My summer plans: Phase 4 and 5

(Phases 1-3 here)

Phase 4: Go with what you know

I worked in NYC two summers ago at a fantastic office with fantastic people doing fantastic work. That summer was most certainly the best summer of my life. I love New York to the max, and this summer I'll finally be over 21. A million fantastic bloggers live there. I could re-sign up with my bike coach. I know the subway lines. I have friends there.

I emailed my boss from my job a week ago to see if they might be able to offer me a job for the summer. I got an email from him on Friday saying that yes, he got approval to hire me! This boss is the best boss in the world, and even if I was on a crappy project it would be a good learning time because he's just the best like that.

Easy peasy. Known quantities galore. Very safe choice. But also very fun choice!

Also, I could probably work it out so that I'm only working 3 months, and then take August off to travel (I have friends in Argentina now! And camp is in Vancouver). WOULD BE THE BEST.

Phase 5: More cards on the table

My hesitations in volunteering internationally are that the expensive, big program safe "voluntourist trips" are expensive, and seemingly for rich kids looking to pad resumes, and that the cheaper programs all seem really sketchy. Without knowing somebody who's done it, I can't feel certain about my safety and stuff, you know?

Then my mom remembered that some family friends are involved with a program in Africa. A bunch of Canadian authors came together and together, with a school board, they're sponsoring 7 orphans. They've visited the village but if I went this summer, I'd be the only North American there. Everybody speaks English but still. I still have to get more details to know what I could be doing. What can I even do? I can type fast and factor trinomials like nobody's business... but what do I even have to offer, you know?

So many unknowns. I'm going to email my mom's friend more, get a dialogue going, get some more answers. It'd be the riskier decision for sure. More adventurous definitely.

I'm just nervous about making the wrong decision.

Katoleary summed it up nicely today: "I always think the problem is that I don't like any of my options. It’s not. The problem is that I like too many of them, and I feel like opening one door has the effect of closing every other."

Yeah. Exactly.