The stamina of my mind, body, and soul was tested this week.
I took the GRE last Thursday as part of qualifying for graduate school. It was 3 1/2 hours of grueling testing. I'm not allowed to say much about the test but it consisted of writing, verbal, and math sections. Afterward, I had to sit in the parking lot for 15 minutes just to get my brain to calm down before driving home! The test was revised last year to place scores on a scale of 130 to 170. I scored 164 on the verbal which placed me in the 94th percentile! This means that I did better than 94% of test takers. I scored 153 on the quantitative putting me in the 65th percentile which is about average. Most universities look for applicants at the 70th percentile and higher so hopefully my verbal and writing scores (which I don't yet have) will make up for the math score.
Did great at my first 5k Obstacle Apocalypse Race! 3.1 miles, 15+ obstacles. I finished in 34:57.5. I placed 14th for my age group and gender out of 96, 26th female out of 190, and 104th out of 411 total runners. Not bad for only being back in training for a month. Pictures to come! There were four water obstacles including a pond, water slide, and mud. I climbed over logs and walls, a huge cargo net, up and down on a teeter-totter, and crawled under a low tent. For my trouble, I got a t-shirt and medal. I was also able to donate my old Brooks running shoes (RIP) to charity.
I drove home to Michigan on Sunday. It took me 11.5 hours with 4 stops. Impressive considering the longest drive I've done prior was 4 hours. I left Mahopac at 5:30 AM after filling up a cooler full of yummy food including morning glory muffins, quinoa protein bars, roasted chickpeas, and mac & cheese. I really love being up early and watching the world wake up. I saw a rainbow right as I was leaving and then 2 hot air balloons about an hour into my trip. Grooved pavement makes me dizzy... One thing I really missed while in New York was Michigan Radio. I was only able to get 2 abysmal NPR stations in New York which played mainly music as I was never able to catch a program or newscast.
I was in Portage for about 24 hours before I left to go have dinner with my dad in Three Rivers and stay the night at Wayne's, who took me to the train station today along with my mom. It finally hit me that this is really happening and I will be leaving the United States in less than 2 days, with only a backpack and my wits (hopefully) for the next few months. I had a flash of fear and anxiety before heading out to the store to get some last minute items and lunch. I felt numb and scared. But then I realized that right now, at this moment, I'm safe, fed, and sheltered. Just like I've been telling my parents, there's no point in getting worried or nervous because it won't change the situation which is currently just fine anyway.
I took the South Shore train from South Bend, IN to Chicago. The 2 1/2 hour ride was quick compared to my recent transportation duration. I picked up a free entree at Qdoba (vegetarian burrito with fajita veggies and guac!) and then took the Blue Line train to my hotel near O'Hare. I love trains. You get to see the scenery without having to focus on driving. The rocking motion is very relaxing. From what I've read, there aren't many trains in SE Asia but perhaps we'll get to ride on some in India.
I'm flying to Cambodia tomorrow morning. The entire trip will take 27 hours: 20 hours of flying and 7 hours of layovers. My longest flight is 13 hours which is more than twice the length of my longest flight thus far. I'm breaking all kinds of records! Once I'm there, I hope to post entries more frequently instead of condensing an entire week into one post and include more pictures of a higher quality. There will also be fun things to see and read on Carlos's travel site so please check it out!
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