I swear I'm still a blogger!

I know, I know. I haven't been blogging. Partially because I've been busy, partially because I've been lazy, and partially because I had written some things up that, after a recent death in the family, just seemed so unimportant in the current moment that I deleted them and then had to start all over.

Honestly, they still seem unimportant. My beautiful and wonderful and sweet cousin Andrew passed away over the weekend from cancer (can I get a loud "FUCK CANCER!" yell from my readers, please?) and since then everything has seemed...diluted. And so trivial. But I know that I cannot, and he would not want me to, feel that way forever. So I am bucking up and dealing with the days as they come and the sad moments as they come as well. It is hard, VERY hard, to be away from my family right now. And not just a state or two, but oceans away from them at a time when we all need each other the most. Crying to my mother over Skype about this great loss that we are all suffering is just not the same as crawling into her lap for motherly hugs and embraces. But what can I do? Keep living, I guess.

Anyway, enough of that. I GOT AN INTERNSHIP! AND A JOB! Yes, both.

The internship is with a company called Ki'pe'peo Designs, run by a wonderful woman named Rachel. The company is focused on women's empowerment and business skills in the Nairobi (Kenya) slums. They teach the women to make greeting cards out of recycled materials, which are then sent to the UK and sold here. There have been tragedies and successes with the business, but at the moment it is doing fairly well. Hopefully I can help make it even better. I start on Tuesday, and will be doing all sorts of operational goodness, which is exactly what I want. Hands on, NGO experience where I can make a difference. Plus maybe I can even head to Kenya next summer to really get involved. I bet you didn't think I was planning on going back, DID YA?! HA!

As for the job, I am working with AIESEC again, but this time I am on the National Support Team (NST) for AIESEC United Kingdom, doing local committee development. Basically, I will be helping newly formed committees and demoted committees be the best that they can be. Which is going to be pretty darn excellent if I have anything to say about it (which I do, as I'm sure you know)!

My AIESEC work actually brought me to Southampton over the weekend, which was rainy but nice and quiet, which I liked, as you all know by now how terribly loud London is. Here's a few pictures I took of the beautifully empty streets in Southampton (located Southwest of London, if you didn't know). Also a photo of a cute table sign featuring British slang.