It's time to begin!

Well folks the time is almost at hand, I leave for seattle in two hours to catch my plane at 520 in the morning! I have been so blessed to have so many people support me and help me get to this stage where I am finally leaving. Packing was a nightmare, but after a few days of rearranging and buying things, everything came together and now all that is left is a four hour car ride, going through security, flying to russia, and live the life!

Sorry this is short but I will post again from St. Petersburg!

Do Svidaniya! 

A Jimmy Johns Summer

Most people spend their summers going on vacations to beautiful places, seeing friends and family, and just enjoy the beauty of not having to worry about finals or school. My summer however took a different route and it actually ended up being one of the best summers I have had. Since I decided I wanted to travel, I had to get a job to pay for my expensive dreams. I looked everywhere in retail, applied at countless stores and altogether avoided any job that had any kind of food in it. You see, when I was 17, I got my first job where most young people do, McDonalds, and I was so miserable that I worked a few months, found a new job in retail and then quit. Every since then I promised that I would never work in the food industry again. As my job search went on I was finding it very difficult to find a retail position and finally found that there was a Jimmy Johns (sandwiches) opening and so very reluctantly I applied. 

I went through the normal process, got hired, and was so out of my mind anxious to start, I was so worried that the management would be mean and that I would not fit in and I was going to be working somewhere and not like it. But I was so wrong! The very first day, I already loved it, the atmosphere was great, the management is phenomenal, and the workers were starting to become my friends. I found myself coming home and just going on and on about how much I loved my job. I worked so many split shifts and long days to pay for my Russia trip that Jimmy Johns became sort of like my second home. 

While not taking any time off to go on any family vacations I learned a lot about myself and learned some really great life lessons while working there. For those who dont know me, I am very outspoken, I like to have fun, and I like to sing and just be myself where ever I am. On one particular day at work a coworker of mine made a comment that really hurt my feelings, and put me down. I was having a really hard time with it because they were criticizing a part of me that I wouldn't change for the world. I learned then that people in life may not like you, and that is okay. It is so much better to decide who you are going to be and follow that then let others shape you and change for that individual who may not like something about you. 

I also learned this summer that hard work pays off. I know I should probably already know that, and I do but it was so difficult not seeing friends or my extended family this summer so I could work. My wise manager told me one day that when I am sitting on the plane flying across the Atlantic ocean that all the long days would be worth it. And I really believe that in 9 days when I board that plane that is exactly what I will be feeling. Being in Russia is going to be so much more enjoyable knowing that I worked a lot to get there. 

I really am going to miss this job, and the friends that I made while I was there. Today being my last day at my hometown Jimmy Johns, I wanted to express how blessed I am to have found this job, and the many things it has taught me. This summer has been really great, even though all my friends are gone, because of this job! 

Until next time, have a great day!

17 Days and Counting

Hello! I have never done one of these blogs before, so we will see how this goes. My name is Ami and I am 20 years old. I am a college student at BYU-Idaho, studying social work. I have attended school there for 2 years and have wanted something adventures to do with my life but that is a little hard to find in Rexburg, Idaho. So I came home for the summer and found work at Jimmy Johns, which I love, and started to save for my first grand adventure.

So what is this adventure? Last year a good friend of mine told me about this program called ILP (the international language program) and how young adults volunteer their time and money to go teach English to children in various countries. I drilled her with questions for hours on our long roadtrip home and I knew then that I was going to do everything I could to become part of this program. The summer went by and I started to apply to teach English In St. Petersburg, Russia. I was accepted and had a countdown going for about 10 months. The days have drug on and on, I attended training in Utah and started working to save money for this trip. I still cant believe that I am leaving to go live in Russia for four months. RUSSIA! How insane is that?!? I have never been more excited/scared over anything before in my life!

Russia will hold many wonderful things for me to explore and learn. I will get to live with a host family, who knows little english, and I know little Russian. I will be with other teachers from America and we will be able to travel to Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. I am so excited to go to all the historically rich places in St. Petersburg and throughout Russia. It will be frightening and mind opening I am sure.

One more twist on this crazy adventure, I have never ever been on an airplane. Crazy, I know, my first plane ride will be international! Hopefully it will be a good experience. My flight plans go a little something like this: I leave from Seattle, WA at 5:20 am on Monday August 26th, then to Boston - Frankfurt Germany - then finally to St. Petersburg. I will arrive on Tuesday the 27th of August! I know that this is going to be a huge culture shock and at times I will miss the comfort of not only my home but of living in America. I have always wanted to see the world and now, finally I am going to do just that!

Until next time, go do something a little out of your comfort zone :)