Teach for America Recruiting Trip to Oregon!

That's right...I got to return to Oregon on an all-expenses paid trip to recruit for Teach for America. I received a phone call from Willamette's recruitment director and two weeks later I was on a plane headed to Portland. The flight was the most awful I've experienced...after weather delays in Atlanta and Vegas, I finally arrived in Oregon at 3:30am, aside from a brief nap under the benches near the slot machines in the Vegas airport, I didn't get to sleep until 7:30am Atlanta time....needless to say, I was exhausted! But, as always, I had a fabulous time in Oregon! I stayed with my parents in Portland with some family friends I hadn't seen in over 8 years. I saw my brother for the first time in over 9 months. My college roommate Jessie (who just moved back to the US after two years in Japan), came to visit from WA. We stayed with our running buddy Kari. Then, I got to see my Aunt Charlene and cousin Tracy....very nice to catch up! In Salem, I met up with a few college friends. And....got to see Jessica, my neighbor and close friend from Roseburg (it'd been more than a year since I stayed with her in San Diego). Then, at Willamette, I stayed with two teammates who had been Freshmen during my Senior year. I caught up with professors and other Willamette folks. I had a quick lunch one day with Stacy my lil' lil' sis from the XC team. We've been buddies ever since she stayed with me on a recruiting trip her senior year of HS, now she's employed by Willamette! And...I met with 27(!!!!) outstanding college seniors and talked to them about Teach for America (oh yeah...the whole purpose of my visit). To round out my trip, I caught a red eye flight back to Atlanta (complete with a layover in Denver), arrived at 5:30am, and took the train and bus to my 8am class (not a very awake day for me!). It was a jam-packed trip, but lots of fun! Click here to see all my pictures. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I could not stop talking about (and photographing) the fall colors in Oregon. This trip was in mid-October, before the leaves were really pretty here in Atlanta...so I was freaking out....first time in 2 years I got to experience fall!