Unlike the international leg of the World Tour, I have a partner in crime this time around, and she's pretty cool! Malena just finished her year as an Americorps VISTA with Youth Venture, trekking across the good old US of A from Virginia to LA with just a suitcase, a Toyota Scion and a southern twang that will make you melt. She's a trained teacher, speaks Spanish fluently (her English is improving, jk) and was born in Paraguay while her parents were working as Peace Corps Volunteers. Basically, she's a saint and perfect.
Malena is the queen of all things scheduling and route related, making contact with all of our amazing Venturers, regional offices, partners and friends to make sure that we absolutely tell this story of change in the most effective way possible. Beyond that, she's just plain hilarious and remains even-keel 99% of the time - a perfect match to my never-ending cycle of extremes! :-) Apparently she also loves riding around in shopping carts and hiding in rocks. I asked her to send me a few pictures of herself and 2 of the 3 were of her in confined spaces, which is perfect because we're about to spend 4 weeks together in a compact car...more on the wheels soon!
This sounds like a great adventure for both of you and for the Venturers you will visit. We can' wait to hear about all your adventures along the way. Keep us updated with stories and photos.
ReplyDeleteKent, Julie and Nina!