Great News!

Hi guys!

So, it's amazing what can happen in a few days.

I've been talking about the internship up at the monastery in Cambridge, well... I Got It!!! I'm SO excited.

The internship starts september 6 and goes through May 30. I get two weeks off for vacation (probably use that during Christmas time), Mondays are sabbath days at the monastery, we can go do things if we want to. There is also one day a month for retreat. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I'm not going to worry about it for now.

My logistical brain has already started to kick in. We (the interns director- Mark) and I discovered that there is a Petsmart not far from the monastery, so having access to stuff for Doc will not be a problem. Because Boston is a Long ways from here, Doc and I are going to fly. I've looked into one-way flights, and a flight from GSP (Greenville/Spartanburg International) is $119, with like $35 in taxes and stuff and to check a bag is $15, so It'll be about $175 just to be safe. We could investigate taking a train, but my concern with that, is Doc being able to relieve himself.

My parents are glad for me, but my mom is a little bit freaked out I think. A Big difference from this and Winthrop, is that at school they could easily come up there if the need presented itself. Boston, that's not an option. One thing really exciting, is that there is a cousin of my dad's who lives in Rhode Island but is about half an hour from Boston, so a potential emergency contact, or simply another person to go visit on my sabbath day.

I've been working with my dad on building a building for the company my mom works for, american train company. We're building a train station. It's 4ftx4ft by 10 or 12ft tall with the roof on, and we're going to be painting it this week and installing it on sunday. We're getting paid for it. I'm earning $15 for it, and my dad has estimated 20 working hours. I'm pretty sure we're close to 16 now and that was just the building of it. There's no telling how long painting will take.

So the money I get from that is going to be saved, I'll probably use it for my flight, but I'm thinking of getting either a kindle or possibly an ipad. I can see how either would be a good tool for me to have during my internship, but I am also considering taking my laptop, so I'm not really sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm going to wait for a while.

There's a possibility of our building more of these train stations, so I may wait until augast. I know I need to get a warmer weather jacket and some good gloves and a scarf. I've already got those yellow rubber boots, and I'll probably just invest in lots of warm wool socks.

It's going to be a big adventure, and I'm So excited.

The picture is of the chapel. I'm not sure if its facing toward the back or the front, I think it's the back. go to www.ssje.org there are Lots of amazing pictures, there's even a 360 degree chapel tour and you can zoom around outside the monastery too, it's lots of fun.

Hug to you all,
Nancy
PS: If it's allowed, I think I'm going to create a blog specific to my time at the monastery. Due to confidentiality concerns, I have to sign something like a non-disclosure, which is totally fine, I can respect and understand the need for privacy. I would however like to share pictures and stuff with family and friends. I think that'll be possible, it's just a matter of figuring out how to walk that line. We shall see, and I'll keep you posted on my preparations and whatever else happens this summer.