Catching Up...

Okay, so a LOT has happened since my last post on October 20, so bear with me if this post gets a bit long! Let's see, where to start...

One of my favorite things about Boston is that it is in a prime location for a traveler like myself. Buses and trains will take me all over the east coast for a very reasonable price, and airline tickets to other major cities are very affordable as well. And not to mention that there is so much exploring to be done within the city itself! In early November, a few friends and I took a road trip to Philadelphia to visit our classmate, Jill, on her birthday. (My classmates are all over the US, in Canada, and Thailand doing internships right now) I have to say, I wasn't thrilled with the city, in fact, the crime rate is so high there that is was nicknamed 'kill-a-delphia' - ick. But we managed to have a great time touring the city and staying up late catching up with one other.

For Thanksgiving, I was invited home with another classmate, Carey (who is placed in Boston). Her family lives in Portland, Maine so I took a bus to her hometown and was greeted by her welcoming parents. Carey and I helped her mom prepare an enormous dinner and even made a pie all by ourselves! It was a very different Thanksgiving experience than any I'd had before, as all of the dinner guests were adult friends of Carey's parents. She is an only child and there was not a single kid at the house. Now, I'm used to packing 20-30 people into one house for a more informal, and sometimes chaotic, event. And there are ALWAYS children around, I guess I just assumed that this was the case for everyone. So at dinner, we all had place settings, and the turkey was brought in on a platter to display to the guests before carving it at the table, just like they do on tv. We had real cranberries (its an east coast thing), and the mashed potatoes were served in small proportions (um, yeah, I'm from Idaho). After binge eating and intaking more carbs than I needed in a year, I hopped back on the bus and headed home to Boston. And the next day...

I got on a plane to Washington, D.C.! My good friends Ken and Maranda purchased a ticket for me to come visit for the weekend. We had a great time sight seeing and catching up on the past few years of our lives. And most importantly, I got to meet their adorable two year old, Keiran! We hit it off from the start. This kid has the most advanced language skills for being a two-year-old. But being the child of two such intelligent people, I'm not really that surprised. He even knows how to say a few phrases in Spanish (he's a big fan of Dora and Diego). Immediately after boarding the plane to go back home, I was having Keiran-withdrawals. I've been searching the internet ever since for good deals so I can visit again after the holidays!

And, an update on my internship... things are definitely getting better. I had a rough time adjusting to the change when I lost my original placement. And well, therapy is so much harder than I expected. I think one of the hardest parts for me is sitting with really heavy emotion for an hour, and then going on with my day. It weighs on me sometimes. Also, the therapeutic relationship is extremely intense. And therapy requires the use of self in the process. Having intense, direct, confrontational conversations is not a strength of mine - you can ask my family! And I know this is good for me to be able to practice these skills, but growth is painful, and some days I just want to quit. I am aware that I am going to love doing therapy after I have some years of experience behind me. In the meantime, I'll keep being real and direct with my clients, as uncomfortable as it is, and hope for the day when it begins to feel natural. At least I'm practiced up on my empathy, cause that is what gets me through!

Oh, by the way, I'll post pictures soon of all of my recent excursions!