Wanted: A Job

Recent weather: As low as 0 degrees at night, lots of snow.
Recent reads: "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed

I've been in Wisconsin for about 4 weeks now. It's been very cold, with record-breaking lows and snow earlier than previous years. I don't leave the house without being bundled up in my hat, scarf and gloves but I will say that the snow looks beautiful while I am indoors. Pretty much every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I go to the local coffee shop (there's only one in this small town) to search and apply for jobs. Applying for jobs is a job in and of itself, after all.
First I contacted previous employers to get something going. Then, I tweaked my resume and worked on cover letters. I started applying to a few of the big hospitals in the area, companies that are well-respected and would have growth opportunities available. Then, I searched job openings with companies based in San Diego. Then, I started scouring craigslist.
I was hoping to land a medical administrative position but it seems like my resume is lacking some of the minor but apparently critical work experiences. For example, almost all admin job descriptions require "demonstrated prior work experience with Powerpoint." While I used Powerpoint regularly in college and occasionally since and know I'm capable of using it effectively, I don't have a specific work-related Powerpoint project to cite while other candidates do. I have expanded my job search to now include entry-level, patient care coordinator or receptionist positions that can lead to admin roles.
At this point I have applied for 65+ jobs. Of that, I have had four phone interviews, two additional calls to set up interviews (but I was in Wisconsin and they wanted to fill the positions ASAP). Of the four phone interviews I've taken, I have two second, in-person interviews for next week when I am in San Diego.
All this makes me wonder what the trick is. I have applied to 10+ jobs within a hospital network. There are tons of jobs postings on their website daily and I am qualified for all the positions I applied for but I have yet to hear anything. Is applying to several positions within one company a detriment to my chances? The first company that called me for a phone interview didn't even have an option to attach a cover letter on their website. How crucial is a cover letter anyways? And then there are postings for the most specific job ever with a laundry list of random qualifications and a paragraph of needed info for the application and then the job pays $10/hr! I've seen resumes and a person who pays enough attention to detail to follow this list of application directions alone deserves at least $11/hr. And by $11, I actually mean $20. Such is life.
Job search aside, I've gotten to spend time with my parents, making our favorite meals, doing local activities and marathon movie watching. I do miss the excitement of traveling, always a new city to see but it's been a good transition here from backpacker life to real life.
One of the highlights was going flying with my dad a couple of weeks ago. Since his plane isn't quite done, he rented a plane and we landed several times and airports in the area so he could practice his take-offs and landings. We stopped at the airport in exotic Iola, Wisconsin for their Friday lunch extravaganza. An early Thanksgiving feast, it was a Wisconsin cultural experience at its best. The infamous Paul Johns was in attendance. Paul, inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 2009, is now 101 but was a pioneer pilot for Pan Am, flying from the US to South America countless times. It was a beautiful day for flying and I was actually warm and cozy inside the plane!

Getting to see family and friends has been great fun so returning to San Diego on December 10th will be bittersweet. But life must go on!

My San Diego Summer

Recent weather: low 80s, sunny every day, heaven
Recent reads: Daniel-Micah, "Red Zone" by Mike Lupica, "Ports of Call" by Sally Fairchild, "Twelve Years a Slave" by Soloman Thorthop--a sports novel, chicklit, and a fluffy beach read.

At last. I have finally arrived in the ultimate Peruvian beach town: Mancora. While I was freezing (slight exaggeration) in Lima and Cusco, everyone was posting about summer in San Diego and Wisconsin. Now it's time for my San Diego summer!

Day 1: Buy a swimsuit top. Check. Somehow I had lost my swimsuit top along my way which is strange because at one point in time, it was in my regular bra rotation.

