Tomorrow is the big day!

Hello all! Welcome to my summer blog for my internship at Duke Raleigh Hospital.

I arrived in Raleigh on Tuesday evening, unpacked, and had dinner with my roommate Sarah Joyce and her (boy) "friend." Dinner was fun, but I was tired and ready to go to bed. Driving is exhausting! Sarah is a friend that I met when I was a freshman at NC State. One of her roommates is studying abroad for the summer, so I am sub-leasing her room. The house is cute and old, and the kitchen is infested with ants. Gross. There are two other girls that live here as well, but they have been off visiting family these past few days. Hopefully I will get to spend some time with them soon too!

On Wednesday I drove to Charleston for a beach retreat with some girl friends from Charlotte, and returned back to Raleigh on Friday evening. Charleston was WONDERFUL! I have been a few times before and almost didn't go this week, but I am glad I did. I needed a little vacation before feeling ready to get to work.

Yesterday Sarah and I had quite the adventure around town. We practiced driving to the hospital which is only 10 minutes away!!!, went to the farmer's market, the grocery store, and did some other random exploring. The farmer's market was great. I am so excited about having one only a few minutes away from the house. We got 4 sweet potatoes, cabbage, a bag of green beans, and a tomato for less than $6. I can't wait to experiment with cooking and shopping off of a budget. For dinner, Sarah made pasta with squash and a little chicken, accompanied by blueberry cobbler for dessert. She invited over her "friend" and a guy that I was supposed to be going on a blind date with. He was a sweetie, but I doubt it would be more than friends. He was 25 and had just bought a house... I am not ready for all of that! I could see the four of us hanging out again for the sake of outdoor fun, but no summer romance. I would, however, like to find him a nice wife. Any takers? A lot of folks came over after dinner to play games. I ended up leaving the scene early to skype with a friend from home. It was a very refreshing talk, so I didn't feel too bad about ditching my "date."

Today I went to an interesting Church, ran some errands, laid out in the sun, talked to Charlotte-ians on the phone, and prepared for my first day of orientation tomorrow. I am not really sure what to expect, but I am excited! Orientation is from 7:45-4:30. Yikes! I guess I need to get used to long days because I will soon be working 12 hour shifts.

By the way, the house is referred to as "Ashburton", the name of the street it is on. Therefore this summer I am an "Ashburton Girl." haha.

Talk to you all later!!!