And we're off!

My, a lot can change in two days! A HUGE thank you goes out to my mom and dad for not only driving to Denver to help me pack up my apartment, but also for driving all of my things (and Raul!) back to Nebraska for me. A huge thank you to wonderful friends that welcomed us all in for Thanksgiving and reminded me that I will always have family in Denver to come back to, too.



Stanley and I are off! (Flat Stanley from Alex's class is coming with me to Brazil - he is the perfect compact travel buddy.) Jill and Stanley signing off - stay tuned!

Next week!

Wow, next week at this time I'll be in Brazil - so hard to believe! There have been so many other things to iron out these past couple of weeks that Brazil has taken a back seat. What?!?! Time to turn that around. NEXT WEEK I'LL BE IN BRAZIL!!

Just a few details, I'm heading over there as a fellow with US-Brazil Connect (http://www.us-brazil.org/). US-Brazil Connect’s mission is to strengthen education and build economic opportunities by connecting communities, engaging leaders, and creating transformative learning experiences linking the United States and Brazil. Originally launched as an  initiative of the National Center for Business Champions, US-Brazil Connect has a history of building public/private partnerships for the benefit of a better-prepared workforce.  In 2010, they partnered with the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board to facilitate seven White House meetings that brought business leadership together for skilled-workforce solutions. (Yup, I stole that from their website. But now you know!)

You can read an article about US-Brazil Connect in the Denver Business Journal HERE, and see a quick video HERE.

There will be 13 fellows heading over next week, along with two team coordinators from US-Brazil Connect. We'll be working with middle school and high school students helping them improve their English, and generally participating in a mutual cultural exchange!

We'll be in the town of Macapá, which is located state of Amapa in the Northeast corner of Brazil bordering French Guyana. The town has a population of about 400,000, and the state capital is right on the equator so it will be hot, hot, HOT! It is right at the mouth of the Amazon river (!!!!!), but not a touristy place.

Despite the nearly 30 hours of travel it will take me to arrive to Macapa, the time difference is only four hours from Denver time, three hours from central time. So when it is 6PM in Omaha, it is 9PM in Macapa. Hopefully it will be easier to adjust than in India!

This will be my first time to South America, an my first time (attempting) teaching English! EEK!

Off to get a yellow fever vaccine and learn some Portuguese! There just isn't enough time!!

Saúde!

#blessed

This is where I start to get sappy. I blame it on turning 30, and on my friends here in Denver. I mean, really, if you weren't all so great this move would be much easier. It is all your fault.

Last night was a little get together to say goodbye see you later to some of the fabulous friends I've made here. I am truly blessed to have crossed paths with some of the world's finest here in Denver, and you all mean more to me than I can ever put in to words. Without your support I would have NEVER made it through grad school alive, and I'd never have discovered the beauty of Snug Run (which later turned in to Snug, minus the run). We've discovered fantastic places both inside and outside of Colorado. You've helped me through breakups, terrible dating ordeals, unemployment, bad employment, and some health (ahem) scares. We've weathered storms in the mountains (literally) and storms in each of our lives. I feel like I've become a part of your families and you are definitely a part of mine.

So, thank you, everyone. And without further ado, photo montage:

As a going-away gift from Jenny she presented me with Wally, the one-eared rhino who, coincidentally, loves to travel and has always wanted to go to Brazil. You are in luck, Wally! Your journey starts tonight.

Ex-GlobaLink-ers 

 Hey Beth, have you met Jordan, yet?

 Can you see, Wally?

 DU friends!

Hungry, Wally? Here, have some of this going-away Burmese cake. Um, yum?

 Wally says order another round!

 Once a Bearcat, always a Bearcat!

Beautiful person inside and out. This face. I will miss it.

Bundle up, Wally. It's closing time.

"jamais ski"

While I do love the mountains it is no secret that I'm not fond of actually skiing, though I do excel at the lodging part. Last weekend was great because I got to spend one last weekend up in Breckenridge (a town that I love!) and I got to have uninterrupted girl time with Sarah and Ilana as we spent the weekend cooking, shopping, drinking wine, and hot-tubbing a midst awesome scenery. We can't technically call it après ski because there was no skiing involved, so jamais ski (never ski) was more appropriate :)

It is early in the season, but the gondola was up and running!

We walked up to one of the resorts at the base of a ski run for a drink and some ski-watching. Unfortunately that run wasn't open, yet. 

 But the bar was still open, and a jalapeno bloody mary sure warmed us up!

Sarah loves the pow pow!

 Ilana is shreddin' the gnar

 This is my wipeout face...

 One of the magazines we read this weekend gave advice on how to best pose for photos to flatter your body. Turned out, chin down, leg bent, hand on hip... Did we nail it??

Before we headed to Breck the week passed by in a blur! I spent a few days up in Estes Park with high school students from Brazil who were visiting the US for a couple of weeks. These aren't the same students that I'll be working with, but these students have already participated in the program and it gave me a great idea of what to expect. We spent a few days in the YMCA of the Rockies and the views were amazing! Lots of fun, food, laughing, and dancing. I asked one student how he learned to dance so well and he replied, "Brazilians love to dance!"

Touche. I think I'll like it there :)

Lovely views from the cabin!

Brazilians on skates! Oh man, sooooo hilarious

Also this week was the lovely Christine's birthday! We had a great evening reminiscing about the 'Ville. I'm sad we won't be in the same city any more, but looking forward to visits!

Much love from the Rockies!

this.

Well a huge milestone passed in my "change everything in my life" plan - my last day at YouthBiz was on Friday! I was terrified to tell them that I was leaving so soon after starting the job but they accepted the news quite graciously, and for that I am thankful. (It is hard to argue against moving back to family!) Because there are so many things to sort out before I leave I decided to give myself a couple of weeks without work to check things off of the list. (Dentist, eye doctor, travel immunizations, Brazilian visa, packing the apartment, renting the apartment, job search in Omaha, meet up with friends, etc.)

The cat is out of the bag and most people's reaction when they hear the news is along the lines of, "What?!? I didn't even know you were thinking of moving home?" And of course there are those, "WHY would you leave here for Nebraska?" reactions. Which I get. Because I can't expect people to understand, especially if I can't explain it well. As in,

I'm happy to be moving home, but sad to be leaving Denver. I'm happy to be back by friends and family, but I'll miss my friends here dearly. I'm excited to return to the place a grew up, but sad to leave the city I've come to love. I can't wait to be closer to my nieces and nephews, but I'm gutted to leave the mountains. I love wide open spaces, but what about my mountain hikes? I'm excited for new beginnings and terrified of starting over, again. I've changed these past few years, but I'm still a Nebraska girl at heart. And now a Colorado girl, too.

Hm. No wonder people give me that confused look.

So thank you, Pinterest, for summing up my feelings so nicely:

So the countdown has begun, and I'll have to find a new tag line. But until then, much love from the Rockies!

Ash visits!

This past weekend was great one, thanks to a lovely visitor from Omaha! Ashley came to spend a long weekend in Denver and we played tourist for a few days. Now that my days in Denver are counting down I feel an urge to play tourist and check thing off of my Denver bucket list! Luckily Ash was up for the challenge :)

Bucket List: Stand on the stage at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

CHECK! (And a quick hike around the park)

Bucket List: Take pictures with the big blue bear from the outside and inside of the convention center!

CHECK!

Bucket List: B-cycle and brewery tasters.

CHECK!

... and a few more touristy things...

Thanks for coming to visit, Ash - such a GREAT weekend! Much love from the Rockies!