Saying goodbye....

I talked to my favorite Julesapunk last night. She's leaving for two years in the Peace Corps and their assembly day is today in Philadelphia. The group leaves for Niger on Thursday.

I want her to be safe and to have a wonderful experience. And I want to make sure that I don't suck at staying in touch, because Juliet is one of my closest friends and wonderful, wonderful person.

I could never forget the fun of camp thesis, when we spent our spring break hiding in the Earlham library after it closed or laying on the couches at Charlie's trying to refine my topic. Or (and why do all my memories seem to center around the Earlham library right now) how she found me in the library on Valentine's Day with a huge bag of candy and flowers? (Ush, btw!) Or the updates that we would get from her during the Semester at Sea. We were laughing at my favorite memory yesterday: her account of visiting Mao's tomb in China and the capitalist irony of the plastic flowers that they sold over and over again to the visitors. I remember when we would all pile into Juliet and Juliana's rooms to watch Escaflowne and bootleg Star Trek episodes and the freedom that her car gave us. Otherwise, how would we have managed to take a road trip of our own after we saw the Britney Spears' classic, Crossroads? Juliet wasn't at Earlham the semester that my mom died, but she and Juliana have always been the people who I talked to when I was feeling low or upset. Jules is goofy, silly, and beautiful. She eats frosting with a spoon and puts Italian dressing on everything. How could you not feel better?

Jules, I don't know if you'll see this before you go, but I'm going to ask Baha'u'llah to find you a nice hot Baha'i guy and to help ensure that this is the most rewarding experience of your life. Be safe and know that there's a floor waiting for you in London any time that you want it.

Love, Joyce