes, and they’ll need around 500 more to get into the top voting pile to be considered.
So I’m asking you for help, and attaching a gift! If you get TEN of your friends to vote for Rachel and Jeff’s dream wedding, I will get you a really awesome gift from Paraguay. Since I’ve been to Paraguay before, I know that there are a lot of really great gifts there. There are tons of handmade indigenous crafts, artifacts, and and souvenirs!
SO, get 10 of your friends to Vote- email them, facebook/gchat/skype chat them- and then email me or post a comment on here, and I will get you a seriously amazing gift from Paraguay!!!
Just look at the love between these two. Please help support unending love and help Rachel and Jeff get the wedding of their dreams!
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
Ignore the fact that I haven’t updated on here for over a month, and that I’m asking you to do something that might seem random for this blog. But here it is, anyway: two wonderful friends of mine, Jeff and Rachel, met on Global College’s CRC Program, the nine-month program I also attended that took me through some of the most amazing experiences of my life.
When you live with nine people on top of each other for nine months, you really get to know each other. And what I’ve come to know of Rachel and Jeff is that they are both some of the most amazing people in this world. Full of love for each other and love for other people, Jeff and Rachel were together for the entire CRC trip. They are now getting married this August, and they deserve to have the most gorgeous and beautiful wedding.
So I’m asking YOU, my dear readers, for a favor. Please help spread the love and VOTE for them to win $100,000 for their dream wedding. It only takes a second out of your life, but it will change theirs.
Rachel and Jeff
Thanks friends. More updates soon!
Much love,
Brittany
Dear friends,
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of my stepping out into the world, and stepping into myself. On February 15th, 2008, I stepped out of the United States, out of my comfort zone, out of anything I had ever experienced before, and I stepped into India. I stepped into a sea of staring faces at the Delhi airport, hundreds of Indian eyes boring into my own at arrival. I stepped into the lives of nine other perfect strangers, who would soon come to know me fully and change my life in ways I would’ve never imagined. I stepped into stray dogs, rambling cows, rickshaws, betel nut stains, dingy buses, half-finished hotel rooms. I found myself through the gut-wrenching, mind-numbing work at a center for the destitute and dying in Calcutta; through a little mountain village in Palampur, teaching English to children and the Macarena dance to their mothers; through a sixteen mile walk to a 10,000 year old tree in Bodhgaya; from sitting in RamNagar Fort over-looking over the Ganges River in Varanasi, feeling the breeze ripple through my hair; through an amazing family in Dharamsala who would force me to make a choice that completely redefined my life. India changed me forever.
Three years and nearly thirty countries later, I still can’t believe where I’ve been and how far I’ve come. I now marvel at how easy it is to connect with anyone I come across, whether it’s in a little falafel shop with a Sukran to the Egyptian chef, or singing Bollywood music to an Indian woman draped in a sari in passing, or greeting a Tibetan monk in Tibetan at a Whole Foods Market. Seeing that twinkle in their eyes, that smile that passes between us, makes everything in my life sweeter. Being able to travel all around the world and help others reach their fullest potential makes my life worth living. I feel so contently full from all of the love in the world. I feel so incredibly grateful and honored for my next step in life to be a Peace Corps Volunteer and to continue this winding journey. To be able to smile within myself and know that I am still yet only at the beginning of such a fulfilling life- that there will be a Year Four, a Year Five, a Year Ten- all because of that spark from three years ago- well, I have to say that I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I would really like to take the time and space here to honor how amazing this all is.
As I come into Year Three, I hope that life will continue to bring me more insight, patience, flexibility, humility, and love for others. I hope that I will continue to learn and grow, that I will keep on branching out, connecting, inspiring, and be inspired. That is all that I can really ask for.
Thanks for reading and following my journey, friends. Here we go, Year Three!
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hi guys,
So I’ve kept this hidden for a spell, because I wasn’t sure whether having yet another website would be something permanent or temporary- but as time goes on I am recognizing more and more its permanence. So I’m officially announcing that I have a Tumblr.
Why, you ask? Well, there are a lot of things that I come across on the web or at home that I feel is just worth sharing. Or more selfishly, remembering- there are a lot of great ideas I find, and the coolest of them I want to take note of. Think of it as ‘la creme de la creme’ of the ideas I interact with every day.
It doesn’t make much sense to put them up on this blog, however, and so I decided to try my hand at Tumblr and see how it feels. Two months into this little project, I’d say it feels pretty good.
This isn’t meant to overwhelm anyone in any way (‘now I have to check two websites?’). Tumblr is just a little additive to the main website, but it’s something fun and I thought it would be worth sharing. So if you’re interested, check it out.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
I’m currently reading an amazing book called How to Change the World by David Bornstein, and I came across a quote that I thought was worth sharing.
“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hello lovely friends,
I just wanted to drop a quick note here and let everyone know how extremely happy I am. Sometimes I just need to take a step back from my life, look around, and think about all of the incredible experiences I have had at such a young age: the places I have been, the people that I’ve met, the things I have seen. I feel so wonderfully blessed with everything I have in my life. I am overwhelmed with love and happiness right now, and I hope that you are all having as great of a start to 2011 as I am.
Thanks for reading and following my journey.
Much love,
Brittany
