call me a gleek..

Call me a geek. Call me a gleek. Call me whatever you want. I don't care.... I l-o-v-e Glee!
I just spent the better part of my morning watching youtube clips of Glee's 2010 tour. I've essentially seen this tour in its entirety.. just in bad youtube quality.
On my search for such clips, I found the one posted below.
I just love that cast! I want to be on the show.. just so I can be their friends in real life. (okay, okay... AND so I can tell Kevin Mchale about my secret crush on him)



And now (since I've exhausted my use of youtube)... I'm going to go study up on some Spanish skills. Ecuador is in about 2 weeks! (Insert excited, anxious, and nervous face HERE)

i'm a bit ridiculous when it comes to bugs.

So.. I arrive home tonight after catching up with friends at a coffee shop for 5 hours (it was a very good conversation). I walk up our front steps, glance down, scream and jump 10 feet high to avoid the HUGEST silverfish I have ever seen in my life. (For those of you don't know what a silverfish is.. its this bug.) I then proceed to go inside and find our nearest Windex. (Little background on me.. I'm deathly afraid of bugs, and also deathly afraid of killing bugs.. so since I've been a little girl if my mom or sister is not around to kill a bug I see in the house.. my method of is to spray them with some kind of Windex-like liquid until they die... ridiculous, I know). So I walk outside, ready to kill Mr. Silverfish (because if I leave him alive outside our front door, he will find a way to get in our house, up the stairs, in my room, and live on my face... in the middle of the night.. duh). But as SOON as I open the front door.. he scurries away. UGH. (I just felt compelled to share that story).

By the by.. I'm thinking of changing my blog URL soon.. right now its my name, and its just too boring.
(Just a forewarning)

new music (at least to me)

Want to make me happy? Introduce a new band/singer/song to me. I will love you forever and ever, amen. But seriously. I l-o-v-e finding new music! Love it! 
Here's what I've been loving on lately.. 
1) Vitamin String Quartet.  I saw three of my friends tweet about this, so I had to check them out for myself. This group does covers of songs, but not w/ voices.. instead with string instruments (violin, guitar, cello, etc.)  Maybe its because I played the violin for 9 years, or maybe because they're plain awesome... but I can't get enough of these guys. 
Here's a link to their youtube page with almost all of their stuff. I can almost assure you won't be let down.. http://www.youtube.com/user/vitaminstringquartet?blend=1&ob=4
A good one by them. Enjoy.

 (ignore the silly graphic)
FYI: Other great ones by them: "Makes Me Wonder," "That's What You Get," and "Your Song,"
2) Bruno Mars- My friend Jasmijn introduced me to this song & artist. And I've listened to it about a million times now. It's that good. I can't wait for him to come out with more stuff (He has about 6 songs now on an EP that I'm thinking about buying)

3) Justin Timberlake's rendition of "Hallelujah" - Seriously, What artist hasn't made a rendition of this song? And yet almost every time I find out about a new one.. I instantly fall in love with it.

4) Glee's Rendition of "The Lady is a Tramp"- Puck singing, the outfit he's wearing, and old school music that you could potentially swing dance to. Uh-mazing. Enough said. 

Here's a link to the video, since youtube isn't allowed to play it, I can't post it on here. 

http://videos.nymag.com/video/Glee-The-Lady-Is-a-Tramp

my prayer for today (5.20.2010)

•If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind - James 1:5
•Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. - Proverbs 3:7
•Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.- Jeremiah 32:17

As I spend time over the next 3 weeks brushing up on my Spanish.. I'm praying that God would give me the wisdom and knowledge to take my Spanish skills to the next level. I'm praying for complete humility. I'm praying that when I think its difficult, I would remember nothing is too hard for him. I'm praying that I would not rely on my own ability to do this but instead, trust and rely on him.
After all, he already knows Spanish ;)

3 Weeks and counting until Ecuador!

photo contest

So there's this website called I Heart Faces and they have weekly themed photo contests for all types of photographers (beginner, amateur or professional). I've followed their blog for awhile, but this week is the first week I've had the guts to enter. So here it goes! ( I have to post the picture to my blog in order to enter).

This picture again is from the freshmen ladies photoshoot that I put together. There were eight lovely freshmen ladies, and five of us "photographers" (all from Campus Crusade). These girls were BEYOND beautiful (including Emily in the picture above).

I'm thinking of making a blog post that is a semester-in-review of the photos I've taken... in which I'll include more photos from this shoot!!

this summer (part 4.. final part!)

Forewarning.. this one is a bit lengthy. (And be sure to read parts 1, 2, 3 if you haven't already!)

