"I'll just move halfway across the country before I move halfway across the world..."

So I realize that this blog is primarily for information about my Fulbright grant and the endeavors while there, but I also think it is important to share some other aspects of my life.

For example, because I accepted the Fulbright grant, I forfeited my teaching job in Cleveland that was to start in August.  However, the grant does not start until mid-March... what was I going to actually do with my tie until then?  At first, I was going to either stay in Pittsburgh or Cleveland (wherever I could find a better job first).  I started working at two restaurants, a coffee shop, and a marketing company.  I also applied for a lot of laboratory and chemistry-related positions.  I was kind of just in life limbo for awhile because I was so used to having a driving purpose with specific goals that I didn't know how to handle just.... basically waiting until March.  I don't wait well.

Anyway, I was on the swings one night at an elementary school near my house and I had a kind of epiphany.  I have been talking about moving out west for years.  What better thing to do with my winter off than apply to work at ski resorts for a seasonal position?  I immediately started filling out applications online for what National Geographic claimed to be the "world's 25 best ski towns."  I heard back first from Vail and Telluride.  Both places intrigued me, but I had never been to either one (I had never been skiing out west at all before).  The deciding factor was the awkward, stressful overly-planned skype interview with my potential boss from Vail (who also informed me that I did not qualify employee housing there) versus the unplanned, casual phone call from my potential boss from Telluride who made me feel at ease and excited about the opportunity.  I was on my way to Telluride.

I arrived here on November 11, and it's been an unreal experience so far and I have not even gotten to ski very much due to lack of real snow.  It's like living in a Patagonia Disneyland.  I'm sure I'll have more stories to share soon.