Day 2: Go surfing. Check. Surf schools are ubiquitous along the beach so this was an easy one. And with small waves that went on for days, my spirits were high after day 1. But day 3 of surfing was not so easy. It was one of those days where I was never in the right spot at the right time. And with huge waves that broke quickly like a brick wall instead of rolling on and on, well, let's just say that I more than struggled just to keep my head above water, literally. After I would ride the wave and wipe out, gracefully of course, I would come up for air just as another wave would crash over my head, wrap me up feet first and spin me about like a wash machine before spitting me out again even further from where I wanted to be. Repeat. But after a day of rest and a mental pep talk, I was back in the water. At the very least, it's great to be outside, in the water, and getting a heck of a workout!

Day 3: Get a job. Check. This was surprisingly easy considering that in Peru, nothing happens quickly. But after a couple of stops by local bars and hostels, I found a gig working at a hostel bar in exchange for free accommodation. Working with my all-Argentinian family of fellow travelers has been good language practice and I am also now an expert pisco sour maker! Egg white, lime juice, pisco, sugar, ice and shake! I hope I can find pisco at BevMo and keep the pisco sours going when I get home!

And shake!

 But even after everything seemed to align with what I had wanted--sun, surf, and the chance to stay here for a bit--I still didn't feel relaxed. There was definitely a low point when I was lying on the beach, the perfect level of physical exhaustion after a surf sesh, with the sun about to set on an amazing day, here in this Peruvian paradise and I couldn't just be content in that moment. And then I felt guilty for not being happy. I have since come around from that mild meltdown and am back on the positive train. Still happy to be here. Still excited to see and do all that I can. Still learning about myself and my own personal recipe for happiness. And shake.

I seriously cannot complain about this.

Last Days

Today's location: New London, Wisconsin (a.k.a. New Dublin in March)
Today's weather: Sunny, high of 0 degrees (No, that is not a typo.)

Spending some time in my hometown as part of my tour of home before the big trip. The past week has been all about "lasts" in preparation for leaving on March 5th. Some lasts include but not limited to: last time driving Cosmo, my car, last time at my church in San Diego, last time eating brunch at Snooze, and using up my last yoga groupon.

One highlight of preparing for this whole experience was packing up everything I own. I say "highlight" because this was actually a good opportunity to weed out a lot of crap that I have been accumulating. Why do I have so much stuff? But seriously, it's just "stuff" and I have so much of it. Don't get me wrong, as far as stuff goes, mine is nice stuff but again, it's just stuff. And if the zombie apocalypse strikes tonight, my extensive wardrobe is only going to slow me down. Maybe life in South America will prove to be much simpler and I will find contentment in the little things and learn to crave less "stuff." Doubtful.

Anything I haven't worn or used in the last year had to go. I donated of 10+ bags of "stuff." Then, I packed everything I'm going to need for the next year in a backpack (more to come on its contents). Finally, I put everything that was left in storage. It was a humbling experience to pack pretty much all of my worldly possessions (except for my car) in a 5 X 10 ft storage unit. On one hand, maybe I'm not quite as materialistic as I think. On the other hand, 26 years of life and this is all I have to show for it?!

The purge was good. And then I rested.

 


People have been asking if I'm getting excited/nervous. Honestly, it doesn't seem like anything is happening. All of these changes, like packing, have gradually unfolded so I've been able to transition to the idea slowly. However, my last day of work proved to be more emotional than I thought. I wasn't sad (because I know this experience is just what the doctor ordered) but rather, I was overwhelmed by the people and things that affect my life in positive way. Already this experience is putting life in perspective.

My last night in San Diego was marked by an epic 'Merica send off in Encinitas where I finally took the price tag off a pair of American flag leggings that had been collecting dust in my dresser. (If I held on to these leggings, can you imagine the random stuff I donated?) When asked what I'll miss most about the US, I replied, "Mexican food." Huh. The usual shenanigans ensued, I drank a "dirty American," talked to the dj, etc.

Stay classy, San Diego!