Okay.. lets quicken this story a bit. So  I called him back and told him I was interested! I was scheduled for a phone interview the following Tuesday. Monday night and Tuesday morning I prayed my little heart out that God would give me the complete strength, wisdom, and right words during that interview (also asked all my friends & mom to pray for me again).  I did the interview.. and rocked it... well actually God rocked it through me. I was told I would find out by Friday if I got the internship. So.. by this point I was 500%  "gung-ho" about Ecuador. It was all I could think about. So you can imagine the ANXIETY that began Friday and didnt end until I received a phone call Tuesday. (I actually blogged about it here). So Tuesday, I'm in my ECN class when my phone starts ringing. I recongized the number and again started FREAKING out. I had an HOUR left of class. Let me tell you, slowest hour of my life. 60 whole minutes later class was let out, I ran outside, listened to my voicemail.. which simply said that they've made a decision and I should call him (aka.. add 10 more pounds of anxiety). I call him and he lets me know that I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO BE A INTERN IN QUITO, ECUADOR FOR CARE! Excitement doesn't even begin to describe what I was feeling in that moment. I could have a ran a marathon around the entire University... and I hate running! So yup, this summer (starting in June) I will officially be a communications internship in the CARE office of Ecuador!! I will mostly be working with their website, writing/editing human interest stories, translating documents, and doing data entry stuff! I am SO freaking excited!

 Can I just tell you... I undoubtedly give God 100% credit for how this summer came to be :
1) I didn't even originally apply to do the Ecuador program, I withdrew my application from the fellowship.. yet was still accepted.   
2) I originally wanted live in another country and intern at the same time but when all my options failed, I gave up and started looking for internships in the states.... and along comes Ecuador!   
3) If I were to go abroad I didn't want to have to raise support because of my sister's trip.....and this internship in Ecuador is all expense paid!!!!  
4) I prayed before, during and after the interview and literally felt God give me the best words to describe how I think this internship would be a perfect merge between my two majors (International Relations and Public Relations) and my passions.  
5) Through my International Relations (a major that I completely think God let me to..) classes, I've become so amazingly interested in development work, which is exactly what CARE does.  
6) They told me that I was a strong candidate for the internship because of my previous experience in Latin America (specifically my 2 1/2 months in Peru).. and the only reason why I went to Peru is becuase God pretty much placed that opportunity in my lap as well.

Thank you God for being so patient and such an amazing provider. You knew all along that I would end up in Ecuador this summer... and even when I  stupidly tried to make plans of my own.. you led me back to this amazing, AMAZING opportunity. Thank you Rachel Robinson International Fellowship and CARE Ecuador for accepting me as an intern. I can honestly say this is one the BIGGEST accomplishments of my life. And thanks to my mommy & amazing friends who prayed for me, and put up with my mass emails/texts asking for these prayers.
I feel like I'm accepting a Grammy. haha.

Here's to my future home:

(photo cred:www.bigtravelweb.com/equador_quito.htm)

this summer (part 3)

I just moved the three suitcases, clothes & food that were strewn over my bed, to the floor. Now my room is 10x messier than it was before. For those of you who know me.. you know how it is almost IMPOSSIBLE for me to go to bed when my room is a mess. But alas.. I'm lying in my bed, finally posting another update for my summer. This not cleaning thing is a pretty big deal. I'm a bit like Monica from Friends in that way. Thought I'd share that..
ANYWAY.. here's the third part to my upcoming summer. Be sure Look at part 1 and part 2 before you read this.

Fast forward to April. Funny thing.. the girl who started planning her summer back in October, now has absolutely ZERO idea what she would/should be doing. I started frantically looking for potential internships in DC. (DC because after spending a weekend there, I decided I was semi in love with the city). A few weeks passed and my word document that held all the internships I was finding was only growing bigger. It was crazy frustrating because I had about 30 internships on my list, 5 that had due dates in the next week, and virtually NO time to apply for them. (Most of them required cover letters, or long essay answers). I was ridiculously stressed with school work (it was like my teachers had a special meeting and decided to ruin my life), in desperate need for there to be 32 hours in a day instead of the regular 24, and just all around generally frustrated with the lack of control I had over my present life and life to come (aka my summer). And yes I was praying about my summer, yes I was trying to trust God and yes I knew & believed that God had a plan for my summer. But still... it was HARD. There's this quote that I love, and it perfectly described this time of my life (as well as most times of my life) "There lies a faith in the absence of control." Yup, that was me in a nutshell.

