A Visit from a Fellow Commodore
The Vanderbubble really is a small world. When I arrived in Guatemala this summer as a Program Intern for Manna Project International, I was shocked to learn that one of my bosses, Nicole, a 13-month Program Director, actually graduated from Vanderbilt in 2012. Although we both learned about Manna through Vanderbilt’s active chapter on campus, our paths to Guatemala were completely different. Actually, our paths at Vanderbilt were so different that they never crossed in the two years that we overlapped. I am pre-med while Nicole was HOD. I am active in Hillel while Nicole was the President of Sigma Phi Lambda, which is a Christian sorority. When I first met Nicole, I thought that we would have little in common. But then I remembered that we at least shared an alma mater.
Turns out that Nicole and I are way more similar than I could have imagined. We have the same tie-dye t-shirt from Target. We also love to read and we have the same sense of humor. In Guatemala, I got to help Nicole run her women’s computer class, which was so amazing. In computers, we learned that we both love Microsoft Word but have a lot of trouble with Excel. Our similarities are uncanny.
Anyway, I suppose I should tell you how Nicole and I were able to reunite after she finished her term in Guatemala. Nicole, the amazing world traveler, is now headed to Spain. She will be spending the next year there working for the government as an English teacher in an elementary school. In order to go to Spain, Nicole needs a visa. Turns out, the closest Spanish Consulate is in Miami, which is where I come in. Yesterday, we went to the consulate so that Nicole could get everything settled. Always on the conscious side, Nicole allowed two days for what ended up taking only an hour. This left us with plenty of time for the beach and Scrabble and movies.
I am so glad that I got to see my Vanderbilt twin again. I find it fascinating that we took such different paths at school even though we are so much alike. This just proves that Vanderbilt really does have something for everyone.