Some friends and co-workers think I'm never coming back from South America. They think I'll find my Juan Pablo down there, run off into the Amazon, never to return. But knowing myself, or at least I think I do, I fully expect that after a year of living out of a suitcase, doing odd jobs, always meeting new people but never knowing them, I'll welcome the opportunity to just go home, unpack, and find regularity in life again. But who knows.

 For now, I'll brave the bitter Wisconsin cold as I say "see you later" to a few more people.

Countdown to lift off: 5 days.

Consider Yourselves Briefed

I am about to embark on a South American Adventure in a matter of days and I'm still waiting for a meltdown. Many of the details of my trip have just come together in the last couple of months and even weeks, but in many ways, I've been training for an experience like this for some time now.

Backstory

Where I'm coming from...I am originally from exotic Wisconsin, a land flowing with cheese and Miller Light. I went to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis which is even colder than my hometown. After graduating in 2009 and surviving almost two-decades of brutal, kick-me-when-I'm-down Midwest winters, I knew I now had the mental toughness to make it just about anywhere but had lost the desire to shovel snow ever again. I had family in San Diego so I packed up my Toyota Camry and headed west in hopes of escaping diphtheria and building a life in the promised land: San Diego. I acclimated quickly to San Diego and now call North County San Diego home.

Where I was at...I enjoy traveling and always want more. Among other places, I've been to Germany, Switzerland, France, Nicaragua, Turkey, etc. I've talked about dropping everything and traveling for an extended period of time but, like most people, have never been able to pull the trigger. Why South America? I took Spanish in college but never studied abroad and always regretted it. My parents lived in Peru before they had children so I feel like it's fitting that I go there too to make the Johnson-family travels come full circle. At work I could get by with my current level of Spanish but know the next step to really improving my espanol is immersion. There are so many places I want to see in South America and around the world and, with only two weeks of vacation from work every year for the rest of my life, I would need to be Methuselah to see it all. And as my last, catch-all rationalization, insert stereotypical phrase here: if I don't do it now, I'll never do it; youth is wasted on the young; etc.

Where I'm going...I really started to seriously think about a long-term South America trip when I met with an acquaintance who has traveled extensively in South America, 18 months in total. Okay, you caught me. We dated briefly. Anyways, he recommended workaway.org and helpx.com, two websites where travelers can do light work in exchange for room and board. I perused host options and finally signed up for workaway, 25 Euros for a 2 year membership. I emailed several hosts all over South America. Many hosts only know their job needs a few weeks in advance but I got a quick response from a hostel in Cordoba, Argentina, where I'd work as a receptionist 20 hours a week. With an opportunity like this, I knew the whole idea was possible and I was all in. After all, I had already committed to 25 Euros and wasted an entire Sunday afternoon trying on backpacks at REI, so I better go for it.

Let me save you all those clicks of a laborious Google maps search. 

How I'm getting there...First step was obviously an excel spreadsheet with a budget and the sum function as often as possible. Looking back on my budget, while I saved hard and worked even harder, I am among few twenty-somethings blessed with being debt-free, without school, car, or home loans, making this whole adventure possible. After that, other logistics seemed to fall into place. My apartment lease was up so I moved in with my cousin rather than renewing. I had been looking for flights to Cordoba and they were consistently between $1000-$1300 until one afternoon when I witnessed a little miracle, a flight for under $700! #Buynow The bright side of being a mild hypochondriac (oxymoron?) is that I already have a travel first aid kit. And with a mother like mine, vaccinations, payment on death forms, and an affordable travelers' insurance policy with a helicopter-me-back-to-my-homeland-when-I-am-dying benefit were items at the top of my to-do list.

And, yes, I most definitely have a to-do list. So now I can cross "blog" off the to-do list. I wanted to do a blog mostly because I'm lazy. Rather than email personalized accounts of my adventures to my friends and family, here's a blog to keep everyone equally abreast of my whereabouts. Feel free to live vicariously through my travels, laugh at my inevitable misfortunes, and provide my last noted location to the appropriate consulate when needed. In any event, feel free to follow my travels in South America, as I see it.