Only a few hours left in Washington!

I've just finished my last final, turned in my last paper and am now settled in Shoreline... for about 42 hours. Then I'm flying from Seattle to Ketchikan, AK where the next adventure in my life starts. Meaning, I'm moving into a 10 bedroom complex, sharing a room with someone I don't know and starting my follow-up training as a bus driver. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely terrified but at the same time, I'm SO excited! The training in Ellensburg was a tedious process. It started out when a Holland-America representative came into my Rec and Tourism introduction class and talked about the company and the job opportunities that they had for students up in Alaska for the summer. I immediately was excited and jumped at the chance for an interview. Then the training started in January. I almost quit after the first session. I freaked out a bit about the concept of ME, driving a 40 foot bus and the fact that I was jumping WAY out of my comfort zone for an entire summer where I didn't know anyone. Then my good friends Stephanie and Francis talked me back into it, encourgaging me to go for it and emphasizing all of the amazing benefits of the job and the training. So training continued on. For eleven weeks! And those eleven weeks were a crazy whirlwind. The first couple weeks were very intimidating and I found that I was not very good at manuevering the bus between cones at the Blue Grouse Restaurant parking lot. But once we left the parking lot things started to look up a bit. Over time I was driving on the freeway, merging in traffic and crossing railroad tracks. All in a very old 40 foot motorcoach I nicknamed Burt!
And now school's over. And I fly to Ketchikan in less than two days. I hope this blog will provide all of you with necessary updates about my summer, the good, the bad, the ugly, whatever. (Hopefully more good than anything else!) My goals- to be more outgoing, to make money, to experience as much of Alaska as I possibly can and to make new friends. Please feel free to comment!