Last week I got to go on my first work trip for my current job. I spent 9 hours a day for 5 days tabling at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta. The timing wasn’t great (lots going on at work, and Abigail got very sick and had to be in the vet hospital overnight a few days before I left), but I was excited to explore a new city and to put some of what I’ve been working on for months into action. The convention part was ok; I think it was great exposure for Fulbright, and it was really fun to be able to talk to so many different people from all over the world whose overarching reason for being in the same place is that they are genuinely generous and want to make the world a better place.
On the other hand – it was exhausting. By the end of my 45 hour tabling stint, I was sick of hearing myself talk and had a hard time putting on a happy face to repeat the fast facts of my program for the billionth time. Fortunately, even though Kyle had to stay behind to take care of Abi, there were a lot of people from my Rotary club in town and I had people to hang out with after my extended work day was over.
One night after we had dinner at Krog Street Market, I decided to walk back to my AirBnB through the Krog Street Tunnel, which is know for being covered in graffiti and murals. It was AMAZING and my .8 mile walk ended up taking me almost an hour, since I was stopping to take pictures every 5 seconds. I stayed in Cabbagetown, an absolutely adorable little neighborhood, and I could totally see myself packing up and moving there. My apartment was amazing, I had a cute little front porch and a bunch of delicious restaurants literally steps from my front door, and the neighborhood just had a lot of life to it (despite being next to an old cemetery – HA!)
As much as I liked Atlanta, I was ready to come back to DC. Of course, whenever you REALLY want to go somewhere, it’s like asking the travel gods to smite you. In a Biblically comical turn of fate, my flight was delayed first by a lightening storm, and then our crew timed out. We didn’t leave until almost 1 in the morning, which made work on 2.5 hours of sleep super fun the next day. I can’t wait to be able to go back to Atlanta and explore purely as a tourist next time!
The Uprooted Path 