Yeah right.
Don't get me wrong-- I'm loving life and I have been able to apply many skills that I learned on the mission, such as scheduling and a little Spanish here and there, but now I have the rest of my life to look forward to! I think of my mission as my "frozen in a moment of time" period, where my sole purpose in life was to share my testimony with others and have someone else manage my housing and basic schedule.
Now it's back to real life.
So I returned home on March 13, 2016 after spending 4 days with my mother in the Dominican Republic. I had fun showing her around my areas and introducing her to my friends and "family." It was a blast. We stuffed ourselves with juicy mangoes straight from the tree and sweet coconut candy, only to be offered an entire meal at the next house we visited. It was Mom's first time out of the US, so it was exciting to be there to introduce her to a new culture and way of life.
By March 22 I was had 2 jobs. Yup. No vacationing for me!
The thing is, is that once I was officially released from being a missionary, reality hit. I need to go to school. I will (someday) have a family to care for. I need transportation, food, housing, and a little bit of fun money! My post-mission bank account wasn't going to allow that, so what did I do? I got two jobs! Woo!
The first job I was given is a cafeteria server at Maryville College. That's right, I'm a lunch lady and proud of it.
My second job is actually my primary job, from 8 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday at the dry cleaners.
I actually enjoy my jobs-- They don't stress me out like my after-school daycare job that I had before my mission. -shudders in fear of the memory-
But life isn't just work!
For Memorial Day my mom got an awesome opportunity to do a blog post trade-off with Wild Water Rafting in Bryson City, North Carolina. We stayed in a Yurt (pictured below) overnight and enjoyed the chorus of bullfrogs serenading us all night (The bed was comfy so I actually slept really well.)
Our yurt from the outside: A yurt is a tent/cabin structure that allows you to camp in style!
Our bed for the night inside the yurt... Not bad!
Carter and I had a fun time trying to catch frogs and tadpoles.
Nothing beats relaxing in a hammock! It's a miracle Kara and Carter shared without flipping it over!
Did I mention we got to ride the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad to go white water rafting? Well we did, and the views were amazing! They even fed us a yummy lunch of sub sandwiches, chips and chocolate chip cookies!
Kara fell out of the raft at one point, but she actually seemed proud of herself. We had an amazing guide as well who seemed to fit right in with the family. The picture above was taken on the last rapid on the course, and we were happy to have the entire family safe and sound!
And now in August I will be heading off to Buena Vista, VA to attend Southern Virginia University! I am super excited to begin my formal education and to meet new people. I'm still not quite sure on my career choice, but I'm sure everything will work out as I continue working and trying things out.
Stay positive!
Krislee Nicole
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