In the midst of all of these daunting internship applications, I received an email from the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship (the one I applied for in January hoping I would get funds for my trip) saying that they were sorry for the delay and that they would be making a final decision soon. Since I knew I wasn't going to Bangkok, I replied back explaining that I wanted to withdraw my application.  Fast forward a week. Its Wednesday and I'm on my way to photo class and I notice a missed call and voicemail. I listen to the voicemail and hear this.. "Hi Imani. It's Damian from the Jackie Robinson Foundation. I know you withdrew your application for the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship, but CARE took a look at your application and is very interested in you. The internship takes place in Quito, Ecuador this summer, all of your expenses (travel, food, living) will be paid for and they would like you to reconsider." I press the end button on my phone and immediately start to FREAK out. 4 million thoughts were running through my head: "Wait.. I thought God didn't want me to travel this summer. South America..again? How come they were interested in me? Should I say yes? What about the 30 internship applications that are waiting on my computer?" I sent out a mass text to my mom & friends, asking for prayer that God would give me wisdom. And by the time photo class was over, it was decided.. I was interested in Ecuador....

(final post for my summer coming up next!)

random thoughts at 2:28 am

1. I like sushi now. I tried it for the first time almost 3 years ago and almost THREW UP. But last Friday, I braved the waters and tried some of my friend's again. And I liked it! I went to a sushi bar on Monday and loved it even more. I feel SO cool now. (That last sentence was not a joke.)
2. At 9am tomorrow I will officially be a senior in college. WHAT THE HECK?!
3. My dear friend Sarah Korzun has been staying in my room since she got back from her semester in London. She's asleep right now.. and I just heard her sleep talk! I l-o-v-e hearing people sleep talk.. it entertains me.
4. Speaking of sleep talking... if there's ever the rare chance that I have not slept for over 28 hours and you call me just as I finished my first 1/2 hour of sleep.. apparently I will have a hilarious conversation with you.
5. We  did a freshmen ladies photoshoot last Friday afternoon. This is one of my favorites that I took. I heart these girls.

 
6. Part 3 of my upcoming summer is coming in the next blog post! Te prometo ;)
7. GOODNIGHT!

this summer (part 2)

(if you missed "part 1" click here)

Fast forward from Janaury. It's March 2010, both applications are in, and I am simply waiting. I receive an email notifying me that I did not get into the India trip, because it was too full by the time I applied. I was forewarned of this, so I kind of expected it. A week later, while on spring break, I receive another email saying that I was instead accepted to the Bangkok summer trip, (that I put as my second choice). Yay! I should be excited, right?.. Except, I wasn't. For some reason I didn't really feel at peace about this opportunity. Yes, I know I had originally wanted to go to Bangkok... but now that the opportunity had actaully been placed in my hands, I realized suddenly that maybe that was not what I was meant to do with my summer. The trip was going to be doing great things in Bangkok, but there wasn't going to be much of an opportunity for me to do communications-type work. Plus my amazing little sister had just decided to participate in her first long term service/mission trip! A trip that she would have to raise support for.. and knowing how my long term mission trip was the HUGEST stepping stone for my faith, and not to mention the BEST SUMMER EVER .. there was no way I wanted to hinder her from experiencing the same thing! Aka, if we both went on mission trips, we would be sending support letters to the same group of supporters.. and I didn't want to potentially "take any support away" from her trip. So after some prayer and conversations with my Mom & friends, I decided Bangkok was not where I was supposed to be this summer.

this summer (part 1)

So as I promised, I will now write about my AMAZING summer plans that await me. There's alot of back story to these plans, so to save everyone from reading a ridiculously long blog post I'm going to do this story in parts! So here is PART 1. Get psyched!

Lets rewind back to October when I began thinking about what my coming up summer would entail. I wanted to somehow incorporate interning, volunteering/doing service work, while living abroad in another country. So I started looking up a ton of organizations in Bangkok, Thailand (because I really wanted to work for an organization that helped fight human trafficking, and its largely prevalent in that area). I found a ton and wrote them all down with the intention of eventually contacting them.  Fast forward to December, I'm at Urbana (a crazy awesome conference) and I hear about an amazing mission trip opportunity where I could work in India for an organization called Freeset Global, which is a fair trade organization that provides employment to women who had been previously enslaved in Kolkata’s sex industry, allowing in a life of freedom rather than the life of enslavement they have always lived. If I was accepted I would potentially have the opportunity to do communications type work (graphic design, feature writing, photography) as well as interact and engage with these women on a daily basis. It wasn't Thailand like I was "planning" on, but the merge between doing an internship as well as service work sounded wicked awesome. I jumped at the opportunity to apply.

As I waited to hear back from the India opportunity, I decided to apply for the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship. I have a scholarship from the amazing Jackie Robinson Foundation, and one of the many great programs the foundation has is this fellowship in which a few students are selected to pursue their aspirations in interning, studying, or doing service work abroad. The fellowship can be used one of two ways: an internship with CARE (the fellowship partners with this organization) or for a third party organization/internship. I applied for the fellowship for the latter reason. So with two applications in, I began the waiting process...

my prayer for today (5.2.10.)

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:18